Allergy Alert for Champaign, Illinois

CASE HISTORY: Crawl space mold remediation

Introduction

Tom C. approached us about indoor air quality issues in his 100 year old farm house in east central Illinois.  The original home was built mostly over a basement and small 350 sq ft crawl space.  A 600 sq ft addition was added later and built over a crawl space.  The home was heated by two furnaces: one in the newer crawl space and one in the basement.  Tom’s allergies didn’t subside in the winter like he thought they should.

 

Initial Problem and Complaint
  • Customer complained about allergies which never lessened in the winter
  • Home smelled musty, especially in basement & near crawl space opening
  • When entering crawl space to change furnace filter, coughing and breathing problems ensued

 

 

 

 

Inspection Results
  • Dirt crawl space floor
  • Condensation on band joists
  • Moldy trash and debris on crawl space floor
  • Moldy insulation
  • Mold growth on wood components in crawl space
  • High mold counts in home

 

 

 

 

Above (left and right) debris in unsealed crawl space.

 

Above (left) floor joists before remediation. Above (right) floor joists after remediation and sealant application.

 

Corrective Measures
  • Remove mold using dry ice blasting
  • Install sump basin and sump pump
  • Apply mold resistant coating
  • Encapsulate crawl spaces with vapor barrier

 

 

 

(Above six) Before and after pictures of crawl space encapsulation.

 

 

Conclusions
  • Spore counts decreased 97% on the first floor from a high of 3,900 spores/m3 to 100 spores/m3.
  • Mold counts throughout the home decreased to background levels
  • Numbers & kinds of mold spores observed indicative of outdoor origin
  • Customer's allergy symptoms improved
  • Coughing and breathing problems related to crawl space mold eliminated

 

Full report: CS_Spores_Tom_C