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Homeowners in Chrisney, IN knew that their dirt crawl space had excess moisture in the air causing mold and could eventually lead to structural damage.
BEFORE: Moisture that enters the crawl space through the soil or vents can ruin insulation and also encourage mold growth and wood rot.
AFTER: Healthy Spaces installed a vapor barrier liner. Installing a vapor barrier will not only create a healthier living space but can save you money on your utility bills. We recommended doing a full encapsulation with our CleanSpace Vapor Barrier because it's the most effective in preventing water vapor and humidity from passing through. It also protects your structure and insulation from mold. But they asked to wait a couple of months before doing a full encapsulation in their crawl space.
Our friends from Jasper, IN were experiencing a damp, nasty crawl space. They began to notice an order, and as time progressed, the smell worsened. Friends and family that entered the home began to notice the smell when they walked in as well. One night, these homeowners heard our ad on the radio and decided to give us a call.
Upon sending our System Design Specialist to do an inspection in the crawl space, we were able to pinpoint why the odors were coming from the crawl space. Mold had taken over, and the exposed earth was causing moisture and humidity. From here, our Design Specialist went over what could be done to solve these issues with the homeowner.
For starters, a mold remediation cleaning process would need to be done to begin the crawl space transformation. After this, a full CleanSpace encapsulation system to seal the outside earth from the crawl space. Lastly, a SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier will keep any crawl space dry. It is a high-efficiency system that takes up to 100 pints of water per day. Since the crawl space is now a bright, healthy, functional, and dry space, it is perfect for storage and also increased the health of everyone in the family.
The key to solving your crawl space problem is to turn your nasty crawl space into a nice crawl space, which is exactly what our client in Jasper, IN did! Their home previously had a 6 mil polyethylene ground cover, but because it wasn't sealed at the perimeter up the walls, and because the vents were left open, this crawl space had a lot of moisture that eventually turned to mold. Another big problem with 6 mil poly is that it easily rips and gets holes poked in it when you crawl on it. This is not a permanent solution!
The team at Healthy Spaces installed drainage matting underneath the CleanSpace liner, which allows water to flow to a sump in a crawl space that already has a concrete floor. Next, we sealed the entire crawl space with a 20 mil thick plastic liner, similar to a pool liner called CleanSpace. This bright white crawl space liner installs on the walls and floors, preventing water vapor and humidity from passing through.
We service Jasper, Ferdinand, Huntingburg, and many nearby areas in Indiana and Kentucky.
This is a current project that our crawlspace installation team is working on today. They are completing a crawlspace encapsulation on a home with an old style vapor barrier and have just completed installing SilverGlo over the foundation walls to help the crawlspace be more energy efficient. Once the SilverGlo is installed, they will be removing the black plastic and putting down the CleanSpace engineered film to fully isolate the crawlspace from groundwater intrusion and outside air! We're looking forward to more photos as the day progresses!
Fordsville, KY, like most of the surrounding areas has two struggles to deal with: high groundwater levels and lots of dirt floor crawlspaces. The combination of the two creates a crawlspace mold epidemic that has largely been ignored by many residents until the mold infestation is quite advanced. After all, how often do we really inspect our crawlspaces? As you can see here, the mold situation in this Fordsville crawlspace was advanced and causing issues like musty, damp smells throughout the home, increased indoor allergies, and more frequent sinus related and respiratory illnesses. When the homeowners went to inspect the crawlspace, they discovered that mold was growing over practically every surface in the crawlspace. The homeowners immediately contacted Healthy Spaces to get the crawlspace remediated.
Donnie Stutesville, a mold remediation expert with Healthy Spaces, came out and inspected the crawlspace. He recommended a three pronged approach to resolving the crawlspace mold and moisture issues:
1. Remediate the mold and fungus
2. Remove standing water, debris, and the like
3. Seal the crawlspace with a vapor barrier
Donnie recommended both a mold/fungus treatment and a preventative coating to stop regrowth. He explained that the mold and fungus treatment would need to be scrubbed off of all surfaces to remove the dead fungi and spores, then that debris would need to be removed prior to coating the entire crawlspace with a preventative solution. In addition, the crawlspace needed a water removal system with sump pump and a dehumidifier. Finally, the entire crawlspace needed a powerful vapor barrier installed to prevent the crawlspace from becoming moldy again. You can see in the after photo that the mold removal was successful and the wood looks great with it's clear preventative coating in place!