Crawl Spaces

Experts agree to disagree about the significance of mold contamination in crawl spaces. Generally, a crawl space is a dank and moldy place. For some experts that is perfectly okay, but I don’t agree with this. If a mold problem in a crawl space is left unattended, it will eventually become a problem in the living areas above it. Our company has collected thousands of mold samples; and I am the person who generally reviews the laboratory findings, and I have seen this happen. I write the reports based on our inspections and the lab analyses. When you have this kind of volume you see it all.

I have seen families move from their homes to hotels . Eventually their own insurance company experts conclude that the source of the mold problem in the living areas is the crawl spaces.

I recall one case in particular. Our client had a washing machine overflow and it flooded her house. Her insurance company immediately responded. In record time, the flood and the damage to her living areas was history.

About a year later, our client said she took out a credit line against her home. She wanted to do some remodeling that included re-piping the entire residence with copper plumbing. The plumber started sawing areas of the walls where the new plumbing would be installed, but he started feeling ill. Before long our client and children evacuated the house.

It turned out that when the washing machine overflowed, the water had also flooded the crawl space. When the insurance company contractors did all of their fine work indoors, they did nothing to the crawl space. With little ventilation, the mold continued to amplify. By the time our company was called to visit the premises, we had to use masks and Tyvek wear.

This particular experience taught me that while crawl spaces may not immediately grab your attention or require the immediate cleanup of a living area, you cannot long ignore a crawl space mold issue without having to deal with the consequences..

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