Crawl Space Repair Photo Album: Mold Remediation in Scottsville, KY

High humidity levels led to visible mold growth on the floor joists of a home in Scottsville, KY, prompting the owners to call Frontier for professional remediation. Our team addressed the issue head-on using soda blasting, an exceptionally effective cleaning method that safely restores wood framing back to its natural, pristine condition. By eliminating the mold growth directly at the source, we successfully sanitized the subfloor structure, ensuring a healthier and safer environment for the entire home.

Moisture Issues

Checking moisture levels in the crawl space.

Wood Moisture Reading

Checking moisture levels in the wood floor joists.

Mold Issues

Much like the basement, the nature of your crawl space lends itself to moisture issues and mildew growth. Crawl spaces are dark and often damp due to moisture from the ground or other causes. Mold forms essentially wherever oxygen and moisture are present, so it's no surprise that crawl spaces can become a breeding ground for mold.

Mold in the Insulation

Mold in your crawl space can have a number of negative effects on your entire home. Not only can mold in your crawl space lead to wood rot, resulting in structural damage, but it also impacts your indoor air quality, leading to poor health outcomes for you and your family. This includes sneezing, coughing, wheezing, burning eyes, stuffy nose, skin rash, and more.

Mold on Wooden Floor Joists

Once you've noticed mold or mildew in the crawl space, it is important to reach out to a mold removal specialist to handle existing mold problems.

Mold and Wood

When wood is in a humid environment it absorbs moisture from the air. When the moisture content in the wood is elevated for long, mold grows. Active mold in your crawl space produces airborne spores that are circulated through the house into the living areas. People with asthma and allergies will react to the mold. If someone does not have sensitivities to mold, they can develop them by prolonged exposure to mold spores.

Mold Before Treatment

Visible mold on the floor joists and insulation before our treatments begin.

Treating Mold

To clean the mold there are a few options. Chemicals such as peroxides can kill the mold, but the mold is still there. Sodium hypochorite, otherwise known as bleach, will introduce large quantities of harmful chemicals into your home that off gas for some time. The best alternative is soda blasting. It uses sodium bicarbonate, otherwise known as baking soda - yes the same baking soda you bake a cake with.

Why soda blasting?

Sodium Bicarbonate is a granular powder that is non-toxic, food grade, with no vapors or offgassing. It is blown with air at high pressure at the infected lumber. The mold is blown off without damaging the lumber, and falls to the floor.

More About Soda Blasting

The mold is killed by the blasting action and the soda instantly changes the ph, so what falls is not active mold, but simply inert dust.

After Treatment

After soda blasting the lumber looks almost like new. The mold and it's negative effects are gone.

Mold Removal Complete

After the soda blasting treatment the wood floor joists look like new. Now it's time for clean up and a then we move to the next phase of the project, an encapsulation.