crawlspace lack of ventilation and BOG

[Jerry Lozier]

2008 custom home, lack of ventilation w/ extensive high moisture indicators, rust, condensation 4000 sq '+ crawlspace....radiant hot water floor heat plus high efficency gas forced air

spotty areas of beginnings black organic growth/ mildew/ mold between floor batts and subfloor.... pictures to follow later today....sorry

Obviously ventilation needs drastic improvement and at minimum that will be the recommendation,

HOWEVER: what say you on killing the BOG i.e pull down insulation, spray with borate solution a couple times, dry out with blowers and heaters, reinstall insulation.

WHAT would be your best recommendation (besides:run)

I hate to get a mold eradication company involved unless necessary, any other thoughts

[Tom Raymond]

...on killing the BOG i.e pull down insulation, spray with borate solution a couple times, dry out with blowers and heaters, reinstall insulation.

You could do that, or if it's as spotty as you say-document it well, remove the conducive conditions, come back and check on it's growth rate. Either way the BOG will still be there, dead or messed with and dead.

I'd opt for the long lasting, non-toxic, comes with a re-inspection fee approach myself.

[hausdok]

Yeah,

Fix the ventilation first, then deal with the fungi.

One doesn't have to be a remediation firm or a rocket scientist or a "mold specialist" to apply BoraCare or Timbor; however, neither will make the stuff disappear. Even if it's dead and non-viable after treatment, the stuff will still be there when they go to sell the house later on. If the buyers hire an inspector who cringes and freaks at the sight of a little fungi, it could be an obstacle that will be expensive to overcome.

You could kill it and cover it with something like Concrobium, but that's like putting out a big sign that says "MOLD!!!," and in my opinion is worse than just treating it, leaving it there and reporting it to the next buyer.

Soda blasting also is not rocket science. It takes a rented pressure-type soda blaster, a rented air compressor and media purchased over the net to be able to thoroughly scour the underside of the floor. Your guy could pull the insulation down, nuke the stuff with Bora-Care to kill it (I like Bora Care because it's mixed with glycerin and diffuses into the wood up to about an inch and a half), wait a day or two for full penetration, soda-blast the underside of the floor so that they're pretty again, reapply a fresh spray of Bora Care to keep the surface Chernobyl-like for fungi, reinstall the insulation and clean the place up - all for a fraction of what it would cost to have one of the "mold specialists" do it.

The only problem with this approach is if the guy does it wrong and the stuff comes back. Then all of the fingers are pointed at you and all you'll hear is, "But, but, Jerry said......!!"

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Marc]

What's BOG?

Marc

[Chad Fabry]

What's BOG?

Marc

A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens.

Or, "black organic growth" aka mold, or ewwww

[Jerry Lozier]

Heres some photos, pulled back insulation in about a dozen random places, only found a couple places that had no splotches, some were on TJI's, some none on TJI's

Not a significant amount but on a 3 year old home certainly an indicator of where this could go without fixing conducive conditions especially lack of cross ventilation/ perimeter vents

typical

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couple with no spots

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[Jim Katen]

. . . what say you on killing the BOG i.e pull down insulation, spray with borate solution a couple times, dry out with blowers and heaters, reinstall insulation.

WHAT would be your best recommendation (besides:run)

I hate to get a mold eradication company involved unless necessary, any other thoughts

Here's my approach. It's too long winded but I don't have time to make it shorter:

Here's the problem, blah, blah, mold, blah, blah. It's caused by moisture, blah, blah, blah.

Here's what you should do to to address the moisture, blah, blah, blah.

In my opinion, there’s no need to apply chemicals to kill the mold. If you reduce moisture levels there, the mold will not continue to grow. If you fail to reduce moisture levels, the mold will continue to grow whether or not you have applied chemicals. If you wish to apply a chemical treatment to satisfy your own concerns or the concerns of others, then I recommend you hire a pest control contractor to apply an EPA registered fungicide such as Boracare with Moldcare, Sporicidin, Concrobium, or something similar.

In my opinion, there’s no need to do anything about the existing staining. If you find the presence of existing staining on the sheathing to be unacceptable, paint the sheathing with a stain-killing product such as Kilz or Bin. This will cover the stains and, more important, it will provide a clean surface that will reveal future mold growth. These products will not kill mold.

[Jerry Lozier]

thank you guys for the comments

[Denray]

Seal the soil off with plastic sheeting too.