We were aware of a small moisture problem in our walk-in crawlspace when we purchased our home nearly two years ago. The inspector wasn't concerned about the mold, but recommended a more robust vapor barrier and continued use of a dehumidifier. We had both installed before we moved in.
After about a year, the crawlspace seemed very damp, so we contacted three companies (not Intellivent) to explore solutions including encapsulation. All three companies recommended encapsulation, and we chose the highest end solution, which included a commercial grade dehumidifier and sump pump. The installation of the bright white liner gave our crawlspace a clean look and fresh smell - the musty odor under the house was gone!
We read online that encapsulation can cause a "cat urine" type odor but the installer assured us that this was not a common problem and certainly not in our area (upstate South Carolina). However, within six months, after returning from a weekend getaway, we came home to the dreaded "cat urine smell." It was seeping up from the vents throughout the house. We were horrified.
We emailed the encapsulation company and they admitted, "From time to time we do have customers who say that they have noticed an unpleasant odor after an encapsulation. Often the cause of this is the insulation between the floor joists. ... If you'd like we can remove the current insulation to attempt to remedy the odor. The total cost for that service would be $2400." This was a drop in the bucket compared to what we paid for the encapsulation, but we were concerned that they were suddenly admitting--in writing--that this is a known problem. And they couldn't guarantee that this would fix the problem. We felt we couldn't trust them. We wondered why they wouldn't include insulation removal as a part of their process if it causes this horrible odor for ANY of their customers.
The smell was bad enough that we couldn't enjoy our home. It interrupted our sleep. I was embarrassed when we had visitors and couldn't fathom having overnight guests. I was in full panic mode. I seriously contemplated paying someone to rip out all of the encapsulation material.
I dove back into online research which only fueled my panic. It's awful to hear how many people have this problem. But then I came across Michael Masserang's videos for Intellivent on YouTube. It was the first time I heard such a straight-forward message about the problem. And when he said "don't panic" and "this can be fixed" I wanted to cry. Could it be true?
The team came all the way from Moorseville to assess our problem and assured us -- with a 100% money back guarantee in writing -- that it could be fixed.
The Atmox system has been installed for nearly a month and we could not be happier. The installation team was efficient and professional, and left our space cleaner than they found it. The bad odor in our home disappeared almost immediately and the odor in the crawl space is greatly reduced. We're sleeping soundly and enjoying the fresh air in our home.
If you are experiencing this problem I highly recommend that you contact the good folks at Intellivent. It's going to be okay! read more