Basement mold help


  #1  
Old 06-11-16, 05:40 PM
K
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Basement mold help

Our basement is not finished so its just the cinder blocks. I found mold coming down the corner of my basement and along the bottom of the back wall. It apparently mustve been a problem befor because the previous owners painted just that area and it never occured to me why until 4 years of living here and finding the mold.
About 3 months ago, when i noticed it, i bleached and scrubbed it, let dry, bleached and scrubbed again, let that dry, than i dumped white vinegar on jt and let that dry. I painted it with 2 layers of kilz and than 2 layers kf the really expensive mold paint that lowes carries that says that it kills and prevents mold.
The mold came through. Now i dont know what to do.
 
  #2  
Old 06-12-16, 03:13 AM
M
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: USA - N.E.Tn
Posts: 45,659
Received 835 Upvotes on 732 Posts
Welcome to the forums!

Does that block get visibly wet? It's often a good idea to run a dehumidifier in a basement. Mold needs moisture and heat to grow.
 
  #3  
Old 06-12-16, 04:03 AM
B
Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: New England
Posts: 9,460
Received 47 Upvotes on 43 Posts
Hi Kcluster, and welcome to the forum.
I agree with Mark, you need to address the sources of the problem. Mold is everywhere all of the time but it needs moisture and food to grow. BTW, in my younger years I was fooled a few times by recent renovations and paint jobs that were intended to hide known problems. We can get smarter, but it is still difficult to know if the renovations were intended to make improvements or hide defects.

For your problem we need a general location so we can judge your climate. The moisture feeding that mold can be entering through the walls or with air leakage into the basement.

Pick up an inexpensive humidity meter (hygrometer), one that also measures the temperature. From the RH and temp both inside and outside we can determine where to start.

Bud
 
  #4  
Old 06-12-16, 05:59 PM
K
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Im located in south central pa.
I do run a dehumidifier down there and we have 2 windows that i open when its nice out. The moldy wall is the on the opposite side of the windows. Ive never noticed the walls gettng wet ever.
There was a leak in the water line that connects to the outside hose, that is located about a foot away from the moldy wall. It would only leak when the water was turned on. I fixed that as soon as i realized that was a problem. I can only assume that it was like that sometime befor we moved in.
I cant imagine that that would still be causing mold, it was right after we moved in (4 years ago) that it was fixed. The washing machine and hot water heater are no where near that wall.
Would moving the dehumidifier closer to the mold help?
 
  #5  
Old 06-12-16, 06:37 PM
B
Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: New England
Posts: 9,460
Received 47 Upvotes on 43 Posts
The dehumidifier is good and moving it closer to that wall might help. But we could use actual RH numbers as mold only needs high humidity, not actual water. The reason for measuring temperature at the same place and time as humidity is, they are inversely related. Lower the temperature and it raises the humidity. Next to an uninsulated wall can be colder than the center of the room.

Opening windows is ok IF the outside temp and RH are not going to add more moisture to the basement. 75° outside at 65% RH will turn to water at 62° (the dew point). And those walls are against cool ground and can easily be 60° or colder.
Temperature, Dewpoint, and Relative Humidity Calculator

Bud
 
  #6  
Old 06-13-16, 03:09 AM
M
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: USA - N.E.Tn
Posts: 45,659
Received 835 Upvotes on 732 Posts
Increasing the air circulation in that area might also help.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: