Crawl Space refers to a shallow area situated just under the home. More specifically, it is a narrow, unfinished space under a building between the first and the ground floor. Mold in your basement can become a serious issue you should think about. It can be hazardous for your health and quality of life. When you find mold in crawl space, you better know ways to get rid of it. This article will help you solve problems that you are facing with mold in your Crawl Space or Basement.
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Types of mold grow in crawl space
Three types of mold usually grow in the crawl space. They are:
White mold in crawl space:
White mold often grows in the exposed soil and floor joints. It does not usually grow in the cold weather. This type of mold needs to be given with special attention, similar to that of black mold. The white mold can produce toxins and cause a lot of damage to your house.
Black mold in crawl space:
Black mold is one of the most dangerous types of mold that can grow in your Crawl Space. Black molds have two different types; Stachybotrys atra and Stachybotrys chartarum. Black mold located in a crawl space usually produces mycotoxins, which is why you may experience allergy problems. Black molds are generally dark gray or greenish. They can appear as flat, bumpy, fuzzy, or even powdery.
Yellow mold in crawl space:
Yellow mold is often known as house-eating mold. This mold can be very dangerous. It typically grows on wooden materials. You need to remove them as soon as you detect, or else they can eat up your house.
How can you identify crawl space mold?
When you see the telltale signs over your crawl space, you can detect the attendance of mold. You need to check your entire Crawl Space. If you find some patches or clusters consisting of dirt or powder looking things over on the floor joints, girders, posts, and corners of the basement, your Crawl Space is more likely contaminated by mold. The followings are some of the signs that can help you to detect the attendance of mold in your Crawl Space:
Musty smells–
All types of molds do give off an unpleasant musty smell. Even when you cannot see mold spores, you still can smell them. When you can detect musty smells, you should immediately remove the mold as quickly as possible.
Continual Allergy Symptoms–
Not everyone can be allergic to mold. If you have an allergic problem due to the mold, you need to take immediate steps to remove them. You may experience the following disorders if mold is in your Crawl Space;
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Cough
- Runny eyes
- Sore throat
- Skin irritation, sinus irritation, etc.
These symptoms can range from mild to severe. Some people, who have been with mold for a long time, can be found with a critical health condition to them.
How dangerous crawl space mold can be?
Crawl space mold is dangerous in following ways-
Damage to your house– Molds usually eat organic substances. It can certainly grow on materials such as wood, paper, fabrics, and glue-like materials in your home. Therefore, molds are typically dangerous for wallpaper, carpet, and other types of wooden furniture. When molds have grown extensively without being removed, you can experience ceilings to collapse, floors to cave in, or the walls to fall.
HVAC Problems– If you see mold in your Crawl Space, it’s more likely that it can grow all over the area of your home. If molds spread in your HVAC system, it can easily travel through the air ducts to the rest of the parts of your house. Molds in the HVAC system are very hard to mitigate and require a trained professional’s assistance to remove it from the system.
Toxic Mold syndrome– Some of the significant toxic mold syndromes include mental confusion, memory loss, loss of concentration, loss of appetite, insomnia, anxiety, etc.
Reduced home values– Molds can create fear among the homeowners and potential buyers. If molds grow in your home and you try to sell it to someone. You may see price falls due to the growth of molds in the house. You should fix any mold issues before potential buyers find them.
How to kill mold in crawl space?
Certain ways can help you eliminate mold from your crawl space. In addition to killing mold in Crawl Space, you should maintain the following steps:
- You should apply the Endurance Bio Barrier all over your Crawl Space. It is one of the best ways by which mold can be removed. However, if you apply Endurance Bio Barrier in your Crawl Space, it is guaranteed that it prevents mold from growing for up to 25 years.
- You need to make sure that the dryers are vented to the outside of the house. You should never vent dryers toward your Crawl Space.
- You should keep your eyes on to check for leaks around HVAC ducts and plumbing components in your Crawl Space regularly. You also need to check there are no cracks over the area where water or moisture usually enters.
- You need to make sure that the gutters and downspouts channel are set at least 6 feet away far from the house. If they are set any closer than 6 feet, water can connect to the house and find a way to enter the Crawl Space.
- You need to make sure that there is no adequate ventilation over your Crawl Space. There should be two vents in your Crawl Space. Usually, you can have one square foot of ventilation for every 150 square feet of Crawl Space.
- When you use Batt insulation, you will have to install a vapor barrier on your house’s warm side. You now need to tightly place the insulation against the subfloors in your home so that the cold and hot water does not get connected and create moisture. You should secure the insulation snugly with mechanical fasteners. It will subsequently fall out without fasteners.
- You may also set up piping in the Crawl Space. Piping in the Crawl Space can insulate to prevent pipes from freezing during the period of cold weather.
- You should run a high-quality dehumidifier. You need to choose the right dehumidifier that can set well in your Crawl Space.
- If your slope makes the water to pool in your Crawl Space, you need to install a high-quality sump pump, which helps to prevent basement mold from growing.
- You should never use your Crawl Space as a storage unit. In most cases, clutter supplies food for mold and decreases airflow. It does help mold another place to grow.
How do professionals remove mold in crawl space?
If you find that there is mold in your crawl space, you can also call a mold remediation professional to help you remove it from your Crawl Space. Professionals usually know better to find all mold growth in your Crawl Space and use advanced mechanisms to ensure the mold is removed. Professional mold remediation can cost approximately $500 to $6000 depending on the mold’s condition in your basement.
How much mold in crawl space is acceptable?
A little growth of mold in your Crawl Space is dangerous. Any type of mold is not acceptable. Molds can spread all over your home and damage everything if left untreated. Therefore, you need to keep your eyes on to check your Crawl Space regularly. If you find any type of mold growth, you should take immediate steps to remove it from your Crawl Space.
How dangerous can Crawl Space Mold be?
Crawl Space Mold can cause many problems. When you detect the attendance of mold in your crawl space, you are likely experiencing some of the health problems. Some of the major health problems include coughing, irritation, throat irritation, wheezing, eye irritation, nasal stuffiness, and skin irritation. Apart from the health issues, mold can also grow over the pipes, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems in a Crawl Space. When molds grow over your home, it is also able to eat up your home.
Conclusion
The above tips and tricks will help you to prevent mold growth in your Crawl Space. If you find the growth of mold in Crawl Space is not severe, you can do it by yourself by following the above guidelines. Removing mold from the Crawl Space can be challenging and hazardous to your health. If you find the growth of mold is more severe and challenging. You should consider hiring a professional to help you get rid of it.
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