mold in crawl space but not in the duct work (house, neighborhoods)

[rm10269123]

is this common in most homes w crawl spaces? the house we want has a crawl space and has mold, but it's not in the duct work..my husband is leaning towards not buying advise?

[BC1960]

No, its not common. It indicates there is a moisture problem in the crawl space.

[Langerhans]

Originally Posted by BC1960

No, its not common. It indicates there is a moisture problem in the crawl space.

Actually, mold is quite common in crawlspaces where grading is uneven or nonexistent. This is especially common in older neighborhoods where the flood plains weren't mapped out before construction was planned and approved.

Depending upon the age of the house and the extent of the mold, there may be remedies available. The first thing that you'd have to do if there is standing water under your house after a rain storm is to install a French drain which is a trench that is dug under the house at the perimeter and filled with gravel. At the end of the trench is a plastic basin/ bucket outfitted with a pump to pump the water out. This does a very good job of evacuating the water quickly. It's not too expensive. To see if there's standing water under your house, look into the crawl space twenty minutes after a rain storm.

If you go that route, you might as well as go the full route and have the crawl space encapsulated with heavy vinyl to keep the humidity at a minimum after a rain. (Heavy vinyl @ fifty to seventy cents per square foot). The full Monty would be to install a humidity meter and a blower that turns on when the humidity level exceeds 20%. (really not necessary). The mildew can be killed with a solution of sodium hypochloride (Clorox) applied directly to the wood with a sponge. (This is best left to a professional). The application of sodium hypochloride may not be necessary

If you had the house inspected, you should have been given a humidity reading. The acceptable humidity reading in a crawlspace is 17-20%.


Hire crawl space specialists to look for rot and bug infestation and to give you estimates on fixing the problems. They'll do it for free, but since you haven't bought the house yet, you'll need the owners' permission. At that price you can afford six inspections. The owners will probably like to know what's REALLY going on under the house too. If they balk, run. PM me if you want more info.


Did you hire your own home inspector or are you relying upon the seller's inspection report?


I just had rotted joists replaced under my house and had the crawl space encapsulated. If I had it to do all over again, I'd buy a house on a slab where there are NO OAK or MAPLE TREES within 150 feet. Their roots can crack the slab. PM me if you want more information.

[BC1960]

I should have said its not desirable, healthy or something you want, as opposed to "normal".

[rm10269123]

I think our reading was 23 ..my husband doesn't want to deal with the mold I don't think it was be a permanent fix the house was built in 1965 and the pics if the mold looked awful. so there is no sense trying to get sellers to fix he is adament on not wanting the house and this due diligence is a joke having to pay that to not have it refunded back if you don't want the house is ridiculous ty for your input

[Langerhans]

Originally Posted by rm10269123

I think our reading was 23 ..my husband doesn't want to deal with the mold I don't think it was be a permanent fix the house was built in 1965 and the pics if the mold looked awful. so there is no sense trying to get sellers to fix he is adament on not wanting the house and this due diligence is a joke having to pay that to not have it refunded back if you don't want the house is ridiculous ty for your input

I guess it's too late now, but the other advice that I have to offer is RUN!



There are other problems that may exist that didn't show up on the inspection. Before you buy, be sure to do some research on the inspector. Some of them miss a LOT of things that should be addressed but don't show up on the report.

[rm10269123]

the inspector is very highly recommended he was very knowledgeable but we will look into newer homes and for homes that are built on a slab..ty for your two cents!!