Mold problemo

[Kenzo]

I live in mold house


I am 99.5% sure the house has serious mold problem. Also one professional house inspector also think it`s mold when he opened floor and wallls and taked samples.


Anyway, does any of you ever had the pleasure of living in mold house ? and do you know does good dehumidifier or air purifier  that also clean gases / VOC help ? I allready have air purifier that clean particles, but it`s not really for gases/VOC ...

I am looking solutions....i know i am in some timeline moving out, but at this very moment i cant


I moved to countryside to have better health, but find myself in trouble.  Right now it shows 55% humidity indoors.....i am wondering if good dehumidifier could make at least some difference....lower how much mold grow??....but i have never used those anywhere before, so no experience .

[Ninurta]

Underground water is a problem in these hills. It increases the humidity inside enclosed structures.

The last house I lived in had a problem, but the air conditioner removed the moisture in the summer, and the heat kept it at bay in the winter. When I went back a month after we moved out to collect a few things, there was mold growing everywhere, because no heat or AC had been running.

This house has a fortified cinder-block basement in it, but the underground stream running along the north wall of the basement seeps through, and we keep a dehumidifier in the basement. It works overtime, has to be emptied every day or two, and humidity is still a problem in here. Leather goods and metal parts are the worst for collecting it. Just a couple of weeks ago I had to de-mold an old razor strap that belonged to my Dear Old Dad, and recondition the leather. Cleaning guns is a constant thing to keep them from rusting.

The only permanent solution would be to dig a 5 foot deep trench around the foundation and seal the cinder-blocks with something like Thoroseal to keep the ground water from seeping in.

When I was a kid, we had a wood stove for heat, and that was so efficient at removing humidity that we had to keep a pot of water on top of it in the winter time to replace humidity lost, and keep our breathing parts from drying out. I kept a sassafras root in that pot of water so that I had constant sassafras tea, and the house smelled like a bottle of root beer.

A dehumidifier may work for you, in combination with a good air filter to control mold. The dehumidifier pulls the moisture out of the air that the mold needs to grow on, and the air filter filters out the mold spores, to keep it from getting started to begin with. The simplest solution would be to find another house to move to, but out here in the woods (and out THERE in the woods too, I presume) is usually an exercise in humidity wherever you go, so unless you KNOW that the new place has humidity and mold control, you may just be trading one mold factory for another.

Chlorine bleach can kill the mold spores, too, but more just come along to replace them eventually.

.

[hounddoghowlie]

I live in mold house


I am 99.5% sure the house has serious mold problem. Also one professional house inspector also think it`s mold when he opened floor and wallls and taked samples.


Anyway, does any of you ever had the pleasure of living in mold house ? and do you know does good dehumidifier or air purifier  that also clean gases / VOC help ? I allready have air purifier that clean particles, but it`s not really for gases/VOC ...

I am looking solutions....i know i am in some timeline moving out, but at this very moment i cant


I moved to countryside to have better health, but find myself in trouble.  Right now it shows 55% humidity indoors.....i am wondering if good dehumidifier could make at least some difference....lower how much mold grow??....but i have never used those anywhere before, so no experience .

relative humidity for inside a home should run between 30% low end and 50% high end. my house stays just below 40. yours at 55% it's just a tad high.

if you smell or see mold first and foremost, you need to find the source of the moisture caucusing the mold and stop it. if it's a old house with copper pipes you could have a corrosion leak copper pipes overtime can really thin that just trickles if that much, maybe just a few drop at a time. then get built up and spreads  through the walls that can build up and soak a massive area before you know it.

also could be drain pipes, could be leaks in the roof, trim around the eves. windows a number of places.

have you seen signs of water damage. may have to bust out some walls, climb up in the attic and look. also look at your insulation, roof leaks can start out small and not completely go through the insulation.

haven't had to use one before,  but you can get those exhaust fans that sit on the floor and open doors and windows and suck out moisture. ventalation is the key to drying and reducing the moisture, along with finding the cause.

[hounddoghowlie]

here is a fairly good article on relitive humdity

Humidity above 50% is typically considered too high, while humidity below 30% is usually too low. That means that the ideal range of relative humidity for a home is between 30% and 50%, according to the EPA. This, of course, depends on the climate you live in, as well as your personal preference.

Link : What Is Relative Humidity, and What’s an Ideal Level for Your Home?

[hounddoghowlie]

When I was a kid, we had a wood stove for heat, and that was so efficient at removing humidity that we had to keep a pot of water on top of it in the winter time to replace humidity lost, and keep our breathing parts from drying out.

when i was a kid we had a old natural gas heater one of the ones that was all metal and didn't have any heat shield on the top or sides just the floor and the back, and the face was open and had ceramic blocks that would turn glowing red we did than with, and you had to light with a long fireplace match or newspaper and down on low. cause if you didn't that bastard would belch out a ball of fire that would singe your eyebrows. but we used a old maxell house coffee can.

my dad being cold nurtured loved that heater so much that when we moved the farm from pensacola to milton he brought that old son of a bitch with us, and put it in the new house. it was 20 years old then, and he kept it going another 30, would disconnect  every fall to clean it out and fire that hot bastard up.

another thing i remember about it, his feet stank to all be damn, and if you came in the front door after he got home form work, the blast of hot fucking wet stanky feet would knock you back out the door.

