Spring and Summer months are a little different when you work in the basement industry

  One of my avid readers brought something to my attention today. I recently wrote about the smells in a crawlspace coming into a home and how they get worse in the Spring and Summer. Well I guess I got sidetracked and forgot to explain why this happens. Fear not, I’m here to correct that mistake.

  When I was an inspector I used to notice that people asked a lot about humidity and what was an acceptable level. In the heat of summer, especially in the low laying areas of Delmarva, the humidity can read very high. The same is true of the wet and rainy Springtime.

Humidity is basically the measure of how much moisture or water was in the air. The optimum level is to have a 55% relative humidity in the crawlspace or basement. At 55% relative humidity, mold growth is not possible.

It's important to remember that mold needs three things to spread. It needs a food source like wood or paper - anything that was once alive. We can’t get rid of the wood and paper in homes because that’s what they build houses out of so this is a difficult factor to control. The next thing is the mold spores are always in the air - you are breathing them in as you read this. This is also a very difficult aspect to control. Lastly, mold needs moisture to grow. Since we aren’t going down in the crawlspace with a garden hose, mold must be getting its water from some other place. This factor we can control. But where could the source of moisture be coming from? It's coming from the humidity in the air that is entering the below grade space. If the humidity is between 55% and 70%, then mold has a chance to grow. When the humidity hits 70%, it is almost certainly spreading.

  Getting back to the original point of smells, mold comes with a scent. When you think of a flower, you probably think of a nice pleasant smell. Mold is basically an organic flowering of spores that stink. So when the humidity is higher, during Spring and Summer months, then the mold spreads much easier in your crawlspace or basement, causing more smells. This is also why you might not think there is a problem if you go down to look in November or December.

 At DryZone LLC, our inspectors and specialists have the experience and know-how to detect where mold growth conditions are optimum.  Our basement and crawl space products are designed to limit the moisture conditions in your below grade space, allowing for less smells  - even in the higher humid conditions of Spring and Summer.  Let us come inspect your space today to determine the best waterproofing solution for your home.