Help! we have a somewhat musty smell in our basement and when we are not using the heat or AC, the smell seeps thru the vents into the rest of the house. “I don’t have any leaks.” But if you’ve got a gazillion cleaning supplies and sponges under your kitchen sink and two gazillion beauty products, would you really know? Please help me with any suggestions or tips to save my wardrobe and inform landlord he should resolve this issue. Finding and controlling the source of moisture is another key factor. You Bought a House With Mold Problems: 5 Things You Need to Do Now. By a lake. Thanks, We more less have the same problem Richard (above) has but only we live in our home for 15 yrs now and never a problem. I know there is no mold in the house down stairs because we had to open part of the walls and there is a vapor barrier on the insulation and no mold seen on the two walls that we opened up. If the crawlspace itself is the problem, which it sounds like it is, you’ll need to stop the water from coming in, dry out the crawlspace, treat the area for mold (you can rent a fogger from The Home Depot to mist a product like Concrobium in the crawlspace under your house to kill the existing mold), then completely cover all the ground under the house with thick black plastic to keep moisture from the ground from coming up. All the insulated flex vents were full of water and so heavy they fell off the main trunk line. This article is very informational.4 and 6 point is very good. Thank you for the help. Install a hygrometer in your home, as this will measure the moisture levels inside. Soffit and ridge vents and a powered fan?? Should I open the window or would it only add to the problem due to the damp conditions outside? This is especially important if you have buyers planning to look at the house soon, if you've got an open house scheduled, you don't want the smell to linger. Now the smell is back and seems to travel room to room. The problem I have there’s no access for me to inspect for water leakage. Uses portable fan and heater. The two walls was one shared with outside and the other shared with the garage. The beam located at the highest point of the ceiling has grayish looking mold. Should we check the coils? We will also look at how to find mold growth and what to do if you find it in your house. They are only paying for utilities. After paying a contractor to clean and treat for molds, the follow-up test showed the levels were even higher. Potential problem areas to address to keep mold at bay include: When replacing your central air conditioning unit, be sure it is sized properly for the house and climate. I have green mold on copper pipes underneath the sinks in my vanity in bathroom. How did you get rid of this problem? Ontario has been blessed with Rain & more Rain now we have water under the house in the crawl space I had put down 3 layers of plastic which i AM IN THE PROCESS OF REMOVING. I first tried vinegar but it appears to still be there. Mold Spores from Outdoors. I also noticed the builder never sealed the area between the house and the Heatpump outside so there is a big gaping hole that any animal could crawl in and after seeing a mouse in the crawl space they obviously have been. 9/26/2018 . Thanks! The house had mold, and under Maryland law, the sellers were forced to ... which left Burton with about $50,000 in equity the moment he closed. Mildew is usually black, brown, yellow, or white, occasionally orange or pink, and can look dusty or flat. Home Buyers Reveal: 'What I Wish I Had Known Before Buying My First Home', Selling Your Home? Never had this problem before. Washed cabinets, windows, woodwork, etc.. In addition to having HVAC evaluated it was recommended to me to buy a dehumidifier. I am going to turn on air tomorrow, but it seems like there must be a bigger problem here. Ideally, you want to keep the humidity level in your house below 60 percent to prevent mold growth. I have discovered, from my christmas tree that I must have had a leak and in the lines in between each plank of prefinished hardwood, it appears there is mold. Thanks for sharing the information. The wood planks also smelled of it, but no signs of mold or damage. He was great before the closing, but as soon as he got paid that ended. ..Turning on industrial fans to dry it out .Can you recommend any thing I should be spraying under there after its dry to prevent any mold from growing? I’ve bleached every thing down but it’s coming back a couple days later. If the carpet is starting to smell, or that old couch is emitting an odor, it can be easiest to just remove the item and get rid of an odor quickly. It creates mold spores, which are airborne and can land on surfaces close to the original source. Is there anyway to prevent this mold? Thank you in advance. Get quick and easy access to your home value, neighborhood activity and financial possibilites. Our post and beam home has a bathroom with a wooden ceiling and no fan (there is a window). We live in south Texas so humidity is a way of life. Exposure to most mold usually only causes minor allergic reactions—such as sniffling, watery eyes, and sneezing—that subside a few hours after leaving the infected area. Consistent watering is crucial to container plants and hanging plants in particular. 