# Does Mold grow under Plastic cover in exposed crawl space/Basements?



## Maintenance 6 (Feb 26, 2008)

If there are enough organics (mold food) in the soil, temperature and moisture levels are in the right range, then yes, mold will thrive. Were it not for the plastic, the mold could be growing on the wooden parts of the house. As long as the plastic is installed properly and sealed, it shouldn't be an issue. The whole idea of the plastic is to keep the moisture contained. I would make a guess that the crawl space either never had the top soil removed or was back filled with top soil instead of fill. Fill normally doesn't contain enough food to support mold for very long. You could sterilize the soil with some type of borate if there is a problem, but that would require redoing the plastic.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

*That looks like efflorescence, which is a mineral deposit that gets deposited on the wall from moisture travelling through the foundation.*
*But mold can grow under the plastic, if it's over dirt or another organic product, like wood.*
*Ron*


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## ehoez (May 12, 2008)

ok, thanks guys


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