Before & After Photos

Mold is a serious health concern and many of the homes in the Poseville area suffer from it.  Mold occurs when the indoor humidity levels are high, the area is warm, and there is organic material for the mold to feed on.  This set of criteria describes crawlspaces perfectly.  From the dirt floor to the wooden sub-floor joists, there is a great deal of organic material for mold to feed on.  Here, you can see the mold and fungus growing along the wooden joists in this crawlspace.  The whitish blobs are actually spider sacks (the closer white mark in the upper left) and fungal growth (present on second joist from the front).  In the second picture, you can see the first joist has received a mold treatment and scrub down to remove the fungus.  For contrast, you can still see the Mold-X treatment on the bottom of the joist, which will be scrubbed next.  Mold removal isn't going to fix this crawlspace because the underlying humidity issues are still present.  After the mold has been removed, the entire crawlspace will be encapsulated with CleanSpace, the most technologically advanced vapor barrier on the market.  It's going to reduce water intrusion and allow the crawlspace to be "conditioned space" when a dehumidifier called a SaniDry is installed.

These Wadesville, IN homeowners were struggling against a nasty, smelly, musty crawlspace with periodic flooding for years.  They finally decided to have Healthy Spaces remediate and transform their crawlspace by installing a new door, CleanSpace vapor barrier, water removal system with SuperSump sump pump, and a full mold remediation.  

The feature that truly makes the most visual difference is the new Everlast Crawlspace Entry door.  As you can see in the above picture, the crawlspace entry was originally blocked with a painted piece of plywood.  The problem with plywood, and any organic material, is that it degrades so quickly in the elements.  The wood warps and swells, causing the paint to chip and bubble.  The whole entry becomes an eyesore very quickly.  On top of that, it becomes a petry dish for mold and fungus and is very inefficient energy-wise.

The new Everlast crawlspace door is a durable plastic that won't warp, bubble, bend, or fade through the seasons.  It maintains its shape and keeps a consistent seal along the entryway, allowing the crawlspace itself to remain drier and temperature constant than previously.  As you can see, it's a neutral shade that attractively blends with the home and it will remain that way for years to come.

Mold is never a good thing.  Sometimes, it's caused by a flooding crawlspace, increased groundwater, and other easy to combat issues.  Other times, the source of the moisture feeding the mold is a bit harder to detect.  In this Corydon, KY home, the source of the moisture took several months to discover and by that time, the mold growth was explosive!  The problem began with a small leak in the line coming out from the washing machine.  It was a dripping that traveled along the pipe and was virtually undetectable because it was happening within the walls.  After time, the surrounding area was so moist that the drywall collapsed upon itself at a touch.  The surrounding carpet and pad, subfloor, and pipes were all covered in a thick layer of mold.  

As you can see in the before picture, the mold was growing all over the area, which was hidden beneath the house and was only visible in the crawlspace.  It wasn't until a design specialist from Healthy Spaces took a look at the crawlspace that the damage was finally revealed.  It's suspected that the leak had been occurring for at least 9 months before it was severe enough to be detected.

The after photo shows the amazing difference that the mold remediation team at Healthy Spaces created.  They treated the affected area with Biocide and Forticell to kill the mold, then thoroughly scrubbed every surface to remove the spores and dead mold.  After removing the debris, they made sure the leak had been resolved and were able to repair any damage from the mold in the subfloor.

Mildew was a recent concern for a client out in Lawrenceville, IL.  The client was concerned with the high humidity lingering in the crawlspace, along with a damp floor that was slowly causing mildew to grow. The mildew appeared in closets on the main floor above.  The crawlspace was open, which created humidity and moisture in the air of the crawl space. When it is open, bringing in continuous moisture, it affects the energy that is being lost. 

Controlling air infiltration is the key to energy conservation in a building.  The top priority is to close up the giant holes in a crawl space wall while also eliminating the reason, such as exposed damp earth, that those holes were put there in the first place.  A crawl space vent was used to permanently cover the outside, and to stop unwanted outside air from entering the crawl space.  Encapsulation also helps the crawl space by sealing the floor from air leaks, and since problems in a crawl space need to be permanently fixed, it was added.  A closed crawlspace and encapsulation will conclusively end the cycle of mildew from the floor above. 

Here, you can see the old sump pump system before the installation team replaced it.  The pump does not have a lid, which created a bad situation--when the pump became overwhelmed, it simply allowed the water to pour out on top of the liner!

In the second picture, you can see that the installation team has completed the installation of a cast-iron Zoeller® sump pump with a reliable liner, a sump alarm, and a battery back up system.  The SmartSump and the CleanSpace are designed to fit together in a way that keep moisture in the pump, not on top of the liner.