Mold Solutions by Cowleys Before & After Photos

Here in New Jersey, homes are often built with crawl space foundations rather than full basements. They are called crawl spaces for good reasons. Many have heights of three feet or less, so you can only get around hunched over or crawling on your hands and knees. They aren’t built with comfort in mind! The two main reasons for builders choosing crawl spaces are cost and accessibility. Crawl spaces are less costly to build than full basements. First, there is less excavation work. Second, many Jersey Shore areas have a high water table, and dry basements built below the water table have added costs. You must have a properly installed exterior water management system for groundwater control or basement flooding will be a constant headache. Sometimes, crawl spaces can be less expensive than building a concrete slab. For example, moving dirt to level a sloping lot can get expensive. As far as accessibility, crawl spaces provide access for electrical, plumbing, and ducts work for HVAC systems. With crawl spaces, these systems are easy to service for future maintenance and repairs. 

However, everything is not rainbows and butterflies when it comes to crawl spaces. First, they are rarely visited by homeowners and when problems underneath develop, they often go unnoticed for quite awhile. Contrary to what building scientists know today, most crawl spaces are vented, supposedly to get the moisture out. In fact, the opposite happens!  Moist, humid air, especially during our notoriously humid Jersey Shore summers, are sucked into the crawl space. Chronically high humidity and moisture in the crawl space leads to all sorts of problems. In this “tropical” environment, insect populations thrive and mold will start to grow. Often, homeowners don’t realize there is mold in their crawl space until the earthy, musty mold smells start wafting into the living areas of the home. When mold starts growing in the basement, the mold spores are carried everywhere on air currents. Mold can start growing elsewhere in the home and the home’s occupants can start developing mold-related respiratory problems. 

This home in Mantoloking, NJ, was experiencing high relative indoor humidity levels in the crawl space and the homeowner was concerned about the potential for mold growth and other moisture-related issues. He decided to deal with the issue rather than wait for problems to develop and contacted Cowleys to have his crawl space encapsulated. Cowleys has a dedicated team of technicians that convert damp crawl spaces into clean, dry areas where mold can’t grow.

With this home, we conducted a careful inspection to determine the problem areas and develop a treatment strategy. First, we had to remove all of the water-damaged insulation that was not salvageable. We then treated the crawl space for possible mold given the high moisture conditions. We treat indoor mold growth with two different applications, an EPA-registered antimicrobial (MAPS1) followed by a patented sealant (MAPS2) that both kills mold on contact and reactivates to kill future mold growth. We then sealed all of the vents and encapsulated the entire crawl space with a thick vapor barrier. Finally, we installed a commercial-grade dehumidifier that will keep down humidity levels. Mold will only grow if there is sufficient moisture content in the air. With proper dehumidification, the mold is stopped in its tracks.

The homeowner was quite pleased with the end result and was relieved that he no longer had to worry about his problem crawl space. His only regret was not doing this work sooner!

Two members of the Mold Solutions by Cowleys crew arrived at a home in Spring Lake, NJ to treat extensive mold growth in the attic. The homeowners had belatedly found out that there was absolutely no ventilation in their attic space — and that’s a big problem! During the summer, attics can turn attics into saunas, with temperatures sometimes exceeding 120 or even 130 degrees. Without proper attic ventilation, moisture that rises up through the structure will condense in the attic, damaging studs and insulation, distorting and deteriorating roof shingles, radiating heat into the living spaces, and if that weren’t enough, trigger mold growth.

Prior to our arrival, the homeowners had their roof replaced and had made sure that the attic was being properly ventilated to prevent these problems from reoccurring. After gearing up, we first needed to remove and dispose of all the contaminated insulation. Once that was done, we applied our EPA-registered anti-microbial called MAPS 1, which attacks mold on a cellular level and kills it instantly. We then scrubbed away the mold and applied MAPS 2, which is our patented sealant that encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders the mold non-allergenic and harmless. MAPS 2 is also moisture-sensitive and reactivates whenever it gets wet to prevent the return of mold.

Now, thanks to MAPS 1 & 2, mold will no longer be an issue in this home. 

Unfortunately, mold growth in non-living areas of the home is often not discovered until the pre-sale home inspection. For potential sellers, this unwelcome discovery can become a big headache that can potentially delay the sale until the mold problem is resolved. With this home in West Long Branch, NJ, mold was found in the basement utility room during the inspection. There was no plumbing leak or other water intrusion. Rather, mold had formed because of chronically high indoor humidity levels. High moisture levels in the air, which happens all too often in crawl spaces, basements, and attics, is more than enough to trigger dangerous mold growth!

This homeowner contacted Mold Solutions by Cowleys. Our team was able to treat the mold in less than a day. We treated the mold-affected areas of the basement with two applications. First, we applied an EPA-registered antimicrobial (MAPS 1) followed by a patented sealant available to licensed distributors (MAPS 2). This unique product not only kills expecting mold at the cellular level rendering it harmless and nonallergic, but also has moisture sensitivity. This sealant will reactivate to kill any future mold growth. We also wiped down any visible staining caused by the mold. Mold stains, residue of mold growth, are not themselves dangerous, but are unsightly and aesthetically unappealing.  

To control the humidity and prevent further mild growth, it is important to fix the underlying problem, which in this case, was high humidity levels. The seller chose to install a dehumidifier on his own as an accommodation to the purchaser. However, for homeowners looking for a powerful, long-term appliance, Cowleys carries SaniDry dehumidifiers. These rugged dehumidifiers are specially designed to work in basements and crawl spaces. They are maintenance-free — there is no water pan to empty and a built-in hygrometer constantly measures the room’s humidity, turning the machine on and off as needed. 

These homeowners in Rumson, NJ, while readying their home for sale, found surface mold growing in their basement, so they called us to come out and remove the mold.  We first treated the mold with our EPA-registered anti-microbial solution called Mold Abatement Polymer Solutions ( or MAPS 1 for short). This product attacks mold at its DNA and kills it instantly. Next, we applied our patented polymer sealant called MAPS 2. This sealant encapsulates the surface mold is growing on and renders it useless and non-allergenic. MAPS 2 is also moisture-sensitive and reactivates whenever it gets wet to prevent the return of mold.

I took this photo of a tenant laundry room in an apartment building. There was no dehumidification system in this room. The room had sustained high humidity and moisture because of the constant use of the washers and dryers. As often happens in enclosed areas with chronically high indoor humidity, mold took hold and started to grow on the walls. This mold was not only unsightly, but was also a potential health hazard for the building’s tenants.

The property manager recognized that this mold problem needed to be taken care of, and contacted Cowleys for a mold treatment.  A crew from the Mold Solutions division arrived to treat the area. We treated the entire with an EPA-registered antimicrobial (MAPS 1) followed by a patented sealant (MAPS 2). This sealant instantly kills any mold on contact and is also moisture-sensitive. If necessary, this product will reactivate to kill any future mold growth in the treated area. We also scrubbed the walls to remove any visible staining. The staining left by mold is not allergenic, but it is unsightly. In areas of buildings used by its occupants, we remove as much of the staining as possible. However, sometimes there are remnants of deep stains will not go away no matter how much scrubbing is done. These limited deep stain areas must be painted over.

For long-term prevention, our maintenance team is installing a commercial-grade Sani-Dry dehumidifier. These dehumidifiers are specifically built to keep indoor humidity at levels where mold cannot grow. Also, the laundry room will have clean, dry air instead of the thick, wet, smelly air associated with high humidity. These dehumidifiers are maintenance-free with no water pan to empty. They also have a built-in auto-humidistat that senses the moisture level in the space, automatically turning the unit on and off depending on room conditions.