8 Myths About Renting You Should Stop Believing Immediately, 6 Ways Home Buyers Mess Up Getting a Mortgage, 6 Reasons You Should Never Buy or Sell a Home Without an Agent, Difference Between Agent, Broker & REALTOR, Real Estate Agents Reveal the Toughest Home Buyers They’ve Ever Met, The 5 Maintenance Skills All Homeowners Should Know, Click for complete coronavirus coverage from realtor.com, Tricks to Banish Bad Smells From Your Home-Forever, 15 Natural Odor Eliminators to Freshen Up Your Home, Combat the Silent but Deadly Scourge of Bathroom Odor With These 7 Tricks, What To Expect in 2021's Housing Market: This Is How Much Home Prices Will Rise, What the Flip? Mold grows where there's moisture, so keeping your house dry is one of the most important ways to prevent mold. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. the plastic in place.. i would appreciate your answer.. I wiped things down and took pictures. Greg, I’ve had the builders return a few times and they assured me that it is the pipes contracting and expanding. We’ve had a musty smell come and go over the years. The topping put on top of the black plastic in the crawl space in the Safe at Home episode was a layer of clean, dry sand. Despite all of this, my buddy still wants the house. And that may not be good enough. What can I do? Testing results were 60/70% chaetomium, 5/15% cladosporium! It does not seem to be on the sheetrock (and it isn’t really that bad on the fake-wood panelling), the kitchen surfaces and appliances, and maybe the carpet (although I just can’t imagine that it isn’t). I have cut out the drywall 4 foot up, repaired the water source, and have had the mold tested. WIll the mold go away on it’s own with proper venitlation and what type of ventilation would I need? One effective way to combat mold problems is by the use of desiccants like Silica Gel. Kept heat on at 55, but developed white mold. A closed house is warm, the summer months are humid and the house itself is the food source. Though molds are always present in the air, those that cause mildew need moisture and certain temperatures to grow. Never mix bleach with cleaning products containing ammonia as it can cause the release of toxic gas. Mold feeds off organic matter and requires a moist environment to grow. A closed up house leads to mold. Thanks for helping me understand how our health is being affected by these molds. For instance, would applying Concrobium Mold Control with a cold (ULV) Fogger be an effective way to eliminate/prevent mold? Every time I’m away for few days (all windows in the house are closed), the mold will start attacking. I have a 2-10 warranty, but have no idea what is covered and what isn’t and with past dealing with my builder after closing to fix a few things he has not been at all helpful. It can also appear in different consistencies, from velvet to slimy, depending on how deeply the colony resides within its affected household surface. If your home still smells moldy or members of your family are having health issues, there could be a hidden mold problem. It sounds like you have a serious problem on your hands that will probably take professional help to solve. Some molds and mildews are fond of the cellulose in the paper backing on drywall, insulation and wallpaper. But what effect does it have on the body? “Light, especially sunlight, with its ultraviolet component, is a good disinfectant,” Carroll notes. Mold frequently collects in carpeting or drywall at the back of closets, and can spread to clothing or packed items. I have a home owner that has had a moisture barrier under my home with a sump pump installed. December 1, I will be in my house for 3 years. That’s a good point that sizing air conditioners can help reduce humidity. So I went into the crawlspace to check it out and found a horrible problem. Dry the area thoroughly. His extensive hands-on experience and understanding of the industry make him the go-to source for all things having to do with the home – from advice on simple repairs, to complete remodels, to helping homeowners prepare their homes for extreme weather and seasons. Bleach doesn’t actually kill mold. I started to notice a fine layer of white film on my black clothing and realized it was mold. 5 Reasons You’ll Want a Veteran-Friendly Real Estate Agent, What’s Tarek El Moussa Up To? You know what we're talking about, right? We have had a very rainy winter and it seems more moist then usual up there. “Furnaces and air ducts can have a tremendous amount of mold that can grow in them when they’re not being used,” says Leslie Reichert, cleaning expert and author of “The Joy of Green Cleaning.” Not to mention that air conditioners can also trap mold and mildew in their filtering systems. We have washed & painted all walls. We have had trouble with excess moisture in our basement, used Concrobium to take care of some mold issues (works great), and finally noticed a “dip” in the dirt around the foundation and filled it in. Thanks, Donna. If you leave clothes wet for a long period of time in your house mold can grow on them as well as on other surfaces due to the moisture wet clothes release into your home. But we are getting surface mold all over our stuff in the garage. Have no idea where the water is coming from. I didn’t turn air on wasn’t hot. Any time you use bleach to “kill” mold, you are really fertilizing the mold and it will come back stronger than before.