35
Yeah, that advice was super wrong. Moisture encourages mold growth.
After a water leak you need to go to extremes to dry the air to get wet things to evaporate into the air, which you then continue to dry. I would run dehumidifiers, or shoot, if your house has A/C, just run the A/C since that is a dehumidifier.
The only risk is if you excessively ...
answered Jan 7 '19 at 19:36
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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23
First of all, you should probably contact a mold abatement contractor. Not only should they be able to remove the existing mold, they should be able to identify its cause as well.
Then you may need to consult an attorney since from what you've said, this doesn't seem to be a one-shot deal in your unit but a systemic problem likely due to defective ...
18
Looks like effloresence to me, which itself is not harmful, but possibly a symptom, mainly of water movement; I would check perimeter walls for further signs of water infiltration, and make sure water movement outside is properly being handled, i.e. gutters, grading.
18
Looks like fungus of some sort. It grows on many surfaces. Try household cleaners and a sponge.
There are many types of mold, and the hysteria surrounding them is often unwarranted. Mold spores are everywhere, and only a very specific type is potentially dangerous, and only in significant quantities.
The term “toxic mold” is not accurate. While certain ...
18
Looks more like mildew, which is related to mold, but not as dangerous (from a health standpoint). Yes, a dehumidifier could help prevent mildew. I would also look for sources of the moisture, e.g. a clothes dryer that is not venting to the outside, a bathroom vent that is not functioning (or non-existent), water leaking somewhere etc.
16
You are being sold.
The evaporator coil in the AC condenses water vapor in the air. It does this by blowing the warm air from your home over the cool evaporator coil. The cool coil pulls the moisture from the indoor air, removing it and draining it from your home via the condensate array. This happens with every air conditioning cycle. If the AC unit can't ...
14
There could be several factors that may be contributing to the situation. It sounds like an air quality problem. This could be caused by airborne mold spores, chemical contamination from bad paint or flooring adhesives (VOC's) etc. , CO from a malfunctioning heating or A/C unit or something from outside getting in. I have had to address this problem with ...
13
It is possible for A/C to cause mold issues but it depends on a few factors. The problem is this: when choosing a A/C unit for a home, often people (even 'professionals') will assume that bigger is better. The installer plugs in the numbers to the manufacturers model and comes up with a recommended unit size, then bumps it up to a larger one.
The problem ...
11
Bleach, when used carefully, may be effective at killing surface mold. However, when I started to research how to get invisible to the eye mold and it's related odor out of some unfinished wood, over and over I kept finding assertions that bleach is inadequate for eliminating mold issues for the following reason:
Mold's hypae (root structures) actually ...
10
I just find it useful to recap all the information I could find on the web about it and the unanswered questions and hypotheses that still need to be tested. Please feel free to correct and update my answer or by commenting below (Verified information and test result are more than welcome).
This answer is a work in process: many things written here need ...
9
Clean it up with bleach and a sponge (chlorine is the main ingredient of mold-cleaners). If your home is humid (RH >55%) consider installing a dehumidfier so with less moisture you get less mold.
9
What should I do immediately about the mold? I'm worried about breathing in the mold, and unsure of whether I should try and save the items of clothing that have mold on them.
There's a couple of things about mold to consider.
Mold needs moisture to grow. The first step in any mold problem is to identify where the water is coming from. If it's an outside ...
8
Vapour barrier goes on the cold side of the insulation.
The problem here is that for an unheated, Un-airconditioned shed, the outside will always be the cool side.
Insulation won't stop heat transfer, it only slows it down. A closed shed, no matter how well insulated, will always turn into a sauna.
Now you have a hot, steamy inside, and a (relatively) ...
8
Efflorescence, salts rising to the surface due to presence of moisture. Common in cementitious materials where water is present.
You can wash it away with mild HCL solution but the stains will remain. Not much to worry about here. On structural masonry over long periods of time there might be a concern as it could be indicative of structural integrity ...
7
I am a certified home inspector, so I am a little reluctant to answer this question. I will, however spill a few thoughts. In recent years, the tests you refer to have become fairly popular, but normally in houses that show some signs of water or mold. I personally would only recommend an infrared scan if there was suspicious water spots or paint peeling on ...
