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Rick Maday
07-20-2010, 04:57 PM
Saw this in a crawl. 1950's era home.

Looked and felt like insulation (foamy), but it was behind what was left of the vapor barrier. Shouldn't the vapor barrier be on the wall and this stuff on the VB, or won't it stick to the VB?

Any comments, info on this stuff?

If it's mold, they have a hell of a problem, as it was all over the place. ;)

Also, what could the stuff on the bottom of the duct be? It was only in a couple of places.

TIA

Matt Fellman
07-20-2010, 05:19 PM
It's hard to tell... the 4th pic is the most help and it looks like mold. I see white mold on damp soil a lot in my area. If it's an overall damp space that could explain it. Whenever I get a damp crawl like that about 9/10 times there will be insect damage.

John Kogel
07-20-2010, 07:10 PM
Does it appear to be sprayed on the perimeter walls, and are those walls concrete?

Mold needs food as a rule, something organic to grow on.

Philip
07-20-2010, 07:20 PM
The vapor barrier always goes to the warm side of the house. If the moisture escaping from the interior is trapped between the insulation and the barrier the condensation takes place within the insulation and nothing good happens when that occurs.

Rick Maday
07-20-2010, 09:22 PM
Does it appear to be sprayed on the perimeter walls, and are those walls concrete?

Mold needs food as a rule, something organic to grow on.

Yes and Yes

John Kogel
07-20-2010, 09:47 PM
Yes and YesMy guesses then are that a sprayed on insulation, cellulose, maybe, has become moldy. The duct has some tarnish on it brought on by condensation. Wet crawlspace, inadequate ventilation. Finally, I guess this won't be an easy fix. :D