Wood Floor Moldy Odor and Cupping

5 years ago

Hi - I recently purchased a home that sits on a 2100 crawl space. We smelled some mildew in the first floor of the house after a good rain, and quickly realized after bringing in contractors that we need to encapsulate and remediate the mold that was present throughout the space on floor joists, cinder blocks etc. That work has just been completed (20ml on bottom of floor and up the walls, soda blasting to remove mold, fungicide applied and dehumidifier installed).

The issue now is that I am still smelling mold in the house. I can smell it directly on the hardwood floors in our two front rooms that sit above the crawl space and those floors also have cupping. I have asthma so any mold issue is a big deal for me, so I am trying to sort out if it is better for me to replace the flooring or if getting a professional to sand and refinish the existing would be enough. Or if there is anything I can put on the wood floors now to treat the mold. Y

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Hoping to not have to replace the floors but want to do whatever is needed get this sorted once and for all. Thanks!

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Comments (7)

PRO
G & S Floor Service
5 years ago
Remove the hardwood and dispose. Remediate the subfloor of any mold. Scrub with bleach and paint with mold killing primer. Allow condition to improve before re-installing new flooring.
Cynthia M
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you. Is there a way to tell if the subfloors are past the point of remediation? I am asking because I suspect issue with the moisture has been going on since the house was built 30 years ago. I am thinking to try remediation first and then if we still smell mold then the subfloors would need removal? Any idea of the cost of that?
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PRO
G & S Floor Service
5 years ago
If, it comes back after cleaning with bleach. It needs to be replaced.
Cynthia M
Original Author
5 years ago
Makes sense. Thank you!
SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
I'm sorry to say but G&S is correct. If you think of mold as an infection, you do NOT want it to reappear. It is harder to get rid of the SECOND TIME...because it becomes more and more resistant to chemical treatments.

To know for sure that you have gotten rid of your mold you need to remove everything that has been infected by it. Pulling up the hardwood in the areas that have the strongest odour is a great way to get a sense of how much of an issue you have.

You keep pulling up flooring as you follow the infection. That often leads from one section to another. And the hardwood is sitting on the infection. We must assume the infection moved from the subfloor through to the hardwood. It all has to come out.
ceilsan32
5 years ago
Does this property sit below a higher elevation that is dumping water onto your property?

Are downspouts diverting the rainwater more than 10' from the base? Is the ground sloped away from the base of your home? What is your soil composition? Was the mold issue disclosed by the seller? I'm concerned that the dehumidifier may not be sufficient, long term, and it would be annoying to do this remediation and have the situation reoccur.
Cynthia M
Original Author
5 years ago
Fortunately the house is at a slightly higher elevation than the rest of the property which is fairly flat overall. They had a plumbing leak which had since been fixed that was causing the water. And vents in the crawl space that were supposed to control humidity (one wasn’t working). None of this was disclosed. We are delaying moving in until this is all remediated. Not fun times.