Water Seepage Causes Mold in the Home in Ocean, NJ

Challenge

The Mold Solutions team was dispatched to a home in Ocean Township, NJ to assess a mold problem in the crawl space. Crawl spaces and basements are notorious for mold growth because of their high relative humidity. Many crawl spaces are still vented, allowing thick, humid outside air to enter, not to mention insects and other pests. In addition, crawl spaces are prime spots for mold growth because the home foundation is often surrounded by water-saturated soil. With the level of annual rainfall and snow in New Jersey, we deal with wet ground and a high water table, the level at which the water and soil are completely saturated with water, throughout most of the year. All of this dangerous, property-damaging groundwater is looking for any cracks or openings in the foundation to enter your crawl space.

With this residence, there was a significant amount of groundwater leaking into the crawl space because of a crack in a crawl space block. And with this stagnant water pooled on the crawl space floor, mold growth soon followed.

Crawl space mold growth is also a problem because that area of the home is hardly ever inspected, so problems can fester for a long time before it is noticed. No one likes going down below to check things out, hunched over with a flashlight in a dark, dank space. Even if the mold is out of sight, mold-contaminated air invades the living spaces, degrading the home’s air quality and potentially causing respiratory problems for the home residents, especially with the very young and elderly. In this case, the homeowner realized that there was a potential mold problem in the crawl space because its characteristic musky, pungent odor started to permeate the living spaces above.

Solution

First, we treated the entire crawl space 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.

Next, 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.