Fungi is a microorganism that eats organic material to survive. While wood may seem unappetizing to us, it’s actually a great source of nutrition for fungi. In nature, trees have a layer of bark to protect them from the outside. Unfortunately, the wood that makes up your floor joists do not have that same kind of protection. Even when coated with an anti-fungal spray, floor joists have no chance of staying clean if the crawl space is humid enough.
Wood rot deteriorates wood as the fungus eats away at it. This, of course, will affect the way your floor joists support your floor, so there are certain signs you can watch for without needing to go into the crawl space yourself. Since the joists are too weak to support weight, bouncy floors are a common sign of wood rot. Uneven floors are another common sign, and if you’re having trouble confirming the evenness of your floor, it can easily be tested with a ball. If the ball rolls around and cannot stay where you placed it, then the floor is uneven.
After contacting an expert for an inspection, they can go inside the crawl space itself to take a look at your floorboards to see signs of wood rot. Discoloration is the first indicator, so any brown, white, gray, or yellow stains are a clear answer. If, when poking the wood with a pencil, the wood is soft, then it’s rotting. A less obvious sign is the pattern of the wood, since certain types of fungi cause the surface to crack in square patterns.