2026-09-14 · Dave Kessler · 4 min read
Mold in Downtown York Homes
Attached houses, short yards, and cellars that were never meant to hold a sofa.
The buildings
Around Central Market House and the older blocks, we see parged stone, old window openings, and sumps that were an afterthought. The radon story is the same housing stock as our Downtown radon page. The mold story is the cardboard and the party wall.
What to check
- Downspouts in alleys and the neighbor’s side.
- Coal chutes and flower boxes over old openings.
- Open sumps and washer hoses.
- Whether the smell is only at the cellar door or already on the second floor.
Rowhome smell is the longer note.
A reasonable goal
A dry, unfinished or simply finished cellar with a working gauge, not a secret rec room against wet stone. If you are selling, photos of the dry cellar beat a plugin deodorizer.
Questions people also ask
+Are Downtown cellars always moldy?
+Does shared ownership of a wall matter?
These pages are homeowner education from Radon Mitigation of York, written by Dave Kessler. They are not a medical diagnosis, a species identification, or an insurance determination. Color does not tell you which mold you have. If someone in the house is sick, talk to a physician. EPA's homeowner guidance treats roughly 10 square feet as the line where many people stop DIY cleanup and call a remediation crew — sooner if sewage, HVAC, or anyone immunocompromised is involved. We are a radon and basement crew. When we are already under a York house we will tell you what we see and what we would do in our own place. We do not pretend a radon fan is a mold remedy.