Are Dehumidifiers Enough for Mold Control? Insights from Crawl Space Ninja

Are dehumidifiers really the ultimate solution to mold problems in your crawl space? Join us as we sit down with Michael Church from Crawl Space Ninja to bust this common myth and uncover the truths about effective mold control. Michael shares his expert insights, explaining why simply relying on dehumidification isn’t enough to tackle mold. He emphasizes that mold, much like a hibernating bear, can become dormant but not dead, making it crucial to engage in comprehensive mold remediation strategies.

In this episode, Michael discusses the dangers of cutting corners with budget-friendly disinfectant treatments that skip the essential step of mold removal. He introduces us to the robust process of soda blasting and the application of X70 protectant, highlighting their roles in ensuring mold doesn't make a comeback. We also explore how dehumidifiers fit into this larger strategy, particularly in drying out wood to prevent future mold issues. Tune in to equip yourself with practical advice for maintaining a safe and healthy home environment, free from the recurring threat of mold.

Check out Michael's book, "Crawl Space Repair Myths-Busted" now available on Amazon!

Need help: https://crawlspaceninja.com or https://diy.crawlspaceninja.com

Transcript

Speaker 0: 0:00

Hey, michael Church, crawl Space Ninja. Today we're continuing our misconception series and we're going to talk about dehumidification and its role on mold. Does it make it go dormant or should it be utilized as a way to treat the mold? A lot of companies out there do crawl space encapsulation and do very little mold remediation and some, in order to get out of doing mold remediation, will go as far as to say that the dehumidification or the dehumidifier that they install will actually make the mold go dormant and even, in some cases, kill the mold. Well, I'm here to tell you that mold dormancy is kind of a weird term. If you think of like a groundhog or a bear, when they hibernate they are dormant, that doesn't mean they're dead. So if you go in there and you poke the bear, the bear wakes up and he's ferocious, right? Well, it's the same with mold. If dehumidification is able to make mold go dormant as soon as a water source is introduced, able to make mold go dormant as soon as a water source is introduced, the mold is ferocious and wanting to spread and the dehumidification may not be enough to address the moisture problem, especially if you've got a leak from above that's causing, say, the wood to be wet around a toilet and mold starts to grow in that area. So the best thing to do is to completely remove the mold and apply a disinfectant and a protectant.

Speaker 0: 1:26

Now some people tell us that why do you offer a service where you don't remove the mold? Because you know we can't make you have us remove the mold. Some homeowners are okay with the mold visibly being there, but they want us to apply a disinfectant, normally because of budgetary reasons. So we do have that option to where, if we're going to address mold, we have the option of spraying an Anabec disinfectant on the mold in order to treat it. But I really, really want to encourage you to go ahead and have it physically removed and then properly soda blasted and treated and then X70 protectant applied to keep it from coming back.

Speaker 0: 2:09

That is the best way to address mold in your crawl space. The dehumidifier is part of that process because the wood has to be dried out in order to start the mold remediation process. So it is part of it, but the dehumidifier is not going to kill the mold or make it go dormant in the sense to where you never have to worry about it, especially if a future water leak comes Michael Church Crawl Space Ninja. We just want you to take care of that mold properly. We hope you'll make it a happy and blessed day. We'll see you later.