Written by Bob McGuire on December 16th, 2008

Mold

MOLD and FUNGUS Mold and Fungus is something that homeowners don’t like to talk about.  I’ve been working in basements for 25 years, and I am always the one to bring the subject up. Your average basement has mold in it whether you see it or not. You may be able to smell it even if you can’t see it. If your basement is not finished, air circulation and a dehumidifier should take care of the problem.  As a matter of fact, you should always use a dehumidifier in your basement, finished or not.  Also be sure to keep the heat ducts open in the basement.  This will guarantee air circulation.  In addition, be sure that there is a return air cutout into the furnace’s cold air side. This gets the air off the floor and into circulation. If you smell mold, install a good air-filter system that is rated for mold. If you walls begin to leak in a unfinished basement have it fixed by a professional as soon as possible.  Keep the floor dry until you get the leak fixed. If a leak should happen behind the walls of a finished basement, it can go for some time before the mold problem manifests.  Months may pass before you discover the actual leak.  The first indication may be carpeting getting wet after a rain.  Mold begins to grow in the carpet the first time the carpet gets wet. After a year of on-and-off leaking you should consider trashing the carpet and deodorizing the basement.  Again, it pays to call a professional right away. Below is a photo of one of our jobs.  What you are looking at is a mold or fungus growing on a door jamb and casing and the carpet. The leak had been ignored for quite a while.

Mold_In_Basement

This next photo below looks like standing water but actually the water had been drained.  What remained was a half-inch gelatinous layer of liquid black mold.  When things get this bad, you need a mold abatement contractor who would use negative air pressure during the clean-up. There is just too much potential risk to your health.  These mold abatement companies are required to have a special license.  Make certain they have one.

Black_Mold

The following video is showing our mold sprayer. Obviously it doesn’t remove mold but it does a good job of covering it up.  If the mold is fairly light we can spray and kill the odor and keep the mold from growing. This is a very inexpensive alternative to something else.