Reducing the Likelihood of Mold in your Greenville, SC Home: Crawl Space Water Heaters

7/9/2018 (Permalink)

Discharge from water heaters can cause insulation to sag and can become a source of microbial growth.

You needed extra storage room in your home, so you relocated your water heater to the crawlspace. Great, you now have a larger pantry or hall closet, plus you do not have to worry about your floor if the water heater leaks. However, you may have set up a much larger issue down the road. Now, this isn’t intended to frighten anyone or convince them to reconsider any form of home renovation, but instead, bring awareness to on how to help prevent costly damage to your home.

One of SERVPRO of East Greenville County specialties is water mitigation, and often we discover a secondary issue while helping home or business owners recover from a water damage event: Mold. In the majority of those instances, we are able to be proactive and resolve the mold situation before it can become a huge problem. But, there are a few occasions where mold and microbial growth can become an enormous problem, and if the source of loss for water damage is a water heater that is located in an unconditioned crawlspace, the chances of a major mold issue increase drastically.

Unconditioned crawlspaces are ideal locations for microbial growth. They are dark, damp, and rarely disturbed. Combine those favorable conditions with even a small, unnoticeable leak from a water heater and mold can grow and spread quickly in the crawlspace and may impact other parts of your home. If your water heater has a major issue, it may spray hot water onto insulation or parts of HVAC units and other areas that may be overlooked by a hot water service technician, and that could be enough to initiate microbial growth. Contacting SERVPRO of East Greenville County for a crawlspace inspection after your water heater has been serviced or replaced is a great way to being proactive in preventing or removing a mold issue. Our expert technicians can review your crawlspace and develop customized solutions to fit your home’s needs, not just sell you an expensive “fix-all.”

Preventing mold or discovering it in early stages can reduce the risk to your home or business and significantly reduce the cost of repairs and lost time.