If you suddenly find your house smelling old and musty, it could be an indicator of the presence of excessive moisture. Poor ventilation combined with high humidity are more than likely the musty culprit. Did you know however, what you're smelling is the release of mold spores? The spores have the potential to be dangerous in and of itself given the right conditions. Additionally, that unpleasant smell lingering in your home may be a sign of active mold growth that can trigger allergies and respiratory problems.
Mold is a fungus that penetrates and grows on a lot of surfaces within your home, such as that block of cheese, in the crawl space in your basement or inside the wet drywall where the faucet leaks. Mold is usually black or green in color and grows in raised patches.
There are always some mold spores present in the air. In normal conditions, these don’t present a problem. If the conditions are right for spores to multiply however, they will do so. When you can detect the musty odor, you know you’re dealing with a high volume of spores.
If you’ve located the source and spot-treated the affected area, circulated in fresh air and cleaned your home, yet the smell lingers, you may have a bigger problem on your hands that requires professional attention.
Over half of the air in your home is coming up through gaps and crevices in your flooring from a basement or crawl space.
A crawl space continually has moisture evaporating from wet soil under your home, creating a damp, stagnant environment which comes up into your home. If it's a basement without waterproofing measures in place, there's a similar moisture problem through the foundation. Moisture in and under the home leads to musty odors in your living spaces.
Don’t let the problem linger for too long before calling in an expert to locate and eliminate the issue. Your nose knows there is an issue. Trust it. Schedule your on-site consultation with The Crawlspace Ace today.
