Started By
Message
locked post

Mold in crawlspace

Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:07 pm
Posted by S1C EM
Athens, GA
Member since Nov 2007
11594 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:07 pm
A couple months ago, I discovered that our chimney was leaking from somewhere up top down directly into the bottom of the firebox in the crawlspace. No water ever entered anywhere inside the house or the fireplace. It was sheer luck that I found it as it was hidden behind a bunch of insulation. The area where the water had clearly been leaking to in the crawl had developed a bit of white mold growth. The guy that I had repair the chimney went under and scraped off the mold that he could and then sprayed it down with a bleach solution (which I have since read doesn't really do a whole lot to kill mold as it can't reach into the pores of the wood to kill the actual mold membrane). He also sprayed it down with something called Mold Control (sodium carbonate, I believe).

I went to check it out about a month later and it looked like this:



Some of the white mold was still there, as you can see above. So, I sprayed it down with distilled white vinegar which my research indicates is better than bleach for this type of thing. That was two weeks ago. Today, I went back under to check again and found this:



It looks like the white mold did die, but if you look at the upper and lower left corners and couple of other spots, you will notice a new turquoise-green color/growth. My question is, what is this? A different mold variety? Mildew? Some sort of color change that white mold goes through when dying/dead?

Need some input on what's going on here and some insight on how to fix it. I've read up on a few mold remediation companies here and found they use hydrogen peroxide. Have also heard copper sulfate works, but have seen other information indicating mold can adapt to higher copper ion levels and thus, not be significantly affected by it.

Any advice is appreciated!

#inb4yourhousehasAIDS
Posted by Sarge
whodatmofo
Member since Dec 2008
14221 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:10 pm to
They have some excellent mold killer(Mold Control) at Home Depot. A bit pricey, but it works. Other than that, torch the house, save the family, and take only what you can carry.
Posted by S1C EM
Athens, GA
Member since Nov 2007
11594 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:11 pm to
quote:

Mold Control
That first pic is a month after he applied that stuff.

quote:

Other than that, torch the house, save the family, and take only what you can carry.


Posted by Sarge
whodatmofo
Member since Dec 2008
14221 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:13 pm to
Honestly, I just looked at the pics and read the first two sentences. Apologies, but maybe have him apply it more than once?
Posted by S1C EM
Athens, GA
Member since Nov 2007
11594 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:19 pm to
I'm gonna try it again for sure. What about hydrogen peroxide? And any idea why the white in the corners turned green?
Posted by weadjust
Member since Aug 2012
15818 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:20 pm to
Posted by Rouge
Floston Paradise
Member since Oct 2004
138859 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:20 pm to
I would run air testing and maybe a swab test to see exactly what type of fungal growth you are dealing with.

Might not be a big deal...at all
Posted by Capital Cajun
Over Yonder
Member since Aug 2007
5634 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:44 pm to
Is the wood still wet? It looks that way from the pics.
Posted by S1C EM
Athens, GA
Member since Nov 2007
11594 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 12:48 pm to
Not as far back as I can reach. I believe most of that is staining/the dead white mold. I was under there during a heavy rain after the chimney repair and saw no evidence of the leak still being present.
Posted by puffulufogous
New Orleans
Member since Feb 2008
6391 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 2:55 pm to
You have to control the humidity down there or you're not going to have any luck controlling the mold. Get a hygrometer
Posted by wickowick
Head of Island
Member since Dec 2006
46426 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 2:59 pm to
Typically bright green mold is new mold growth, get a moisture meter and test to see if the wood is dry...
Posted by S1C EM
Athens, GA
Member since Nov 2007
11594 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 3:15 pm to
quote:

You have to control the humidity down there or you're not going to have any luck controlling the mold. Get a hygrometer



Will look into this. It's not humid down there and there is already a dehumidifier close to that area. Still worth checking.
Posted by S1C EM
Athens, GA
Member since Nov 2007
11594 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 3:18 pm to
quote:

Typically bright green mold is new mold growth, get a moisture meter and test to see if the wood is dry...



Interesting. We had rain since he first sprayed the mold control and just had that white stuff (which, according to mold control's label, overspray can leave a white residue.....). It wasn't until after I sprayed the vinegar and the white disappeared that the green showed up. Odd. I did go down and spray more mold control about an hour ago. Definitely need to test the wood for dampness.
Posted by SEC. 593
Chicago
Member since Aug 2012
4417 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 3:20 pm to
Buy some Fiberlock Shockwave (RTU disinfectant) and a pump sprayer. Spray once every other day for a week. If you want to prevent from ever happening again, spray with Kilz primer.
This post was edited on 11/19/17 at 3:21 pm
Posted by STLDawg
The Lou
Member since Apr 2015
4615 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 3:21 pm to
You've done your due diligence, but I can't comment unless I know what species the mold is. You may need more specific testing.
Posted by CoachChappy
Member since May 2013
34335 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 3:27 pm to
Kilz was made for stuff like this.
Posted by Ashwednesday666
Gulf Coast to New Orleans
Member since Dec 2016
152 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 3:29 pm to
Bora care with mold care
Posted by S1C EM
Athens, GA
Member since Nov 2007
11594 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 3:45 pm to
quote:

You've done your due diligence, but I can't comment unless I know what species the mold is. You may need more specific testing


I'm going to let that last application of mold control dry and check again in a week or so. I'll see about getting someone to moisture test the wood after that. My concern,is whether or not there is still a leak in the chimney. It's just odd because I saw no evidence of such when I was down there and it was raining.

Do you agree that the green I'm seeing is new growth? If that is the case, there's got to be something going on for it to be growing in spite of the vinegar application. You'd think it wouldn't grow so readily after that.
Posted by CelticDog
Member since Apr 2015
42867 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 4:11 pm to
Hydrogen peroxide works.
Posted by Yewkindewit
Near Birmingham, Alabama
Member since Apr 2012
22030 posts
Posted on 11/19/17 at 6:23 pm to
What about that RMR-86 product, rapid mold remover sold by Lowe’s, Home Depot, and The Walmarks...
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 2Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookXInstagram