How to Stop Condensation in the Crawl Space Under Your Home

If after all the rain we have had this summer you have developed some mold or condensation problem in the crawlspace under your home. Here are a few suggestions to help solve this problem.

Watch a one minute video from Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford plus a here a few more tips:

• Assess Damage: To get an idea of what you are going to have to do you need to check out the amount, and extent, of the mold problem. If you decide not to remove the wood completely these are your next steps. If you are concerned about having found some mold here is a video , from the National Mold Resource Center, that talks about physical symptoms of having been exposed to black mold.
•  Prepare For Mold Removal: It's important for you to wear a toxic chemical protective suit, and mask.
• Apply Mold Removal Chemicals: This is generally for a small mold outbreak. It will kill the mold, but you will still have to remove it from the surface with a scraper.
  
• Blast Mold: If the mold has been able to grow for some period of time before you noticed it then you will need to use a surface blaster.

If you want to stay away from all these problems, then have a mold inspection before buying a home. If you are a homeowner already then you should either inspect the home yourself or have a professional do it every few years. This will help you to eradicate an infestation at an early stage.

Prevention: Once you have gotten rid of the mold you have here are some steps towards prevention.

• Not Enough Vent Space: You may need more ventilation in the crawl space. The rule of thumb is to have at least one square foot of vent area for every 150 square feet of crawl space.
• Inadequate Cross Ventilation: You also need to have adequate cross ventilation with vents on all sides of your house, not just two.
• No Plastic Ground Cover: The plastic sheeting should be covering the ground of the crawl space, to keep moisture from coming up through the soil, not stapled beneath the insulation.
• Leaky or Un-insulated Ductwork: If you have ductwork for your HVAC system under your house, have it inspected for any air leaks, and to make sure it has enough insulation to prevent condensation on the outside of the ducts when the air conditioner is running during the summer.
• Add Fan Venting: If you’re still having problems, have a small fan installed on one of the vents with a humidistat set to turn the fan on at 70% relative humidity to remove excess moisture from your crawl space. Be careful that you have no mold in your crawlspace before installing fans. Other wise the fans will simply blow the mold spores onto other surfaces.