Wood Subfloor Rot in Evansville Crawlspace
The beginning of our mold tour starts near the entrance to the crawlspace in this home. Just to the side of the crawlspace entrance, we found an area where the wooden support beam of the subfloor had completely rotted through due to mold and moisture and then had to be replaced with a new joist. This sort of aggressive rot isn't usual--instead, most homeowners start to notice creaking, squeaking, and spongy floors over crawlspaces. This means that the wood has absorbed some moisture and is becoming flexible, bowed, and unstable. It's a good idea to get squeaking, spongy floors checked out promptly! The sooner an issue is addressed, the cheaper it is to fix the problem.
Crawlspace Entrance has Mold
In this picture, you can see the white mold patches around the crawlspace door. This indicates that warm, moist outdoor air has been drawn in to the crawlspace. This warm air cools rapidly in the dark crawlspace and condensation and increased relative humidity permit mold growth. The most common places for mold to grow in a crawlspace are on the wooden beams and joists. Once the air has cooled, the "stack effect" of air pressure draws the stinky, moldy air from the crawlspace up into the home. This dramatically decreases the indoor air quality of your home and spreads the mold spores around. Yuck!
Mold on Subfloor Joists in Evansville Crawlspace
The next stop on our crawlspace mold tour is the wooden subfloor joists. These joists are often the first place that you see mold growth because the air from outside is being drawn up through the rest of the house due to air pressure. This phenomenon is called "the stack effect" and it tells us that the air you breathe in your home is drawn up from your lowest level--in this case, the crawlspace. You can find out more about creating healthy crawlspaces by contacting us for our FREE Crawlspace Science book.
Mold, Critters, and Crawlspace Moisture
When I first started learning about mold and moisture is crawlspaces, I was shocked to discover that mold and moisture are the reason I have so many critters in my crawlspace! Crickets, spiders, and other creepy crawlies come into crawlspaces to find water and food and a snug home for the cooler months. A nice damp crawlspace is their ideal home, so the damper and more musty the crawlspace, the more critters you find inside them! Eww! Thankfully, it is possible to dry out crawlspaces and seal them off from outside air. This way, you can decrease critters, improve indoor air quality, and improve your heating and air conditioning costs!
Mold and Critters in Evansville Crawlspace
In this picture, you can see where someone has reinforced a squeaking floor with some additional support. Squeaking floors and spongy spots are not only irritating, but they are also a sign that your home is struggling with crawlspace moisture and wood rot. Another important sign is that musty smell that you catch when you open or close a window or door. That smell is actually air being drawn up out of the damp crawlspace into the rest of the house and it's a sign that your home needs some crawlspace encapsulation and repair right away!
Cracked Subfloor Joist
In this photo, you can see where one of the rotting joists has cracked. If you were walking over this spot, you would probably hear that loud, haunted house creaking that wakes the baby when you're on your way to the bathroom, or alerts your spouse that you're going for a midnight snack, even though you're supposed to be counting calories. Cracks like this are more than irritating, they are your home's cry for help. Mold, mildew, critters, and rot are creating a pickle of a problem in your crawlspace and your home needs help.
Mold on Block Walls in Evansville Crawlspace
Does this look familiar? It's mold and mildew growth in the concrete block wall of a crawlspace. Why does this happen? Well, concrete is actually very porous and wicks moisture from the surrounding soil into the air in a phenomenon called "capillary action". Much like the capillaries in your body that draw blood up to the surface of your skin, there are tiny tube-shaped holes in concrete do the same thing with water! These capillaries are formed during the concrete curing process when these blocks are being manufactured. The capillaries will allow moisture, mold spores, and other mildew and bacteria to permeate into your crawlspace. After time, you can start seeing growth like this picture has. Before that happens, it is best to have the experts at Healthy Spaces out to help you create a plan to dehumidify and encapsulate your crawlspace.
Close up of mold growth in Evansville Crawlspace
Here's a close up of the mold and mildew growth in the block wall. Mold, mildew, and other bacteria are nature's decomposition crew. These little creatures are in charge of breaking down whatever they are attached to--and we definitely don't want them digesting your home's foundation walls! That's why it's important to inhibit this sort of growth by reducing relative humidity in the crawlspace, preventing groundwater intrusion, and closing off the crawlspace from outside air. Check out the next picture for more information on how Healthy Spaces' experts can help you and your home!
Overview of Damp Crawlspace Walls in Evansville, IN
Here, you can see how widespread the water intrusion really is in this crawlspace. Here's what a Healthy Spaces expert would recommend: 1. Reducing relative humidity in the crawlspace by dehumidifying the crawlspace air. This can be accomplished with a Sanidry dehumdifier, crawlspace encapsulation using a dimple roll and 6 mil poly or Cleanspace product, and vent covers. 2. Preventing groundwater intrusion. This is essential to stopping crawlspace moisture. The best way to accomplish this is through crawlspace encapsulation or lining the crawlspace with vapor barrier. 3. Closing off the crawlspace from outside air. Vents in crawlspaces start a terrible moisture cycle and should closed off to allow the dehumidifier to work properly. It will also increase your indoor air quality because you can condition this air and filter it so mold spores don't make your family sick.
Previous Water Intrusion through Vent
In this picture, you can see where water has been regularly pouring in through a crawlspace window vent. This sort of intrusion can happen during a rainstorm, or even when you turn on your sprinklers. This sort of water intrusion introduces even more moisture into an already wet crawlspace environment.
Water on top of the crawlspace liner with scum
Here's a picture of a longstanding puddle of scummy water found near the crawlspace window vent. Water on top of an existing liner means that the crawlspace is not just suffering from groundwater intrusion, but is also seeing water come in from the concrete block walls, so just lining the floor is not adequate. Covering outside vents, dehumidifying the environment, and possibly lining the walls are also necessary to keep this crawlspace dry.