Mold Growing Behind the Couch in Lakewood, NJ
Challenge
Recently, we were sent out to a home in Lakewood, NJ to treat a basement mold problem. This homeowner had kept a couch flush up against a basement wall. He decided to get rid of the couch and when he moved it, there was an unpleasant surprise waiting for him: the couch was hiding heavy mold growth on the basement wall.
Generally, when treating mold with our particular process, it is not necessary to remove building materials, including sheetrock, unless they are water-damaged and there is a loss of structural integrity. Often, we treat the mold right where it sits and leave the building materials alone. However, with any mold problem, it is critical to identify and correct the water intrusion event that caused the mold growth in the first place. otherwise, the mold will eventually return. In this case, we needed to remove enough sheetrock to determine what was causing the mold growth. We immediately identified the water intrusion problem: A crack in the foundation allowed for groundwater leakage into the basement.
Solution
The homeowner is going to contract with a basement waterproofer to fix the groundwater problem. In the meantime, we treated the basement with an antimicrobial application called MAPS 1, which stands for Mold Abatement Polymer Solutions. MAPS 1 is an EPA registered product that attacks mold on a cellular level and immediately kills it. Next, we used our mold stain remover and scrubbed away all the mold growth throughout the crawl space.
Afterward, we applied our patented sealant called MAPS 2. MAPS 2 is a moisture-sensitive application that encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders it harmless, inert, and non-allergenic. One of the best features of MAPS 2 is that it will reactivate whenever it gets wet to prevent future mold growth. Dehumidification is the single most important preventative step a homeowner can take to prevent mold growth. Chronically high indoor humidity levels are one of the most common causes of mold growth. For this homeowner, we installed a Sanidry Sedona dehumidifier. These efficient, high-performance dehumidifiers are specifically designed to work in the damp challenging environments of basements and crawl spaces. They operate automatically and empty into the home’s sump pump or directly outside, so there is no water tray to empty. These dehumidifiers reduce musty crawl space and basement odors and dramatically improve a home’s indoor air quality.
