Moisture in Your Home: A Breeding Ground for

Mold, Musty Odors and More

If your basement, crawl space or entire home has a musty smell, it’s more than a smell—it’s the gaseous byproduct of mold growth.

Since basements and crawl spaces have the highest levels of moisture and are the least ventilated areas of homes, they provide the ideal conditions and primary breeding grounds for mold spores, musty odors, dust mites, infestation and other biological growth. Moisture naturally permeates from the outdoors through home foundations into basements and crawl spaces. Everyday activities such as laundry, cleaning, bathing, cooking and even breathing add to indoor moisture levels, which will saturate into a home’s structure. Relative humidity is highest at the lowest point of the house which has excess moisture, the coldest surface temperature and stagnant air, all of which contribute to a virtual picnic area for biological pollutants.

These contaminants do not stay confined in basements and crawl spaces, and closing the door won’t keep them away. Instead they spread throughout your entire home and contribute to Sick Home Syndrome, creating a health hazard for you and your family. Left untreated, these problems only get worse with time.

Damage done to a wall by moisture and mold

Exposure to molds can adversely affect your health by causing allergic symptoms and severe respiratory difficulties such as asthma.

While mold spores are a natural part of our environment, they are detrimental in our homes, causing both health issues and structural damage. Musty odors are a gaseous byproduct of mold growth, and a warning that you may be breathing them in daily. Mold spores are invisible, so although you may not see mold growing in your home, spores may be taking root in moisture-rich areas such as basements and crawl spaces.

Invisible to the naked eye, dust mites are the most common allergen-producing organism found in homes. They live in our everyday indoor environments—in carpets, upholstered furniture, pillows and mattresses.

However, in high-humidity environments, they thrive and reproduce. When flourishing in these damp environments, their appetites increase, and with them, their fecal matter, the main source of dust mite allergen.

A WAVE Ventilation goes beyond dehumidifiers by extracting moist air and biological pollutants out of the dampest parts of your home—basements and crawl spaces—and replacing them with fresh, dry air. This substantially reduces moisture levels, depriving the biological contaminants of the necessary nutrients to thrive, and diminishing them in time. Reducing biological contaminants will minimize triggers for allergic reactions and the health problems associated with them.

Solutions

I have COPD and restrictive airway disease. I have a very difficult time breathing just going upstairs and back down to sit. Since I put this WAVE uni... – Paul P.

We learned that the crawlspace and kitchen had levels of humidity as high as 70% and the master bedroom as high as 65%. Airborne mold spores began to ... – Dr. J.S

We've had a dehumidifier running in our basement for years and we could never get rid of the mildew and odors. My wife suffers from allergies and two ... – M.K.

The reason we decided to install the unit was due to my newborn son having severe asthma and it seemed nothing provided him with relief. After the ins... – D. & B. K.

In two days all the moisture on my windows was gone. Not only did it take the moisture off the window, the moisture between the window and the storm w... – L.W.

My unit was installed 10 days ago and the change in my basement has been dramatic. Our house is built on a high water table and the moisture problem i... – C.C.

I had one of your unit installed in my basement yesterday. I was told that it may take several months to remediate my problems. I have to tell you tha... – T.D.F.