I moved my bed platform today to get at a receptacle and found extensive mildew and mold on the wall from mattress level to the floor below. The bed is situated directly beneath a window. The previous owner replaced the old metal casement windows 2 years ago with Anderson vinyl Renewals or some such type, just glued in basically. Exterior is stucco. Building is about 50 -60 years old, possible war housing in the Bay area using an odd mixture of materials. The exterior walls are uninsulated, and in no other location has this occurred. We speculate that the mold is due to lack of ventilation due to the mattress being butted up to the wall, but what in the heck is this oily goo all over the wall beneath? It’s concurrent with the mold, odorless, and has the viscosity of 3 in 1 with a slightly waxy residue. NO, it’s not hair oil or something kinky! It occurs nowhere else though. perhaps it’s bubbling up through the finish? I dunno? Thirty years remodeling and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. All I know is that I’ve had some wicked sinus infections over the past two years and now I think I know why….
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I don't know the answer to that, but I know what the fix is.
take the finish off the wall, disinfect the stud cavities and replace any moldy wood you find, then insulate before putting the bed back.
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Any insulation suggestions? I really want to be as non-invasive as possible right now.
I think you said a moderate climate, so any FG batt material should be fine. But for being non-invasive, I don't think you will get to the root of the problem without openning the wall.However, if you do want to avoid that, you can wash the wall down, drill a few 3/8" holes and use up a dozen cans of spray foam to fill the spaces ( make sure you don't have balloon framing to a cellar first) and after patching the holes, use a pigmented shellac for sealer coat before painting.For an experienced remo guy, I wouldn't see cutting this patch out to be all that invasive tho. using hot mud, the repair could be done in a day, sans paint.
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I was just studying that photo again.
Is this a CMU wall? I has assumed wood frame, but the shadow outline suggests cinder block.
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I think the shadow outline is actually where the top and bottom of the mattress would be. There also appears to be a vertical line just above the "S" but that just looks like a vertical stain line from the mold/goo.
But how does one change the sheets on that mattress and not notice this?????
The mildew is surface mildew, due to condensation on the wall. (Hot humid body, cold wall.) No need to go tearing into the wall if you can treat the surface adequately. Don't know what the oily stuff is, though.
Did you miss the part about a previous owner replacing the window?odds are a good 50/50 that it is leaking too.Paint can sometimes break down and exudate drips and stains like that from various conditions. I don't know if that is what this is, but could be water and temp situation is causing the stains.
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The mildew is typical "behind the dresser" stuff -- due to poor air circulation. The ooze could be from paint breakdown, and arguably that could be due to leakage in the window (vs condensation), but then you'd expect to see some breakdown of the plaster surface and some efflorescence. Though such conditions may be present, they aren't obvious from the picture.The OP should examine closely for signs of water leakage, but nothing in the picture screams that.
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You should change the sheets more often then every 2 years.
Id venture a guess to say that your windows aren't weatherproof. A little exterior-grade caulking properly applied to the joints will prevent the problem from getting worse. Fixing the current damage really depends on your skill level and how far you are willing to go. Can you patch stucco?
I'd guess the oily stuff is the paint breaking down from the moisture.
It reminded me of what I see on bathroom walls occasionally, after several years of getting steamed, the oil seems to ooze out a bit from the paint. It seems to come right off with soap and a sponge.
In your case - I think the oily ick is the least of the problems. Get that mold outta there!
Our first house in 1973 was a 1938 vintage stucco over block house. The walls would actually get ice on them in the corners below the windows on real cold days :( Moving the bed away from the wall a foot should take care of the moisture.
As far as the staining goes .... were the previous owners smokers ? That looks exactly like the walls in my inlaws' house when we had to clean it up after they passed. Take a bottle of Fantastic etc and spray a spot on the wall in another part of the room and see if you get the same effect.
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
next to a bed in the bay area? that's astroglide, man.
k
Hey thanks for all the feed back. The place seems to have been built as some kind of military billet or something during the war. It's a single story duplex. The interior walls are a type of plasterboard I've never seen before with two coats over it. There is no wood trim in the place. Metal frames around doors, etc. The wall below the window gets very cold and I'm certain that it's condensation from warm moist air causing the problem. A headboard that will permit air circulation seems in order I think. As for the goo.....I'm thinking that the stuff might have leached out of the paint somehow, maybe a manufacturer could tell me about that. Thanks for the help folks, and oh, about that last comment:
Astroglide is for kids and neophytes! Out here on the left coast we're using high tech "Swiss Navy silicone lubricant". If you have to ask how much it costs, well then maybe you just can't afford such activities....lol