Case Study: Pool house odor made homeowner feel ill despite no visible mold

A Nashville homeowner noticed something troubling: she didn't feel well when she was at home. The symptoms weren't severe enough to be alarming, but they were persistent. And they went away when she left the property.

She couldn't find any obvious mold anywhere. There were no water intrusions that she could see. But there was one area that stood out: the pool house had a noticeable smell. Not overwhelming, but definitely present.

Claro tested multiple areas of the property to identify the source of the homeowner's symptoms. The main house showed relatively normal levels—the bedroom registered a MoldSCORE of 221 with 2,700 spores indoors compared to 530 outside, and the living room showed a MoldSCORE of 133 with 640 spores versus 530 outside. While slightly elevated, these weren't the main concern.

The pool house told a different story. That persistent smell wasn't just unpleasant—it was evidence of contamination. Pool houses are particularly vulnerable to mold problems because of constant humidity from the pool itself, wet bathing suits, damp towels, and poor ventilation in a structure that's often treated as secondary to the main residence.

The homeowner spent time in the pool house regularly—changing clothes, storing pool equipment, using it as a guest space. Each visit exposed her to the contamination that had established itself in this high-humidity environment. The smell was the warning sign her body was reacting to.

Claro focused treatment on the pool house where the smell and contamination were concentrated. Post-treatment testing confirmed complete remediation: total culturable fungi dropped to less than 13 CFU/m³ in the treated space.

The smell disappeared. The homeowner's symptoms improved. She could finally use her pool house without feeling the effects of the hidden contamination that had been affecting her health.

This case demonstrates an important truth about pool houses and similar outbuildings: they often harbor mold problems that affect your health even if you don't spend most of your time there. The constant humidity from pool activities creates perfect conditions for mold growth, and because these spaces aren't climate-controlled like main residences, problems can develop faster and persist longer.

If you have a pool house, cabana, or similar structure with a persistent smell—even if you can't see mold—it's worth investigating. That odor is usually your first warning that contamination is present and potentially affecting your health every time you use the space.