Hi, I need help killing mold.
Had a small flood (1st time) through basement floor cracks. 2″ of water in places.
I elevated everything. Pulled all carpet and pads. Pulled all casings/baseboard. Cut out 2′ drywall and insulation (only 1′ in areas that seemed untouched (drywall had reveal off floor 3/4-1″). Running dehumids x2.
About 72hrs in I noticed white crystal looking mold. So I:
~Bleached 1 to 31OZ bleach & waterMold came back.
~I mixed up TSP scrubbed and then chased it w/ bleach spray (didn’t dry it only ambient drying-dummy). mold came back
~I mixed automatic dish detergent & water & scrubbed then manually dried then 1:10 bleach spray then dried. ** mold came back
Anyone have a better idea or see where I went wrong ? I’m not looking forward to round #4 unless I know I’m going to get to put a Win on the board.
PS: request posted following: advanced,google,building center, buddies search.
This is frustrating stuff IMHO.
Replies
Try borates, such as Boracare.
Otherwise, just dry it out and the mold will go away. Unless you or a family member is particularly sensitive, mold is a far smaller problem than some would have us believe.
Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
You mention white crystaline type substance. Could be possible efflorescence from the salts leaching out of the concrete or block? It will reappear until the concrete drys out. Nothing to worry about I don't think but it does indicate more moisture down or back there pushing it out.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Ditto what Calvin said.
Calvin,
At least now you have the most sanitary walls on the block LOL!Ithaca, NY "10 square miles, surrounded by reality"
What material is the "mold" growing on?
Actually, I think Calvin may be on to something.
Picture worth a 1000 ? Here's 3000 of them.
Is this the effloresence ? Best description is white crystaline. A couple real small areas look like a dull white/gray fuzz though.
Edited 6/19/2006 9:17 am ET by greenmacheen
Yup!! Efflourescence. Soils around the place must have gotten saturated and water is still diffusing through strogly bringing salts with it.
Well glad to hear a consensus on the efflorescence idea. And thanks for that mold assassination recipe. Sounds like my holiday eggnog has some competition !~After I had posted this morning I ripped a wall 4x8 section because:a) Insulation felt > damp than the rest of basement ( made a test/pilot hole to check)
b) seemed to SMELL a bit more musty in this area/bay.So, I pulled the 4x8 and found more efflorescence on wall and insulation. Drywall/framing is clean and dry @ the site and ^ . Pulled 1-2 bays additional to make sure it was fully exposed... Here are the photos o0f that. Thought it was interesting due to the SMELL (didn't expect this eff. stuff to smell. Must have been the wet insulation ?) Also ,of note is the pretty clear demarcation line (probable water line ?) And, I found a small foundation hole, possibly this leaked H20 that wicked up & down ? Anyway here are the 2nd set of pics and thanks for the information. Maybe someone will stumble on this thread w/ images of eff. next time around.
Edited 6/19/2006 1:53 pm ET by greenmacheen
missed one:
This last PIX shows your problem might be more than the heavy recent rains. I see efflorence about four feet above the wall. You had mentioned the flooding was 2" on the floor. Why is this up the whole wall?
The FG insulation looks like it's installed with the Kraft facing to the interior. The R-13 thickness probably puts it against the foundation wall also. Where is this water supposed to go from the moist foundation? I would check your insulation?
Their has been many postings of insulating basements so I won't go into that. You might want to reconsider how this is done.
The paper facing is stapled to the studs and the FG insulation does touch the wall. The framing has only 3/4 -->1" standoff from the wall. So, the r-13 doesn't have much room there.We don't do our basement re-MOLDels like this @ my work. So, I'm in the dark on this construction style.Is this design considered no good ? Or, is it just less than ideal ? Of note: The effloresense is ocuuring in multiple areas: some are finished & insulated exerior walls and other areas that are bare foundation walls. Edited 6/20/2006 9:12 pm ET by greenmacheenEdited 6/20/2006 9:14 pm ET by greenmacheen
Edited 6/21/2006 6:46 am ET by greenmacheen
The problem seen with FG insulation in the basement, is if the FG touches the foundation wall and that wall is wet, so will the insulation. Moisture in FG is a good environment for mold growth. With the Kraft facing against the sheetrock the moisture has nowhere to go but back thru the foundation. That is not an efficient way to keep this area dry.
