The moisture meter said it before we opened a single wall: 99.9. In the basement of this Brier home, four walls were affected and the carpet with them, with suspected microbial growth inside the walls on the drywall and insulation.
We contained the work area, removed all affected materials, cleaned and disinfected the areas, and then found the real cause: an HVAC drain line sitting against a crack in the foundation. The water had been washing its way into the basement, little by little.
Drying a room is the easy part. Finding where the water gets in — that is what keeps it from coming back.