[Kenzo]

Underground water is a problem in these hills. It increases the humidity inside enclosed structures.

The last house I lived in had a problem, but the air conditioner removed the moisture in the summer, and the heat kept it at bay in the winter. When I went back a month after we moved out to collect a few things, there was mold growing everywhere, because no heat or AC had been running.

This house has a fortified cinder-block basement in it, but the underground stream running along the north wall of the basement seeps through, and we keep a dehumidifier in the basement. It works overtime, has to be emptied every day or two, and humidity is still a problem in here. Leather goods and metal parts are the worst for collecting it. Just a couple of weeks ago I had to de-mold an old razor strap that belonged to my Dear Old Dad, and recondition the leather. Cleaning guns is a constant thing to keep them from rusting.

The only permanent solution would be to dig a 5 foot deep trench around the foundation and seal the cinder-blocks with something like Thoroseal to keep the ground water from seeping in.

When I was a kid, we had a wood stove for heat, and that was so efficient at removing humidity that we had to keep a pot of water on top of it in the winter time to replace humidity lost, and keep our breathing parts from drying out. I kept a sassafras root in that pot of water so that I had constant sassafras tea, and the house smelled like a bottle of root beer.

A dehumidifier may work for you, in combination with a good air filter to control mold. The dehumidifier pulls the moisture out of the air that the mold needs to grow on, and the air filter filters out the mold spores, to keep it from getting started to begin with. The simplest solution would be to find another house to move to, but out here in the woods (and out THERE in the woods too, I presume) is usually an exercise in humidity wherever you go, so unless you KNOW that the new place has humidity and mold control, you may just be trading one mold factory for another.

Chlorine bleach can kill the mold spores, too, but more just come along to replace them eventually.

.

This house seem to have costruction errors, and dont have the underground drain for water, so yes the water can come from ground, and also move maybe with capillary action to some degree. Because i am going to move out in some point, i dont want to use money to make big changes , like digging the trench etc....it cost a lot to do here. The wall insulation was really smelling extra bad when opened the walls.....so damge seems to be allready huge and not worth to repaire ,not with our money.

We have one big wood stove, we still did not use it since it`s been summer and quite hot, but as the cold times are here soon we will....it will be good if it help air circulation/ventialtion and also remove moisture.

I wil consider getting dehumifidier....it would i guess adjust the environment more hostile to microbes like mold to grow....

Looked also many different air purifier  brands, and airpura seems good, it have also quite large carbon filters which is important for gases/VOC

https://www.airpura.com/

The best solution now would be to move out, but as you say the next place also could have mold issue and i dont have money to even move now....

Thanks for your opinions Ninurta

[Kenzo]

I live in mold house


I am 99.5% sure the house has serious mold problem. Also one professional house inspector also think it`s mold when he opened floor and wallls and taked samples.


Anyway, does any of you ever had the pleasure of living in mold house ? and do you know does good dehumidifier or air purifier  that also clean gases / VOC help ? I allready have air purifier that clean particles, but it`s not really for gases/VOC ...

I am looking solutions....i know i am in some timeline moving out, but at this very moment i cant


I moved to countryside to have better health, but find myself in trouble.  Right now it shows 55% humidity indoors.....i am wondering if good dehumidifier could make at least some difference....lower how much mold grow??....but i have never used those anywhere before, so no experience .

relative humidity for inside a home should run between 30% low end and 50% high end. my house stays just below 40. yours at 55% it's just a tad high.

if you smell or see mold first and foremost, you need to find the source of the moisture caucusing the mold and stop it. if it's a old house with copper pipes you could have a corrosion leak copper pipes overtime can really thin that just trickles if that much, maybe just a few drop at a time. then get built up and spreads  through the walls that can build up and soak a massive area before you know it.

also could be drain pipes, could be leaks in the roof, trim around the eves. windows a number of places.

have you seen signs of water damage. may have to bust out some walls, climb up in the attic and look. also look at your insulation, roof leaks can start out small and not completely go through the insulation.

haven't had to use one before,  but you can get those exhaust fans that sit on the floor and open doors and windows and suck out moisture. ventalation is the key to drying and reducing the moisture, along with finding the cause.

The relative humidity has been even higher than 55%, sometimes over 60, or even 70....the highest was 75% that i noticed , so look`s like way too high if it should be between 30% and 50% ...damn..


I definitely smell the mold....but there can be also bacterias or other microbes ? who knows..


I cant fix the house, it would cost more than what the whole house did cost , so for now only thing to do would try limit the moisture in the air and clean air...and improve ventilation

The pipes in the house are not so old, at some point it`s been changed to newer, but never know if there is still a leak somewhere.I have not seen leak thought

We had yesterday a professional house inspector here, he opened things and it`s clear that there are microbes ,mold groving in places they should not be....i was worse situation than what i thought...


