More than ever before, basement and crawl space mold is becoming a serious concern for homeowners. Other than damaged personal property and a musty smell that can seep upwards through the home, there have been many very serious mold-related issues in Maryland, DC, and Virginia in recent years.
With the sharply rising costs of mold remediation in recent years (having almost doubled due to rising insurance costs), Mr Basement recommends preventing mold as the best, most clear solution. Sealing off the crawl space or basement and lowering the humidity level below 60% can help prevent serious damage to the home and to the health of its inhabitants.
Mold Rot in MD, DC, VA
The Journal of Property Management warns that ignoring mold in the home can lead to extensive property damage. Repairs can be lengthy and in the most extreme situations can require the home's inhabitants to be relocated while the work is being done.
Mold can grow anywhere there's moisture, including near plumbing leaks, leaking roofs, and especially in wet and damp crawl spaces and basements. If there is a water problem within the home, it's extremely important to fix the problem and dry the area within 48 hours.
Mold growth is common on drywall, cardboard, photos, memorabilia, wood, furniture, leather, cloth, fiberglass resins and paper backings, and anything else organic in the space. In a crawl space, structural damage is common as mold eats away at mold, and especially when termites, attracted to the rotting lumber, inhabit the space.
Trying to clean and remove mold in a crawl space with biocides or bleach is a temporary solution at best. While this can remove mold in the short term, this work can only be safely done by a trained professional. Bleach will not stop mold from growing in the long-term, and mold coatings can only protect what they coat, meaning that everything that enters the space will have to be treated from then on.
Additionally, mold will still have a surface to grow on and spread its spores unless you can also coat your ventilation ducts inside and out.
One of the primary methods recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency, is to reduce indoor humidity within the home to below 60%. They also recommend removing all sources of water leakage within the home, sealing penetrations in walls and floors especially below in below-ground areas, checking for moldy odors, and removing all sources of freestanding water.
To lower the humidity level, you're going to need a strong basement dehumidifier, like the SaniDry, available in Greater Baltimore, MD, DC & VA and the surrounding areas by Mr Basement.
The SaniDry is a self-draining, Energy-Star rated dehumidifier that's just what you need to eliminate mold in your basement. With a powerful blower, large cold coil, and an air filter that can remove particles as small as 2 microns, it can help prevent allergens such as mold spores, dust mite waste, pet dander, and pollen. If you have a finished basement, the SaniDry can easily be stored in a closet or unfinished area and ducted into the space. Smaller SaniDry CSB dehumidifiers are available just for the crawl space environment.
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