Humidity and Wood Damage

It can be obvious to assume that pooling water will form mold and damage the wood of a home if it comes in contact with it, but humidity in the air is also a major source of mold growth. When the air holds water in it, it creates humidity, and this is the perfect environment for mold to grow.

The big issue is that mold exists almost everywhere that organic material is. Crawl spaces and basements are full of this organic material such as wood, paper backing on insulation, or cardboard. So, when the conditions become just right through increased humidity it causes these mold spores to reproduce and grow.

This is when it becomes noticeable that mold is growing along a floor joists or in a corner of a basement. Unfortunately, it can take bad cases of mold to develop before homeowners consider it to be a problem. To make it a simple equation, if an area has high humidity and organic material mold will be growing in it.

Once this mold has time to reproduce and cover multiple areas it can become a real slippery slope and threatens the health of the home’s wooden supports. Since replacing all the wood in a home with metal, which has its own set of potential problems, is infeasible the best solutions are to keep the home in a lower humidity range.

We offer many systems that do this within a house’s basement or crawl space. SaniDry dehumidifying air systems, CleanSapce vapor barriers, and WaterGuard or EZflo waterproofing systems are just a few of the products we use to keep the area dry. If you are worried about mold growth in your home or high humidity call us at 1-336-283-2338 for a free inspection. We can check to see if the humidity in a room or crawl space is too high and suggest which solutions to fix it.