7
My experience is that the black growth actually gets right into the bath mat material and cannot be easily removed. I suggest that you replace the mat and then use an alternate procedure when stowing the mat after use.
After use always rinse it off well so no bath scum and other things are left on it. Then hang it up over a towel bar, suction cut side up, ...
7
General practice is going 6 inches above molded area and cut it out. You must inspect the backside of the drywall. If you can't you need to keep cutting out until you hit 6 inches of unaffected wall. You then need to follow a mold remediation plan - not sure how anything else in the wall looks but useless replacing the drywall if you will put up new ...
7
First, kill the mold with bleach and wipe down the whole area to try to get rid of as many spores as possible.
Next, identify and treat the root cause. Mold at the bottom of the inside would suggest that interior condensation is pooling there. Window condensation is caused by two factors:
Interior glass temperatures below the dew point
Humid enough ...
7
Yes, unless you are an inspector yourself. Inspections often catch things owners don't know about. The owner may have maintained it meticulously, but he can only fix the problems he knows about. My home inspector caught a few safety issues like pitch of the exhaust from the water heater and a sharp edge around a flexible gas line in the fireplace. You should ...
7
This is indeed black mold. We had the same problem at home because:
A vent is built between the shutter box and our bedroom.
The shutter box wasn't insulated at all: the lath was cold and had a large surface in a small volume. It was basically a perfect condenser.
Our HVAC wasn't properly set up and the mechanical ventilation wasn't strong enough to stop ...
6
Definitely mold. Yes you can clean it off - use a mixture of bleach and water.
I would however be concerned with the original cause. If you don't fix this, it will just happen all over again.
6
Mold grows on any surface that provides food for growth. Joint compound contains organic compounds and lots of moisture. The compound will only last a finite length of time even under "ideal" conditions (if mold spores don't ruin it drying-out will). To slow down its' expiration time: when storing the compound for any length of time, place the plastic ...
6
I've been in no less than 300 attics and every one of then has had dust, grey dust, in them. Your attic has soffits installed to vent the attic. You also have vent pipes going through the roof to vent caps that allow some backdraft into the attic. If you've ever had your roof redone, stuff will be knocked down. Mold needs a fare amount of moisture and most ...
6
Yes it is mold. However it doesn't appear to be growing. It looks like the apartment had a water issue and it wasn't dried very quickly.
This surface mold can be cleaned up from most things pretty quickly with soap and water - includes walls too. I would thoroughly clean everything, air things out, start a fan, and then reassess after a few weeks.
For ...
5
If you let is sit in a bleach solution the mold will eventually fall off (with maybe a thorough scrubbing - sos pad). You might want to throw it away. It got the mold because you suctioned it to the wall leaving water trapped inside the cups - a breeding ground in a humid bathroom.
5
I think you are right to use caustic. NaOH is fantastic. It comes with some positives that outweigh the negatives in your case. Peroxyacetic Acid or Peracetic acid, they are the same, come with some things you should know about.
It's an explosive acid. The guys who have jet packs and fly around. They burn this stuff. I have found that small doses ...
5
I'm a materials scientist, and I can tell you that the main plastic components used in plumbing products are generally polyolefins (polypropylene, polyethylene and polybutylene etc...). They are highly chemically inert to caustic solutions so you shouldn't have any problems there. PVC is not quite as resistant but for the short periods of time you are ...
5
NO this plan has no merit, spraying the borax water solution in a hole would only get some, if any of the mold and you would be guesting anyway. If your house was on fire would you drill holes in the walls and spray water at the holes and hope?
The only way to check for mold is to open up the wall and testing spots that look suspicious.(If you really think ...
5
Sorry to say this, but number 3 really is your only option. First the reasons why:
I can tell just by looking and from your description, your subfloor is rotten and now unstable. More tiles and grout are going to crack, come up.
The mould is almost certainly inside the sub-floor and maybe even the jousts. Cleaning the surface will very likely not do much of ...
5
I don't know what part of the world you're in, but I'm going to figure this might be mold, not algae. Either way, a spray bottle filled with bleach solution will probably get rid of it. Mix a gallon of water and a cup of bleach, and use that mix to fill the spray bottle. Spray it on, wipe it, but don't rinse it off.
Keep in mind bleach is harsh stuff, ...
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