I'm glad to hear the studs are not contacting the wall and I'm assuming the sill plate is green treated. This should be fine.
I would recommend removing the FG and replacing with polystyrene. I used a Owens Corning product called insul-pink This is designed to work with a different wall framing than you are using, but in your situation I would add a 3/4" panel between the wall and foundation. Use a breathable polystyrene. No foil-faced. This should be tight against the foundation to reduce air movement.You can then add panels between the studs to increase your R factor. Most polystyrene has a R factor of 5 per inch. This is slightly better than the R factor of FG.
I used this method after reading a Fine Home Building article on the breathable/ mold free basement. This was very important since my finished basement also has a bedroom for my daughter who is bothered by mold.
The premiss is that the moisture will pass thru the polystyrene and sheetrock and not get trapped in the wall. No Vapor barrier used. This can add some moisture to the basement. The added moisture in our case is not noticed since the basement is heated and cooled.
Refer to the issue of FHB to get more info. Maybe someone else can recall. I think it was last summer.
Good luck.
I have that FHB issue & Re-read the article. Seems like a solid build. I might try to retrofit mine like suggested. Only 4' of drywall to go anyway. Is the floor system described in the article susceptible to bulk water ? Wouldn't ceramic tile be better just in case that occurs (hopefully not).
If I remember right the author suggested two plys of plywood fastened to the floor. This seemed like overkill to me. (too much work) Anyways this isn't going to fair well if you have another flood.I would consider a permanent fix to the flooding.
I would first fix any gutter issues and check the grade around the foundation to be sure it flows away from the house. Fix the cracks in the foundation with Pro-Flex morter. The same stuff used in tile installs. This holds up better than standard block morter. Foudation sealers (actually water repellant) paint can also help.
The floor choice is your decision after your sure the flooding is fixed.
You got a problem with overkill? <G>Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
Bad choice of words... No problem with overkill. What I was referring to was covering the floor with polystyrene and adding two 1/2" plys of plywood. This didn't seem like a good choice to me since I was already fighting head room in the basement.
My basement is drain tiled and dry. I did half the basement floor in limestone tile I sealed the remaining concrete floor and carpeted the rest.
Yeah, that can be an issue.Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
The bad part about it being efflorescence is that efflorescence is caused by water coming through the masonary bringing these salts with it, and then the water evaporates leaving the efflorescence. Think what happens when sea water evaporates in a pan.So you might want to look a little harder at where the water is coming from.
I'm in New England and we just experienced a couple weeks straight of rain. So, I think the main problem is the water table & old wood gutters need fixin. Water is in via: 1) floor cracks 2) couple of holes in the foundation. We do have a drywell system but no evidence of eff. on that side of house at all. A work in progress. Thanks for all the help & info.
Edited 6/19/2006 11:19 pm ET by greenmacheen
Well, I'm in a similar boat too, except for the New England part. The west wall of the basement brings in plenty of water. I'm trying to regrade outside to see what that solves first, but only about 22" of the property is mine and I have to convince the neigbors to do the right thing.
Mold can be tested for. I think bleach on a q-tip swab and mold will change color. But if you are really concerned environmental abatement companies will test for you.
A recipe I have calls for 8 parts of white vinegar, 8 parts of hydrogen peroxide, and 1 part boric acid. I believe I got that here at BT. This is for killing the mold, not testing.
I generally agree that mold is not necessarily the problem that it is hyped to be, but types of mold, and more importantly, certain individuals, are affected differently.
And there is always the re-sale issue.
And as noticed, this looks like efflorescence.