INSULATION AND MOLD
I have been thinking about this issue for the past three years and have finally decided that it needs to be talked about. Many homes that have had a mold issue have either had no insulation under the floor or the insulation has not been right up against the floor.
For those of you that have had cold floors for the entire time you have lived in your home, you might look in your crawl space and check the insulation under your floor.
First, Several home in the last six months have had little to no insulation under their floor and the temperature on the floor is as much as 10 degrees lower than the room itself. If this is the issue, let me explain why there may be mold growing in the carpet or between the boards of your floor. This area, the floor and the next few inches is experiencing what is called a temperature inversion, the temperature is much lower at the floor level 
than the surrounding temperature. With the lower temperature you can have a process know as dew point. The moisture in the air, usually about 50% at this time of the year, attaches to the floor at dew point. With the excess moisture on the floor you move from an average floor moisture level of 7 to 10% to a level that is above 17%. When you get above 17% moisture level in the floor you have a chance of mold growth. I have seen the moisture levels as high as 30% in floor without insulation under them. The moisture from the crawl rises into the sub-floor.
Second, If you insulation is not up against the floor, you can have cold air trapped between the sub-floor and the insulation. Under floor insulation is designed to be right up next to the sub-floor. Most home have ten inch floor joists running under the sub-floor. If the insulation is only 7 to 8 inches think (normal), and has not been installed correctly you may have this issue. I have found more than one home that has the insulation tied at the bottom of the floor joists and not pushed up tho the sub-floor. Check your insulation in the crawl and make sure that it is touching the bottom of the sub-floor. This will give you more comfort in your home.
If you have any questions plese let me know. 360.689.2352 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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