Need information! Please help!

October 1, 2006

Hi..we recently moved into a 20+ year old house. There were

moisture problems under the house as it does not have gutters. We

have not installed them yet but do have a sump pump now that is

supposed to be helping. I am having a horrible time. I have asthma

and while my other family members cough a little more only and are

not experiencing anything I wake up feeling so sick and having a

hard time breathing. I know it is the house because I have never

felt this bad before. We are planning on taking up the carpet as we

searched for mold everywhere and even had a home inspector but none

to be found. I feel it may be in the old carpet. I really need

your opinions on this as I don't have money to hire anyone to help

me and I don't know much about mold, etc. I plan on putting in

gutters when we save enough. I am sure that will help. I am hoping

I can last that long. I am willing to try and save up for either a

dehumidifier or a good air purifier for the house. We are a single

working family with 3 kids and either one of these is going to be a

real sacrifice so PLEASE...can anyone out there tell me which would

be the better way to go? I know the dehumidifier will be a couple

of thousand for under the house and that may help with the moisture

and I hear it kills mold if it is under a certain number of humidity

in the house OR would a GOOD air purifier be better since we are

getting the gutters and may not have a lot of moisture once we do

that. If the air purifier would be the way to go..does anyone have

any suggestions? Please, any help or advice from any of you

smarties ) out there would be so greatly appreciated. I am at my

wits end. No one knows how bad it feels to not be able to BREATHE

and be able to do anything about it and I also worry for the kids.

Please help! Laurie J.

PS-please feel free to write me off list at lbcmjohnson@....

Sorry this is so long!

October 3, 2006

Your description leaves out some critical information. First, what kind of

shape is the rest of the house in? Solving a drainage problem should

certainly alleviate part of the problem, but will be insufficient if water

is getting into walls or attic through roof leaks or holes in walls, even

simply bad caulk around doors and windows. Second, is the heat and/or air

conditioning run through ducts in the crawl space? If so, that may be a big

entryway for mold to get into the house from the crawl space. Dirty air

conditioners are often mold gardens, and can be even worse if sucking air

from leaky return ducts in a moldy crawl space. Sealing these ducts and

getting the furnace/air conditioner properly cleaned and disinfected can

help your problem a lot.

Under the house, do you see mold on the bottom of the floor joists? Is

there insulation there, and is the vapor barrier next to the floor, or do

you see kraft paper facing on the bottom, a common installation error?

Once gutters are installed, will water be directed sufficiently far from

the house to no longer be a problem? Is there drainage from the crawl space

that has plugged up and can be re-opened? Are there plumbing leaks under the

house?

A dehumidifier does not kill mold. It only slows its growth. To be

successful, it is essential that you stop the inflow of moisture to the

crawl space. That means closing vents, and also making sure there is a good

continuous vapor barrier on the entire crawl space surface to retard

intrusion of ground moisture.

Be careful taking up old carpet. Always wear a top quality dust mask, and

wash your hands, arms and face frequently. Degraded carpet can be quite an

irritant, even worse with mold.

Need information! Please help!

Posted by: " Laurie " lbcmjohnson@... lbcmjohnson

Date: Sun Oct 1, 2006 9:20 am (PDT)