Crawl Space Mould Growth

[August 28, 2003]

Q. I live in a house where the dryer vent is vented through the floor venting directly under the house. It is a frame house with wood floors covered with carpet. Dirt is the foundation. I called a place locally for testing they told me $1500 to test. What are the chances of mould being under my house? I look forward to hearing from you. I am highly allergic to mould and about the beginning of July with Oklahoma's heat, my allergies have gone nuts. Nothing, no medication has helped.

A. Almost all crawl spaces beneath homes are mould havens because of high humidity from water evaporating from the dirt ground below and from water flowing into the crawl space from outside. By venting the dryer directly into the crawl space, the dryer exhaust creates high humidity levels in the crawl space which makes it very likely you have mould growing on support timbers and the bottom of the floor decking. Crawl space mould easily spreads by growth into the floors and walls above. Crawl space mould also generates airborne mould spores that can enter the house from fresh air intakes of your heating/cooling system and through open windows and doors. You can use our do it yourself mould test kits to test the air of your crawl space, rooms, above, attic, and the outward airflow from heating/cooling duct registers for the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mould spores, in comparison to an outdoor mould control test. Elevated levels are unhealthy and an indication that your house may have a serious mould infestation problem.

[June 23, 2003]

Q. My wife has suffered from sinus problems for the past 2 years. She is 42 years old, had never had much problems before, but has had problems for 2 straight years.  She had sinus surgery and that did not help.  We are wondering if we might have mould or a similar environmental problem.  We live on a crawl space.  It has never had any water.  It is covered with pea gravel and plastic sheeting.  The plastic has some gaps where it goes around peers and along the edge of the walls.  The crawl space is a little musty, but not overpowering.  Our indoor humidity runs about 50 - 60% in the summer time.  No flooding or any visible signs of mould.  No mould smell in the house (I am extremely sensitive to mould from a breathing/congestion and an itchy skin standpoint.  I have not been suffering any problems.  Any thoughts on whether we should consider testing?  Obviously we do not want to spend money chasing wild ideas, but we need to find some relief as well.

A. Your first step is to mould test the air of the crawl space and of all the rooms above the crawl space, your attic, and the air flow out of your heating/air conditioning ducts/registers using our do-it-BEST-yourself mould test kits with our expert mould lab analysis & mould identification. What you doing in mould testing the indoor air for is a mould investigation of the possible presence of elevated levels of airborne mould spores which, if present, would be an indication of a possible mould infestation somewhere in your home. A humidity level of 60% is enough to enable mould to start growing. On a year-round basis, you should be maintaining an indoor humidity of 30 to 40% to discourage mould growth. You do this with dehumidifiers that are programmed to keep running until humidity reaches the level you set in the 30 to 40% range.


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[Mould Testing][ New York City Mould Guidelines] [Clothes Mould] [Recreational Vehicle Mould Problems] [Wall Paper Mould] [Air Conditioning, Heating, and HVAC Mould Problems] [Crawl Space Mould] [Top Ten Mold Mistakes To Avoid][Bathroom Mould] [Basement Mould] [Chlorine Bleach is Not Effective to Kill Mould] [Siding Mould] [Roof Leaks and Mould Problems] [OHSA Mould Guidelines] [Laundry Room and Washing Machine Mould Problems]