Clean USA prepares for Home Show

Do you have a dirt crawl space that has water or moisture issues?
Are you concerned about mold or possible structural damage due to moisture in your dirt crawl space?

Come visit us at the-

Low Country Living Home & Garden Show

Savannah Int'l Trade & Convention Center

January 15-17, 2010

and speak to one of our design specialists to schedule a free evaluation and get information on how a CleanSpace Encapsulation System can keep your crawl space dry...for good!

New PowerWatch

Is there a way to find out if your sump pump circuit breaker (or breaker to another appliance) is out- as soon as it trips?

Let me introduce you to our latest product...

PowerWatch- Power Monitoring Alarm System.

The PowerWatch plubs into the outlet, and the pump (or other appliance) plugs into the PowerWatch. The PowerWatch sounds an alarm as soon as the circuit it is on trips!

This unit is designed for customers who do not want to take any chances they will get flooded. The PowerWatch will monitor vital circuits that provide power to important appliances, such as sump pumps, battery back-up systems, freezers full of meat, etc.

Call us today and ask about including a PowerWatch with your system.

Spray Foam Insulation Does Not Control Crawl Space Moisture

Mold growing on crawl space floor joists.

Mold growing on crawl space HVAC ducting.

Sweating (or should I say raining) HVAC system in crawl space

So how old do you think this house is? 10 years, 5 years, maybe 2 years old.

Not even close- try 6 months! This customer was not so happy to find these conditions in the crawl space of their newly built home.

As discussed in my previous post, spray foam insulation on the subfloor does not address the main issue in a crawl space- moisture from the dirt beneath the home. The wood members in the crawl space are still exposed to ground moisture. There are only two primary ingredients needed for rot and mold to thrive: one is organic material, like the wood beneath a home, and the second is water.

Wood + Water = Mold & Rot

Also, because the crawl space is still vented, hot humid air is drawn into the crawl space causing the HVAC ducting to condensate. This creates more moisture, and more mold growth! Not only was the mold evident in this particular crawl space, but the air quality testing inside the home also revealed high levels of airborne contaminants.

So, the only avenue to preventing structural damage, condensation and poor indoor air quality is to eliminate the moisture by installing a CleanSpace Encapsulation System.

Savannah Morning News Home Show

Come visit us at the

Savannah International Trade & Convention Center

Saturday, October 17, 2009- 10am to 6pm

Sunday, October 18, 2009- noon to 5pm

Come see for yourself how we can fix your dirt crawl space...

for good!

Avoid pump failure with a Battery Back Up System

The coastal Georgia and South Carolina area is known for afternoon rain during the summer months. Along with rain.... comes frequent power outages! This is also when we receive service calls from customers stating that their sump pump alarm is going off. Without a source of power, the sump pump system in your crawl space will not work, unless you have established a battery back-up system. This is the time when you need your sump pump working the most!

The UltraSump Battery Back-up pumping system has

• a second pump in case of a primary pump failure,
• a second switch, in case of switch failure, and
• a second power source, in case of power failure.

The UltraSump can pump over 11,000 gallons of water out of your crawl space from the energy stored in the long-term standby battery. It also has an alarm to tell you the secondary pump is operating.

If you aim to keep your crawl space dry...all the time, the UltraSump Battery Back-up System is highly recommended!

Robert Videon receives Advanced Training Certificate

Robert successfully completed the testing requirements for the Basement Systems Advanced Training, including Sales Camp, Basemement waterproofing and Crawl Space System design.

WAY TO GO!

New Products Introduced

Last month, Basement Systems added new products to the line.

• CleanSpace Light: a 10 mil reinforced crawl space liner with UltraFresh anti-microbial protection. It's made with recycled materials and it's a green product!
• TerraBlock: a unique 3/4" flexible insulation/crawl space liner in one! It can be used on floors or walls.
• HeatBlock: a 10 mil cord reinforced crawl space liner with UltraFresh anti-microbial protection. It's shiny reflective surface will stop radiant heat transfer and reflect heat back into the crawl space.

We like to offer the most options to the homeowner so they can choose the solution that is right for them!

Off to CleanSpace Training

Our lead CleanSpace installer is headed to Basement Systems in Connecticut for more installation and sales training!

Basements Systems continues to produce new innovative products to offer the best waterproofing solution to our customers suffering from damp, wet crawl spaces and basements.

