Crawl Space Mold Removal in Chattanooga, TN

A great many Chattanooga homes sit over a crawl space, from the older bungalows of Highland Park and St. Elmo to ranch houses in Brainerd and East Ridge. Those spaces are often the dampest part of the house. Rain runs off hillside lots toward the foundation, red clay holds water against it, and in summer the humid outdoor air drifting in through foundation vents meets cool wood and leaves condensation behind. Mold follows.

Homes up on Signal Mountain and Missionary Ridge are not exempt either. Houses built into a slope often have one side of the crawl space dug into the hill, where groundwater seeps through the block wall after every long rain, while the downhill side stays comparatively dry. Mold tends to concentrate on the uphill side, which is one reason we look at the whole space rather than just the spot you noticed.

Signs of Mold Under the House

• A musty smell in the rooms above, often strongest in summer
• White, gray or dark spotting on floor joists and the underside of the subfloor
• Insulation hanging down or holding moisture between joists
• Standing water or wet soil after rain
• Floors that feel soft or cupped, or doors that start to stick

How We Remove It

Crawl space work starts by finding out where the moisture is coming from, because cleaning wood that will be wet again next month is wasted money. We then remove wet or moldy insulation and debris, clean affected joists, beams and subfloor with HEPA vacuuming and scrubbing, and treat the cleaned surfaces. Badly damaged wood is pointed out so it can be evaluated for repair.

Keeping It From Coming Back

• Vapor barrier: covering bare soil with a sealed plastic barrier cuts down the moisture rising from the ground
• Drainage: gutters, downspout extensions and grading that move water away from the foundation
• Air control: on some homes, closing vents and drying the space with a dehumidifier works better than ventilation in our humid climate

Why It Matters Upstairs

Air moves up from a crawl space into the living space through gaps around pipes, ducts and wiring. That is why a moldy crawl space so often shows up as a smell in a bedroom or hallway, and why ductwork running through the crawl space deserves a look too; see our air duct mold removal service. If you are not sure what is going on under your floor, a mold inspection is a sensible first step.

Crawl space work is cramped and dirty, which is exactly why problems down there go unnoticed for so long. A look under the house once a year, or after any heavy storm that sent water toward the foundation, catches most problems while they are still small.