Mold in a Crawl Space - Black Mold

10/30/2008 West End Place. Nashville, TN

When entering the unit the musty smell was medium to low.  There are signs of moisture damage across the ceiling and around a sprinkler in the bedroom; there is also black mold on the ceiling above the shower and black mold found behind the water heater in the closet with the HVAC unit.  The owner stated that this room was unoccupied most of the summer and the moisture was not discovered right away; once they found it the carpet and most items in this room was very moldy.

Sanitization and Remediation

Bedroom/Bathroom:
·    Remove all furniture from the bedroom and wipe down each item thoroughly with solution and set in the dining room area for sanitization.
·    Set residential air sanitizers in strategic locations throughout the home to eliminate existing spores that occur normally and will be excessive once the spraying begins.
·    Place a commercial blaster at the air handler to eliminate any spores in the ductwork throughout the process.
·    Contain and vent the bedroom/bathroom separately from the rest of the home since the major contamination is in that area.
·    Set commercial air sanitizing units and a 20” box fan for circulation in the bed/bath area.
·    Ventilation shall be at the front window of the bedroom.
·    Remove drywall from the ceiling around the sprinkler in the bedroom, and back toward the bathroom as much as necessary to expose any and all contaminated framing materials.
·    Remove the drywall from the ceiling, above the shower/tub and possibly the divider wall between the bath and closet.
·    Remove the drywall from the ceiling above the water heater and possibly the divider wall between the bath and mechanical closet.
·    Remove any decay, or rot from any exposed wooden members that are necessary and not structural.
·    Saturate the exposed materials with solution to eliminate all fungi in these areas.
·    Spray oxidizing solution repeatedly until no signs of mold remains, drying between applications.
·    Remove and dispose the carpeting and pad in the bedroom and spray oxidizing solution on the floor surface to eliminate any growth.
·    Remove, bag and dispose of all drywall and any insulation, and all loose debris from the premise.
·    Wipe down all solid surfaces to remove any dead mold spores and vacuum all areas with hepa vacuum system.
 

The Chemical Issues to Think About:

Many Mold Removal Companies prefer chemical based products such as "Anabec Chemicals" to kill mold.  But let me explain why American Mold Solutions do NOT add these caustic chemicals to your living environment.  In the case of Anabec and many other chemical based products have their own information guides state that it is not for use on clothing. . .long time exposure to off gassing has not been studied, and the effects on humans is unknown.  Also, the person(s) using these chemicals are supposed to be fully trained on the proper use and safety to the occupants, so the home owner has to "trust" that the person using these products are experts.  But there is more than just the live growing mold, the mold spores are microscopic and spore normally that's how they reproduce, but they spore like crazy when touched or disturbed, plus the microscopic dead spores in the air,  as well as all this occurring in an enclosed area would give anyone pause to think, "is this the best for my family and my home"?
Most chemical based products and bleach are just surface cleaners; mold embeds itself into the pores of the wood or other materials in order to "break down"; molds job is to breakdown dead plant matter back to dirt.  So it has to be removed from the pores as well.
Sanding of wood materials is often recommended but you can't keep sanding without compromising the framing/wood member at some point.  Also there is no way to know if you have gotten below the contamination.  It is microscopic and can't be seen by the human eye, just because you can't see it anymore doesn't mean you have removed it all.  And when sanding you are blowing out lots of live microbial growth and wood fragments which makes the clean up inside very hard and these fragments become airborne and spread throughout the home cross contaminating all areas.
American Mold Solutions utilize an all natural approach to kill and remove the microbial growth, while at the same time cleaning and sanitizing the air to remove any spores from migrating all over your home.  And most importantly, tracking down the exact cause of the mold in the first place.  Our goal is to keep you and your family safe, remove the source, remove the damage, and clean the air and surfaces for the best results.
So if for your own safety if someone recommends a particular chemical based product, get the name and go to the manufacturers instructions and educate yourself, this will also open up many questions you can confirm with the potential remediation company.

1/24/2008 - Citation Way - Murfreesboro TN

Citation Way – Stewart Creek Farms – Murfreesboro, TN   January 24, 2008

New home in first year warranty has tiles coming up in the handicap shower stall with seat.

There are signs of mold and moisture on the framing materials behind the new framed seat, the floor decking under the seat and appears to go under the tile mud base in the pan.  A small amount of contamination on the framing appeared minimal and the tile grout outside the shower curb showed signs of moisture.  The curb is exposed and has a couple of rusted nails to the front, and is an indication of long term moisture and is questionable.  Moisture had puddle under this area on the vapor barrier in the crawl space.

All aspects of remediation were preformed; removal of all contaminated materials, spraying oxidizing solution to eliminate spores that embed themselves into the materials, utilizing air sanitizers to clean the air and a final cleaning to remove any spores that will settle as dust during this process.  The shower seat had not been properly installed, and even with detailed instructions this shower was rebuilt the same as the original application, needless to say this voided the warranty and remediation had to be redone and was completed the second time May 7, 2008.  The tiled shower looked great but due to the improper construction under the tile it just did not work either time.

Final lab reports indicate no elevated levels exists after completion in both cases.

8/3/2007 - S. Margin, Franklin TN

South Margin St. Franklin TN  August 3, 2007

Small area off a class room has mold.  Bathroom leak from above seems to be the moisture source.

Placed containment over the main door to the lobby area also sealed the exterior doors except for the exterior door to the back stairwell.  Removed the remaining ceiling drywall and the remaining wall drywall about 3 feet up.  Spray treated all exposed wood members approximately six times to remove all the fungi that have embedded into the pores.  The particle board and the decking under it were removed to the floor joist, in the wet area.  Only the particle board in the closet was removed, the plywood decking sprayed clean and the floor system underneath appeared fine.  Dusted, damp wiped, vacuum and damp mopped the entire areas, upstairs and down.  Cleaned all loose articles that were in the downstairs art room in case they were in the closet.  This job had to be done quickly to ready this area for students returning this month.

Final lab reports indicate no elevated levels exist upon completion.

5/18/2007 - Peytonsville Rd., Franklin TN

Peytonsville Rd – Franklin, TN  May 18, 2007

Purchasing home and have discovered mold in the crawlspace, from an air conditioning

condensate leak dripping down from the second floor.  Also discovered mold behind wall

paper in many different areas throughout the home.  This home has sat vacant for a few

years and has contamination throughout .    

Bonus Room:  Mold and decay found under the window.  Wood Paneled Den: Mold and decay found under the flooring of the bay window area.  Removed the floor decking in this bay area to treat the floor joist below that were not accessible from the crawl space.  Dining Room: Mold and decay found around the opening to the kitchen and in the ceiling from the condensate leak above.  Also under the windows of the front wall.  Removed about a foot of the floor decking off this wall to treat the floor joist below the damaged plates.  Kitchen:  Removed the cabinets and flooring below, removed drywall behind the cabinets to expose and treat the plates.  Breakfast Nook:  Removed baseboards in the bay area and drywall up to the windows to expose damage.  Removed the floor decking to treat the floor joist below the damaged plates, not accessable from the crawl space.  Hall closet:  removed as much as possible to expose the wooden members for treatment.  Living Room:  Lots of mold and decay found under both windows pulled the drywall from the entire front wall, and side wall to the fireplace, to expose wooden members to the top plate for treatment.  Hall:  Treat drywall around the exterior door to the deck.  Master bedroom:  Removed base boards to treat plates, also removed floor decking in several suspect areas.  The inside wall at the floor had damage from a leaking vanity in adjacent powder room and some floor area in the walk in closet from the adjacent laundry room.  Powder room:  Removed baseboards, sink, vanity and commode, stopped the leaking, removed sub flooring and treated entire area.  Laundry Room:  Removed wall paper, removed drywall on one wall that was pitted from the mold, removed baseboards.  All wood members in this room was sprayed but in good shape.  Foyer:  pulled baseboards and found damage, front wall drywall was pulled to the first band and it was very contaminated, continued to pull drywall to the ceiling and around the corners to exposed and treat all wooden members in this area.  Upstairs Master:  The front wall was very contaminated.  Pulled all drywall to the ceiling and outside wall to the fireplace.  All wood below the windows and the plate had to be replaced; AMS cleaned all salvageable wood in this wall.  Removed about a foot of the floor decking off this wall to treat the floor joist below the damaged plates.  Front bedroom, repeated the same process as the master on the front wall.  Removed baseboards and drywall in closets that were adjacent to the closet with the leaking HVAC unit.  Removed baseboards, sub flooring and some drywall in the closet areas.  Back Bedroom:  Removed baseboards and drywall from the back wall at the window, and interior wall behind bathroom tub, and the wall adjacent to the attic space from a chimney leak.  Hall Bath:  removed the baseboards and drywall at the short tub wall, removed floor tile and treated area accordingly.  Hall Closet: removed all possible contaminated members around the HVAC unit and hall floor decking, and treated all accessible members.  All wall papered rooms in this home was contaminated.  AMS removed wall paper from these areas and treated the walls as necessary.  This was a huge job that took about a month to remediate and this home was about 5000 square feet.   Lab reports indicate no elevated levels exist after completion.

3/12/2007 - Alexandria TN

High Street – Alexandria TN  -

Home Inspector found mold in the crawl space there are low spots around the foundation that need to be filled to shed water away from the foundation. There is also a water heater in the crawlspace that had a small leak on a solder joint that was spraying up onto the floor system and a large amount of microbial growth was found in this area.  Spray treatment of all joists, gurters, decking and bands repeatedly drying between applications has successfully removed all contamination.  No damage to any wooden members under this home was found during this process.  AMS installed a 6mil vapor barrier in the crawl space based on standard construction procedures. 

NOTE:  No testing is normally done in a crawlspace, it is usually a visual and AMS recommends having the original home inspector to re-inspect for final.  Crawlspaces, attics and garages are considered outside space and since they have outside air flow to eliminate heat and humidity, testing is futile and expensive.