Basement Crawl Space Mold

Preventing Mold Growth in Winter Rainy Season

Even if you don’t see or smell mold around your house, and your rooms are spotlessly clean, mold may still be present. Our rainy Bay Area winters create an ideal opportunity for mold to grow and multiply in hidden areas, like in your home’s crawl space, exterior walls and attic.

Although unseen, mold definitely makes its presence felt in unhealthy, destructive ways. Left unchecked, mold spores can ruin your indoor air quality, affecting your home comfort and your health. Stubborn mold can also embed itself in the wood elements within the structure of your home and cause significant damage over time.

How Mold Gets a Foothold

Mold growth comes from a perfect combination of issues, like wet winter weather, unnoticed roof leaks in the attic or crawl spaces, crawl space plumbing pipe leaks, water drainage problems around the foundation, condensation from home heating, or a missing or compromised vapor barrier within your home’s insulation system.

Without a proper vapor barrier, condensation can occur when warmed indoor air contrasts with chilly winter air on the outside of your home’s walls. Condensation moisture can compromise insulation, cause water damage and rot, which is sparked by mold growth in your home.

Best Tips to Prevent Mold Growth at Home 

Here’s how to banish mold from out-of-the-way spots your home:

  1. Keep indoor humidity under 40 percent.
  2. Vent exhaust fans and clothes dryers to the outside, so moist air isn’t directed into your attic or crawl spaces.
  3. Consider a basement dehumidifier.
  4. Open crawl space vents throughout the winter whenever the weather allows.
  5. Store clothes and books/paper away from the floor and walls, especially in the basement or attic.
  6. Clean gutters and extend downspouts to improve drainage around your home if needed.
  7. Insulate pipes to prevent within-wall condensation.
  8. Ensure that rainwater flows and drains away from your home, so it cannot pool in low areas surrounding the house and seep through your foundation underground.
  9. Investigate and fix the source of any condensation you notice on windows, walls, or pipes.
  10. Consider hiring professional insulation and vapor barrier installers in the Bay Area.

Looking for Expert Vapor Barrier Installation in the Bay Area?

At Element Home Solutions, we make sure your attic and crawl spaces are properly insulated, including a vapor barrier, which helps prevent future condensation and mold. We also remove and replace any moisture-damaged insulation to maintain your home’s long-term comfort and energy efficiency.

Let Element Home Solutions find and eliminate hidden, destructive mold in your Bay Area home’s crawl spaces and attic. We also take steps to hinder mold re-growth to rid your home of mold for good.

Contact the professional insulation and vapor barrier installers at Element Home Solutions, today.