Author Topic: Basement mold removal  (Read 6151 times)

realityinabox

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Basement mold removal
« on: September 17, 2015, 12:15:49 PM »
 I'm renting and have been living in my place for a little over a year. I recently noticed there is a moderate amount of fuzzy grey mold growing in the exposed rafters in my basement.  The house is old and the basement is unfinished with exposed rough stone masonry foundation, and is mildly damp in general.

I plan to start using the basement as a woodworking workshop, so I'll be spending long hours down there and would rather have the mold gone.  I showed the mold to the landlord but he seemed unconcerned about it, but said if it concerns me that I can spray it with bleach and it should kill most of it.  I saw elsewhere that scrubbing it with a water borax solution should also work.  I scrubbed a few of the rafters with the water/borax last night, but the water just splashed everywhere, making a rather big mess.  I'm thinking about getting some bleach and a spray bottle to spray the rest of it.

Anyone have any better recommendations? 

Bob W

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2015, 12:31:21 PM »
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AMold%20Removal

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/181-5314591-8429961?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Mold+Removal&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AMold+Removal

Wouldn't do bleach --- that shit is toxic.  Tap around a bit on the links above.  Plenty of commercial products and the e books are quick and cheap.  Something with quat should work. 

You will want to provide a high level of ventilation during and forever after treatment.   Install a very good mold level HVAC filter if you can.   
A dehumidifier can help.   

In general you will want to treat, scrub and clean every surface.   Wear a rated mask while doing the treatment.   

The dangers of mold are somewhat overrated but it can impact some people.   


Be double sure that there isn't a water source or other source of moisture.  Remember a mold spore can easily stay functional for over a million years just waiting for the right conditions. 

Fishindude

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #2 on: September 17, 2015, 12:47:27 PM »
Bleach will take care of the initial clean up.
If you want to prevent it from coming back, that requires fresh air movement.   We had a similar issue in part of our home, cleaned it up, did a little remodel and paint, and put new HVAC in that area and we've not had a problem since.

realityinabox

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #3 on: September 17, 2015, 02:16:26 PM »
...Install a very good mold level HVAC filter if you can...


...If you want to prevent it from coming back, that requires fresh air movement...

The house has central air and heating, but there aren't any vents in the basement.    Would one of those stand alone air filtering units make a difference?

Fishindude

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #4 on: September 17, 2015, 02:27:29 PM »
Would one of those stand alone air filtering units make a difference?

My opinion, but I think for the most part, these are junk.
You need air movement just like you have int he rest of the house, full time forced air heat in the winter and AC in the summer.
Might be able to do modifications to existing furnace / AC and add some duct to supply this space?

music lover

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #5 on: September 17, 2015, 07:40:36 PM »
...Install a very good mold level HVAC filter if you can...


...If you want to prevent it from coming back, that requires fresh air movement...

The house has central air and heating, but there aren't any vents in the basement.    Would one of those stand alone air filtering units make a difference?

Mold loves moisture. Air movement alone isn't good enough. To keep mold from coming back, you need to lower the humidity level...I believe under 50% is recommended.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2015, 07:16:08 AM »
Frankly I would move. Your landlord should be more concerned if fungus is attacking the structure of the house.

knudsoka

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #7 on: September 18, 2015, 08:43:50 AM »
My husband and I have recently finished epic mold remediation in our basement...

1) Mold doesn't affect everyone the same way -- my husband is very, very sensitive, I am not. But that shit can make you SICK. Be careful and always use a mask, etc.!

2) Check out MicroBan, and look into using that to spray onto the mold to kill it. Best is to rent a fogger, to nebulize the MicroBan as much as possible, so it will settle into all the nooks and crannies of the wood. We rented a fogger at Home Depot, and purchased the MicroBan from an industrial chemicals place. It's what hospitals use to kill MRSA, etc., and is way less toxic (to humans) than bleach, and way more effective on mold.

3) Mold is mostly likely in places where cool = warm, because that causes condensation -- yes, mold needs moisture to grow. I wonder if you're seeing it on the rafters because that's where the warm of the conditioned space above is meeting the cool of the unconditioned basement space? Adding some moderate heating in the basement might go a long way to reduce the condensation forming.

4) I second the dehumidification recommendations. Something like DampRids might do it, depending on how airtight and large the basement area is, or you might want to just buy a room dehumidifier appliance type thing. Air filters won't do anything if the mold can still grow. Before we discovered all the places mold was growing in our basement, we ran one of those air filters things 24/7, to zero effect. Waste of money.

5) If your landlord isn't concerned about this, I would be worried. Get out before it starts to make you sick! We lived for WAY TOO LONG in a place with inadequate ventilation, mold in the crawl space, etc., and that's what started my husband's sickness... and then we bought a house that also had (hidden) mold issues. Major bummer.

Be careful and good luck!

paddedhat

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #8 on: September 18, 2015, 12:39:48 PM »
In this area, crawl spaces are pretty popular, and so is mold, regrettably. In the new homes that I have built, it's pretty common to find that the floor joists are thickly coated with mold as soon as the house is weather tight. The issues is that the mold is in the wood, and the moisture content of the area is consistently above 50%. In the past I have used a respirator and safety glasses while saturating the joists with straight bleach, applied with a pump sprayer.  For some reason, Clorox brand is a lot more effective than store brands.  At that point I run a dehumidifier, full time, until the moisture drops below 50%. Then I run the unit 10-12 hours a day, using a plug in timer, as long as the moisture level remains below the required level.
Couple of things I learned over time.  This will only work if you manage the incoming moisture. I build on sealed, vent free crawl spaces. If you have a leaky basement wall, open venting, or other issues, a dehumidifier is only going to make noise and give you a bigger electric bill, not solve the problem. Dehumidifiers can be irritatingly noisy, and consume a lot of power. I use a timer to prevent them from running during sleep hours. A cheap indoor/outdoor weather station is a great tool. Get one that shows temp and humidity, and put the remote in the basement or crawl space. Then you can read the temp. and moisture without having to go downstairs, or crawl into a crawl space. Finally, modern dehumidifiers are shit. I'm learning that they often last a few years, then simply quit. They still run but it appears that the compressor fails, and it isn't worth fixing.