Spray Foam vs Encapsulation

Very often, we come in contact with customers who choose to use spray foam insulation on their crawl space sub-floor as a solution versus an encapsulation system. Most lean towards that option due to a difference in cost. But are they really saving??

First, let me ask...along with installing foam insulation, what are you going to do to solve the moisture issue in your crawl space?

Spray foam insulation on the sub-floor does not address the main issue in a crawl space- moisture from the dirt beneath the home. The wood members in the crawl space will still be exposed to ground moisture. There are only two primary ingredients needed for rot and mold to thrive: one is organic material, like the wood beneath a home, and the second is water. Replacing the wood in a house is practically impossible, and very costly. So, the only avenue to preventing structural damage and those musty smells is to eliminate the moisture by installing a CleanSpace Encapsulation System.

A local spray foam contractor recently told me that they had a previous job in which the foam insulation that was applied to the subfloor actually locked in the moisture in the crawl space and created a bigger moisture and mold problem in the crawl space. Not the outcome they expected!

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Second... foam insulation applied on the subfloor renders the wood members unaccessible or "no longer visible" for an inspection.

Some pest control companies will void your termite warranty if the sub-floor wood is no longer accessible or visible for an inspection. Check with your pest control company before choosing this option. (With the CleanSpace system, our liner is installed a minimum of 3" down from the top of the wall so that termites cannot get into the framing without being seen.)

I recently spoke with a customer that stated her friend had her house inspected for a pending sale. She was requested to cut out and remove some of the foam insulation so the home inspector could visually inspect the sub-floor wood members in the crawl space WOW! I bet that customer didn't plan on spending all that money to foam insulate their crawl space and to later cut it out. Ouch!

A more effective approach to spray foam insulation is to insulate the foundation walls, rather than the sub-floor, provided a proper encapsulation system has been installed.

As stated on the U.S. Department of Energy's website, to effectively insulate your crawl space for energy efficiency and to create a comfortable home, you need to properly control moisture in your crawl space.

Our goal at Clean USA is to fix your damp dirt crawl space...FOR GOOD!

NEW CLEANSPACE LIGHT...A GREEN CHOICE!

CleanSpace Light is a 10 mil cord reinforced crawl space liner with UltraFresh anti-microbial protection. It's made with recycled materials, so we are reducing our carbon foot print.

Ask us how you can SAVE...and go GREEN... with new CleanSpace Light!

Basement Waterproofing

We're off to Basement System's headquarters in Connecticut

for training in basement waterproofing!

Basement Systems Inc. has been awarded 24 Patents and 19 Innovation Prizes on waterproofing products they use every day. With over 142,000 happy, dry basement customers- they are the experts in basement waterproofing.

There are no basements in Georgia...you say?

Believe it or not, we have run across several customers with partial or full basements. So now, we'll be prepared not only to solve crawl space moisture issues with the CleanSpace system, but also help offer the best solution to fix your damp and leaky basement.

We aim to keep your crawl space and basement

DRY FOR GOOD!

Green Product Expo

USGBC SAVANNAH BRANCH INVITES YOU TO THE

FIRST ANNUAL 2009 GREEN PRODUCT EXPO

Want to have a first-hand experience with the latest and greatest green products in the market? The USBGC Savannah Branch is hostint a Green Product Expo that will feature the latest green building products and services from local suppliers and building professionals.

WHEN:

TUESDAY, APRIL 28th4:00p.m. - 7:00p.m.

WHERE:

Charles Morris Center 10 East Broad St Savannah, GA 31401

Tickets are $10, but free with a student ID. Cash only at the door.

SPONSORED BY:
Title Sponsor - Savannah Morning News
Networking Garden Sponsor- J.T. Turner Construction Co., Inc.

Join Us in Fighting the Global Food Crisis

Every 7 seconds a child dies from hunger-related causes. The cost of many food items, like rice, wheat and beans have doubled in the last year due to fluctuating fuel costs, rising food demands, natural disasters and the turbulent economy.

Compassion International exists as an advocate for children in poverty and works in some of the areas hardest hit by this crisis. They provide solutions through local churches with nutritional provision and long-term strategies, such as agricultural education, training and tools, so that those consumed by this crisis have the opportunity to grow and prepare their own food.

An average gift of $13 feeds a child for one month!

At Clean USA, we support the work of Compassion International. We ask you to join us to fight this global food crisis and help end hunger!

For each CleanSpace Encapsulation System that we install, we will feed one child for a year!