Yeeh ventilation is what we need to make better, now it`s really not working, so it makes this all even worse...


Thanks hounddoghowlie

[Kenzo]

here is a fairly good article on relitive humdity

Humidity above 50% is typically considered too high, while humidity below 30% is usually too low. That means that the ideal range of relative humidity for a home is between 30% and 50%, according to the EPA. This, of course, depends on the climate you live in, as well as your personal preference.

Link : What Is Relative Humidity, and What’s an Ideal Level for Your Home?

That`s good article to explain....i definitely have too much moisture here hmm

[F2d5thCav]

Small dehumidifiers run in each room will pull the humidity down, but they have to be emptied every few hours.

I saw a house from built in the 1920s 'cured' of mold and the stink it brings.  Took a lot of work, they had to pave an earth cellar and put styrofoam insulation on the exterior walls (which was then covered with stucco).  Some of the interior walls were opened up and dried out and then recovered.

Definitely ventilate with fans.  But if you are where I think you are, you'll want to buy those magnetically-attached plastic screens that let air through but keep mosquitos and flies out.

Cheers

[hounddoghowlie]

The relative humidity has been even higher than 55%, sometimes over 60, or even 70....the highest was 75% that i noticed , so look`s like way too high if it should be between 30% and 50% ...damn..


I definitely smell the mold....but there can be also bacterias or other microbes ? who knows..


I cant fix the house, it would cost more than what the whole house did cost , so for now only thing to do would try limit the moisture in the air and clean air...and improve ventilation

The pipes in the house are not so old, at some point it`s been changed to newer, but never know if there is still a leak somewhere.I have not seen leak thought

We had yesterday a professional house inspector here, he opened things and it`s clear that there are microbes ,mold groving in places they should not be....i was worse situation than what i thought...


Yeeh ventilation is what we need to make better, now it`s really not working, so it makes this all even worse...


Thanks hounddoghowlie

when it gets real high try and make a note of the conditions. such has it rained, if it did did the yard flood, what way the wind was blowing or did it come stright down.

by doing this it might give you a idea of where to look for the water/moisture is getting in. you might can find something simple as caulking around windows, doors trim is cracked and fell out, flashing pulled away from walls. or a few other things. you'll be surprised how much water can get in small cracks.

and how simple some little things are to fix.

also when it gets real high, listen and look around water lines and drains. sometimes even with newer plumbing be it PVC, flex pipe and copper pipes you can hear water running. although it maybe a short time span, like you hear it for a few seconds then it stops. it might not be enough to run out from behind a wall, but as i said it can soak into the wall studs and stay wet.

three examples from my own home. my water heater would make noise for a split second to three or for seconds at a time. like it was filling back up while using hot water. it was always on the cold in feed side and you could feel it on the cold line. heater was fine.
one of the times  i noticed just after i heard it at the heater i was in the bath room and heard the toilet sound like the tank was filling for a split second. kept a eye on it for a few day and it was always around the same time.
so i got to looking and found that the fill valve  gasket on the tank had started deteriorating and water was trickling down the water line and valve into the wall. had to cut a 2x2 hole on the bedroom wall next to the bath and found that the insulation and floor plate and studs were soaked.

then another time same with the tank and toilet i heard the same noise and found that the flapper valve deteriorated. so this time i replaced all gaskets fill, flapper, and tank to bowel.

once in the kicthen, i heard a real faint sound of running water under the sink i also smelled mold. checked and found the pipe had a corrosion leak. pulled all the crap that we had accumulated out from under the sink and found the bottm of the wall wet. cut a hole about the same as the other and stuck my had in and it was all wet wound up pulling the cabinet out and replacing the pipe, insulation and half the lower portion of green board sheet rock.

this house is now almost 45 years old, they say that copper pipe should last anywhere fom 50 to 80 years depending on water quaility. it is affected by chorline, lime that water systems use and some minerals in water.

my point is that you would be surprised how much a little water can do and how easy it is to fix some problems. it can also be a pain in the ass to find problems. there are so many little nook and crannies and hidden places it can sometimes take major exploration to find them.

[Kenzo]

Small dehumidifiers run in each room will pull the humidity down, but they have to be emptied every few hours.

I saw a house from built in the 1920s 'cured' of mold and the stink it brings.  Took a lot of work, they had to pave an earth cellar and put styrofoam insulation on the exterior walls (which was then covered with stucco).  Some of the interior walls were opened up and dried out and then recovered.

Definitely ventilate with fans.  But if you are where I think you are, you'll want to buy those magnetically-attached plastic screens that let air through but keep mosquitos and flies out.

Cheers

Yeeh , could try the dehumidifiers..

I am not sure what to do, best would be to get out fast. I have to think all, right now just tired and stressed because of this all.

Not much mosquitos anymore, there was a lot in June/July ....damn vampyres.

Thanks