Yikes! mold in the closet

[Rose Pink]

Background info: while moving some things from the back corner of his closet, DH found mold growing on the wall and baseboard. The mold is confined to the lower corner area. I removed the box in the corresponding corner of my closet and found the green and black stuff, too. The infested closet corners are both at different corners of the house, at an exterior wall corner. We have no idea how long this stuff has been growing. I wouldn't have even looked in my closet's corner if not for what DH found in his. We live in a dry environment and haven't had mold problems--except on the window frames if the blinds stay down for a prolonged period (trapping in the window condensation). We do have a humidifier hooked up to the furnace to help humidify the dry, winter air. We also had the crawl space beneath the closets insulated this past year to keep our bedroom warmer.

The conflict: DH feels the mold is due to condensation because the stuff stored next to the wall trapped in the moisture and all we have to do is scrub the wall, killing the mold, and let it air out--not storing anything against the wall. I've never seen condensation on the walls and they do not appear wet even with the mold. Also, there is no mold behind the dressers in the closets. Being the perfect pessimist, I am concerned the problem may be due to some sort of failure with the siding on the exterior of the house and we should at least look into that possibility. DH doesn't want to consider that possibility because it will cost a lot of money to repair or replace the siding, the insulation and the wall board. (let's all put our heads in the sand and the problem will go away) When I mentioned that the interior walls don't appear wet, DH joked it doesn't take much and "life (ie mold) will find a way" and "if we aren't careful we may have dinosaurs coming out of the closet" (twisted reference to Jurassic Park).

Tug help, please: So . . . . DH suggested to me, "ask the people on tug." I'm asking. Thank you for your comments.

 

[elaine]

1st wash area with clorox/water mixture and get dehumidifier balls

1st get the area cleaned and put dehumid balls to saok up moisture---you can't necessarily feel the moisture--if you could, it would be REALLY wet. B/c you have a humidifier, I think your house might have TOO MUCH moisture in it--esp. since you mentioned that sometimes you get mold between blind and window--that might mean you have excess moisture in you home that the air is not absorbing.

You can get a gadget that test humidity levels---35% and less is an environment that mold can't grow in--that would be cheap check to start investigating yourself--if you are at higher levels, turn the humidifier off and open window more.

Although some mold issues are from faulty siding or stucco, many are from leaks in roofs or gutters that are not properly funneling water off the roof---so inspect roof and gutters? Have you had any really big winds, do you live where snow collects on roofs---assuming no, then I would not worry a lot , but I would get a pro to inspect. esp. if your humidity levels inside were not too high.

 

[mtngal]

Definitely get in there and kill the mold (diluted bleach - FEMA's site has a formula). It does sound like your humidifier is too efficient for your house - my indoor/outdoor "weather station" measures humidity - easy to keep track of it. We live in a dry climate also, and while I thought about a whole-house humifier when we first moved in, we never did anything about it and I don't feel a need for one now. That would be a quick and inexpensive thing to check, before you go looking for other things. It's often the most obvious thing that is wrong (had a leak at a window, thought it was caulking etc, when it was too short flashing from a re-roof - what I thought of initially but discounted as being unlikely).

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

There is some mold, "black mold" that is very, very toxic to people and pets. So make sure you wear a surgical mask and gloves and open the windows before you get anywhere near it to spray with bleach.
I am totally allergic to mold, it can be really awful, so just be careful.
Liz

 

[stmartinfan]

Mold Damage

We had a serious mold problem develop between the walls in a section of our house as a result of a water leak caused by poor design and incorrect flashing of a window. We were not aware of the internal damage behind the sheet rock until water began to leak through a lower level window. When we removed some fo the wall to replace the window, we then discovered the mold and major structural damage. We also found other flaws in the construction and installation of the stucco surface. It took two years, a good lawyer and lots of effort to resolve this with our builder and his subs through arbitration.

Sharing this because it's important not to just ignore the mold. Clearly there is something wrong; hopefully, it's related to too much interior humidity. If your house is a relatively new construction, it's rare to need to add humidity. Because of the more air-tight houses, there's usually a problem with having too much moisture - as you were seeing on your windows.

After we discovered the damage, we had a home inspection by an expert who specialized in water damage. He was able to "xray" the house with some sort of sensor to determine that there was not "rotted" wood in other areas. The accuracy of his tests were later confirmed, when we had to have the siding replaced because of hail damage.

 

[Dustijam]

Simple Fix

Your problem is actually quite common, and simply solved.

The problem is due to the exterior wall being colder than the interior of the home, and it reaches the dew point. Storing goods against the wall then traps the moisture and fosters mold growth.

You should lower the humidity in your home (30-35% on the humidistat for the humidifier) and do not store goods against the exterior walls.

Also, don’t fret about a little mold. Take a 1 part bleach to 10 part water solution and simply wipe the walls down.

So, no your husband was not sticking his head in the sand, Little Miss The Sky is Falling! (Tell him I said that, you know he will get a good laugh!)

BTW – I am a licensed home inspector.

 

[Rose Pink]

So, no your husband was not sticking his head in the sand, Little Miss The Sky is Falling! (Tell him I said that, you know he will get a good laugh!)

BTW – I am a licensed home inspector.

He got a good laugh. We had washed the corners with bleach before I posted. My baseboards still have a faint stain. DH washed his corner and was able to remove the stain--along with the paint.

I told him that tuggers said no more than 35% humidity. He seemed surprised. He had ours set at 70% but has turned it down to 30. I am surprised that it was 70% (don't know what it actually is but that was the setting). Our house certainly does not feel humid. I have the driest skin on the planet (and we do have soft water and I do slather on the lotion).

I was unable to get to the store to buy one of those "gadgets" that elaine mentioned but will try to get one tomorrow. I am curious as to what the reading would be in different areas of the house.

Elaine also mentioned getting dehumidifier balls. I felt a little vindicated for that and I thank you. Before I posted on Tug, I suggested to DH that we might want to put some kind of dessicant in the corner and he thought it was a stupid idea. So, thank you. I feel better that someone else mentioned it, too.

Thanks, everyone, for your help.

 

[Rose Pink]

Got one!

Found an electronic gadget at Home Depot that measures temp and humidity. It has a remote that we put outside and the main monitor inside. We can read both the indoor and outdoor readings on the indoor monitor. It cost $40.

Our closets are about 66 degrees and 35 to 37% humidity. More than you wanted to know, I'm sure, but having a new toy can be fun for awhile.

On another note, I saw an allergist today (for a different reason than the moldy closet). She tested me for mold allergy and I'm great--no reaction whatsoever to mold.