Mold Remediation in Hanover, PA

Three Kinds of Hanover Houses, Three Kinds of Mold

Roughly a third of Hanover’s housing was built before 1940 and another third between the 1940s and 60s, with the rest spread across the subdivisions that grew up around the borough in the decades since. We see all three, and each one fails differently.

The borough core. Brick rowhomes and twins from the late 1800s through the 1920s along streets like York Street and Philadelphia Street, many with stone or early block cellars that were never meant to be dry. These basements wick ground moisture through the masonry, sweat every humid summer, and hold a hundred years of stored boxes. The mold shows up on the joists, the bottom of the stairs, and anything cardboard.

Postwar ranches and capes. Block foundations, first-generation waterproofing that’s long gone, and original cast-iron drains that leak slowly into the wall. These are the houses where someone finishes the basement with carpet on the slab and drywall against the block, and calls us five years later about the smell.

Penn Township and the newer rings. 1980s through 2000s colonials and townhomes. Here it’s rarely the foundation. It’s a supply line behind the fridge, a bath fan dumping into the attic, or a sump pump that quit during a spring storm while the house was tight and the AC was off.

What a Hanover Job Looks Like

The process doesn’t change with the ZIP code. We find the moisture source, contain the area, remove the material that’s grown on, HEPA-clean and treat what stays, dry it to standard, and put the room back. Full details are on the mold removal page. What changes is where we look first.

In the borough core we start at the foundation and the grading. In a rowhome we check the party wall, because water on one side ends up on both. In the newer neighborhoods we start at the plumbing and the attic hatch, and we trace every bath fan duct to where it actually ends, which is more often the insulation than the roof.

Attics in Hanover

Hanover has a lot of 1950s through 90s roofs with bath fans that were never ducted outside. The staining on the north-facing sheathing is the giveaway. That’s a ventilation and air-sealing fix first, then cleaning the wood. Read attic mold for why it’s usually not the roof.

When There’s Water on the Floor

Frozen pipes in the older borough homes and sump failures in the township subdivisions are the two Hanover calls that can’t wait. Wet drywall and subfloor start growing mold in 24 to 48 hours. If it’s wet right now, the water damage and structural drying page tells you what to do before we get there, and the phone number is at the top.

The Rest of the List

Not sure whether that smell is mold or just an old basement? A mold inspection with a moisture meter and a thermal camera settles it, and we’ll tell you if you don’t need us. For the below-grade version of everything above, basement mold removal goes deeper on stone foundations and efflorescence. And if you want to know who’s driving over from Gettysburg, the mold remediation company behind this page is described on our Gettysburg page.

Streets and Corners We Know in Hanover

Hanover was laid out in 1763 around a square where PA 94 and PA 194 cross, with five streets running out to Abbottstown, Baltimore, Carlisle, Frederick, and York. Those five streets are still how we get around town. PA 116 is the Hanover Road we drive in from Gettysburg, and PA 216 runs southwest past Codorus State Park.

The borough core. The Hanover Historic District runs roughly between Elm Avenue, Broadway, Eisenhower Drive, and Hollywood Avenue. The National Register lists 2,632 buildings in it, most built between 1870 and 1946. That’s Colonial Revival, Queen Anne, Pennsylvania German, and American Four-Square houses, houses we see all over the borough. A house that old has had its roof, plumbing, and wiring redone more than once, so we look at every layer instead of just the one with the stain.

Penn Township. Penn Township wraps around Hanover on three sides. It was settled in 1825, incorporated in 1880, and had 17,474 residents in 2020. Its neighborhood parks show you where the subdivisions are: Colonial Hills off Allen Drive, Arbor Lane, Northview Acres off Amanda Avenue, Little Knoll Estates off Blue Spruce Drive, Grandview Estates off Cardinal Drive, and Forest Circle. The township’s own stormwater page says development has turned much of its land into hard surfaces, which sends more runoff downhill. In these neighborhoods we check where the downspouts and the sump discharge actually end.

Carlisle Street. The old Hanover Shoe building sits here. It sat empty from the 1970s until it was converted to apartments in 2001. The Hanover Broad Silk Works, built around 1910, is part of the same industrial history.

Schools, Parks, and Landmarks Around Hanover

Schools. Hanover Senior High is at 401 Moul Avenue and Hanover Middle is at 300 Keagy Avenue. Washington Elementary is at 301 Moul Avenue, Clearview Elementary is at 801 Randolph Street, and Hanover Street Elementary is at 101 East Hanover Street. South Western School District covers the townships to the south and west, with its office at 225 Bowman Road. Eichelberger High School, at 195 Stock Street, was built in 1896 and listed on the National Register in 1995.

Hospital. UPMC Hanover is at 300 Highland Avenue. It opened in 1926 as Hanover General Hospital.

Parks and golf. Penn Township Community Park is at 4601 Grandview Road and Young’s Woods is at 317 Blooming Grove Road. The Hanover Trolley Trail is a 2-mile path through the borough and the township. Lake Marburg at Codorus State Park covers 1,275 acres and first filled in December 1966. South Hills Golf Club has 27 holes.

Old buildings. The Neas House at 103 West Chestnut Street dates to about 1783 and went on the National Register in 1972. The Warehime-Myers Mansion is at 305 Baltimore Street and the post office at 141 Broadway is on the Register too. Union Station dates to 1892, Emmanuel UCC to 1899, and the Hanover Public Library to 1910.

Neighborhoods and Areas Around Hanover

• Downtown Hanover and the Hanover Historic District around the square
• Baltimore Street, Frederick Street, and Middle Street
• The older York Street and Philadelphia Street blocks
• Penn Township subdivisions
• West Manheim Township
• Heidelberg Township and Manheim Township
• Conewago Township and Berwick Township
• Union Township

Things to Do in Hanover

Codorus State Park

A big man-made lake just outside town, with boat rentals, disc golf, and a large swimming pool.

Hanover’s Snack Makers

Hanover calls itself the Snack Food Capital for a reason. Utz Quality Foods has been here since 1921 and Snyder’s of Hanover since 1905.

Eichelberger Performing Arts Center

An 1896 school building that now hosts shows and community events.

Top Sites in Hanover

Neas House Museum

Local history run by the Hanover Area Historical Society.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart

A brownstone church built from 1785 to 1787 with three-foot-thick walls, across the county line in Conewago Township.

The Hanover Historic District

The downtown blocks listed on the National Register of Historic Places.