Bob W

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2015, 02:05:11 PM »
...Install a very good mold level HVAC filter if you can...


...If you want to prevent it from coming back, that requires fresh air movement...

The house has central air and heating, but there aren't any vents in the basement.    Would one of those stand alone air filtering units make a difference?

Seems like you could pop a couple of vents into the existing set up?  You'll want the return air as well.   We have a basement that is conditioned.   It is finished and nice and pretty much moisture free. 

I still run the blower 24/7 to keep the temps and moisture between floors about equal.  I also use mold level filters.   MERV 13 I think?   Occasionally run the dehumidifier when it is rainy season. 


I also always recommend a full house energy audit.  This will identify any air leaks and give you some good ideas.   Many utilities subsidize these, so check with your local on that.

Mostly mold health issues are vastly overblown but there is some downside.  One very weird thing (remember I have rehabbed an entire house covered in mold) is that it is proven that exposure to mold leads to a very heightened olfactory response that is much more sensitive in women.   My wife can now smell a mold molecule from 100 yards.   It is a very weird deal that exposure leads to being able to smell it better. 

I like me some moldy cheese on occasion.

realityinabox

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #10 on: September 20, 2015, 06:31:03 AM »

The house has central air and heating, but there aren't any vents in the basement.    Would one of those stand alone air filtering units make a difference?

Seems like you could pop a couple of vents into the existing set up?  You'll want the return air as well.   We have a basement that is conditioned.   It is finished and nice and pretty much moisture free. 

I still run the blower 24/7 to keep the temps and moisture between floors about equal.  I also use mold level filters.   MERV 13 I think?   Occasionally run the dehumidifier when it is rainy season. 


I also always recommend a full house energy audit.  This will identify any air leaks and give you some good ideas.   Many utilities subsidize these, so check with your local on that.

Mostly mold health issues are vastly overblown but there is some downside.  One very weird thing (remember I have rehabbed an entire house covered in mold) is that it is proven that exposure to mold leads to a very heightened olfactory response that is much more sensitive in women.   My wife can now smell a mold molecule from 100 yards.   It is a very weird deal that exposure leads to being able to smell it better. 

I like me some moldy cheese on occasion.

Thanks for the tips! I was looking at the setup yesterday and I think I'd be relatively easy to pop a couple of vent outlets into the basement, seeing as all the ductwork is already right there and mostly exposed.  We don't run the A/C in the summer since the house stays cool enough due to shade, etc, but it would be nice to have some heat down there in the winter if I'm going to be woodworking.  I suppose I could start running the fan; hadn't thought of that. 

Is there a good way to tell which ducts are for return air? 

We do run a humidifier during the winter because it gets excessively dry.  I'm a little concerned that the humidifier was the initial impetus for the mold to start growing; it is hard to get to a comfortable humidity level without it starting to condense at 65F.  I'd thought about running a dehumidifier in the basement, but it seems silly to humidify the first floor and dehumidify the basement. 

I did order some of that mold remover linked above, it should hopefully come in soon. 

music lover

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #11 on: September 20, 2015, 07:18:55 AM »
Is there a good way to tell which ducts are for return air? 

Turn the furnace fan on and check which vents draw air instead of pushing it out.

tallen

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #12 on: September 20, 2015, 10:10:30 AM »
1st off, use a respirator!! Then, the borax will work to get the existing mold but the "roots" will still be in the wood ready to grow back.  I'd suggest making a borax "paste" and not a bucket of water with borax in it. That will leave enough borax on the surface to prevent regrowth. then as others have said you must dehumidify the basement to keep moisture levels down.

Also you can rent a fogger from home depot and fog the entire basement with concrobium mold control (also sold at home depot)

When I bought my house there was a finished room in the basement that had flooded and was badly molded, after days of research I removed the moldy drywall, scrubbed the wood with borax, fogged with concrobium, ventilated the area and ran air cleaners (bought from walmart) and a dehumidifier. Over a year now and no mold has come back anywhere.

Milspecstache

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #13 on: September 20, 2015, 12:04:32 PM »
When I was building my house I got mold growing on the new framing (took me a couple of years to finish hanging drywall in the attic portion to finish it off).  To avoid sealing that up I sprayed this in a cheap gallon sprayer:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_539377-64395-025-401___?productId=50053505&pl=1&Ntt=mold

I checked and this kills it permanently.  Some kind of inhibitor.  When I've used bleach that always seems to only be a temporary solution requiring re-treatment.


tallen

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Re: Basement mold removal
« Reply #14 on: September 20, 2015, 12:07:44 PM »
When I was building my house I got mold growing on the new framing (took me a couple of years to finish hanging drywall in the attic portion to finish it off).  To avoid sealing that up I sprayed this in a cheap gallon sprayer:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_539377-64395-025-401___?productId=50053505&pl=1&Ntt=mold

I checked and this kills it permanently.  Some kind of inhibitor.  When I've used bleach that always seems to only be a temporary solution requiring re-treatment.

Yup, that's exactly what I was talking about (except I got mine at Home depot)