Crawl space mold cleanup


  #1  
Old 04-06-17, 04:02 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: USA
Posts: 8
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Crawl space mold cleanup

So we bought a house where the crawl space has some fungal growth on the wood joists that we're going to get treated along with taking care of the drainage issues causing this. I have a few questions regarding this as we got different quotes and solutions.

Is it better to hand wipe the fungal growth or spray with something like RMR? One company recommended just spraying while two others said they would hand wipe the joists.

Should the vapor barrier be replaced after fungal removal? Two of the companies said the original vapor barrier still looks good so no need to replace it, but wouldn't the fungal spores fall on it during cleaning?

And would it be best to do the clean up before moving in to avoid the fungal spores and chemicals traveling up and covering all our stuff?

Thanks for your help.
 
  #2  
Old 04-07-17, 11:09 AM
airman.1994's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: VA
Posts: 5,491
Upvotes: 0
Received 8 Upvotes on 8 Posts
Hand wiping isn't necessary with all the good chemicals on the market. Your crawlspace should be under negative pressure during this work to keep anything from going into your home. If the VB isn't going up the walls to at least ground height and the seams aren't sealed then the VB needs to be replaced.
 
  #3  
Old 04-07-17, 11:12 AM
airman.1994's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: VA
Posts: 5,491
Upvotes: 0
Received 8 Upvotes on 8 Posts
I don't see that RMR is EPA approved. This is a must IMO! The product must be EPA approved for its specific use are I'm not going to use it.
 
  #4  
Old 04-14-17, 06:32 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: USA
Posts: 8
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I was looking at some natural ways to remove fungal growth from woo joists in the crawl space, such as vinegar, tea tree oil, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. Has anybody had any luck with these?

How would we create negative air pressure in the crawl during clean up?

Thanks!
 
  #5  
Old 04-15-17, 04:30 AM
chandler's Avatar
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 36,607
Upvotes: 0
Received 9 Upvotes on 8 Posts
It wasn't mentioned, but is the crawl space encapsulated? Do you have active venting? Natural ways of removing the fungii may work...........eventually, but unless you have the time to devote to the situation, I would use a product such as Airman suggests, get rid of it all, and move on. We can tell you better how to create the negative atmosphere once the first two questions are answered.
 
  #6  
Old 04-18-17, 09:28 AM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: USA
Posts: 8
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
The crawl space is not encapsulated, it has open vents and a vapor barrier on the ground. Most of the water intrusion is coming from the vents so I will be installing vent wells to minimize this. But I did want to create negative air pressure during the cleanup like Airman suggested just not sure how. Thanks.
 
  #7  
Old 04-18-17, 03:13 PM
chandler's Avatar
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 36,607
Upvotes: 0
Received 9 Upvotes on 8 Posts
With venting you can't create pure "negative" atmosphere, but a cross breeze ventilation set up. You will be evacuating the air if you set a fan at the crawlspace opening pointed outward and allow it to draw air from the furthest vents. It isn't as scientific as the HazMat people use, but it will work.
 
  #8  
Old 04-20-17, 02:23 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: USA
Posts: 8
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I plan on taking care of the moisture intrusion and then sealing the vents, once the vents are sealed can I create a pure negative atmosphere at that point?
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description: