How to remove mold and moisture from house??

[suddenlyamama]

Hi Ya'll.

We live in a tiny rental shack in the bay (coastal weather) and we have incessant mold and moisture in our home. 

Every window has mold all around it and when I try to clean it it seems to just may big black streaks (YUCK)

Also our bathroom has a ton of mold on our ceilings. Our floors always feel moist. 

Do you have suggestions for how to minimize the moisture? What do you do for mold? I have tried tea tree and vinegar. Not much difference.

I also posted this in allergies but haven't had any responses.

TIA

[Vancouver Mommy]

The only thing I can think of would be a dehumidifier. They aren't cheap, but they do work. Also anything you can do to reduce condensation on the windows would help. Mold and mildew around the windows would be a PITA, but I don't think it's a health risk. The mold on the ceiling, on the other hand, would concern me. Have you mentioned it to your landlord?

[Denvergirlie]

dehumidfier can be picked up for $50 - $200 or so, that will help remove some moisture from your house. But living so close to the coast might be an issue with how well the house is sealed or not sealed for the matter. Too tight of a house, can trap the excess moisture in. A house that isn't sealed well enough, can just invite the excess mousture in from outside as well.

To kill the mold and remove the said black stains, you need bleach. Once you bleach it all, you should be able to stay on top of it with other more earth friendly cleaning agents. But you need to kill all the mold and then address the ventilation and excess humidity issues.

I would mention to the landlord, even if only in passing. If the landlord is really concerned about this property, they will want to take steps to fix the issue now, before they end up with a property that is rotting from the inside out. If landlord will not take steps to improve the issue, you might want to seriously consider moving. Mold can lead to all sorts of health problems.

best

[nd_deadhead]

I second the dehumidifier suggestion. It's the only sure-fire way to get rid of excess moisture - which is the first step in getting the mold problem under control.

If you have a bathroom or kitchen fan (that exhausts to the outside), run them every time you generate moisture - taking a shower or bath, washing clothes, boiling water.

[Think of Winter]

Have you talked to your landlord?  That sounds really unhealthy.  You can keep wiping it away, but I think you need to find out where it's coming from.   Do you know what's under your house?  We live by the shore, and had mold growing in our house during the summer since we moved in.  This spring we  finally saved enough to have our crawlspace worked on.  This summer was the hottest yet, we barely used the a/c, and no mold inside.  It was coming up through the floor.  Drying out the air in your home by running the a/c and using a dehumidifier will help, but you need to find the source, I think.

[suddenlyamama]

So any advice on how to get out of our lease? We moved furniture yesterday to find mold growing all the way up the back of our filing cabinet.

[Think of Winter]

I guess you've notified your landlord, and they are not willing to fix the problem?  Read this: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/resolve-problems.shtml

Here's the CA code for "habitable" rentals:  http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/problems.shtml

For additional information:
Call the Consumer Information Center at: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

[prothyraia]

We had serious mold issues for awhile- growing on wooden furniture, clothing, books, etc.  We had to deal with the underlying problem (which I can't fully explain and had something to do with the insulation under the house in the crawlspace).  It's good we took care of it when we did, because the floor joists were just starting to rot.

In terms of dealing with the symptoms:

-Dehumidifier running constantly

-Dehumidifing crystals/packets/boxes in enclosed spaces (closets, cabinets) (think industrial size silica packets- you can bake them and reuse them!)

-As much sunlight as possible

-Moldy items sprayed with heavily diluted bleach, wiped down, and left out to dry on a sunny day.

We've gone from almost uninhabitable- seriously, mold growing on the spines of books on a shelf right out in the middle of the biggest, brightest room in the house?- to having absolutely no issues at all.

[Coonifer]

I know a lot of people like bleach for mold, but I don't think it's all that effective.  After trying vinegar with tea tree oil, I used Concrobium on a patch of mold, and have been very pleased with the results.  It's some sort of boric acid solution, so completely non-toxic, and it somehow "coats" the mold spores, rendering them unable to do their nasty business.  Good luck!

[pampered_mom]

And when using bleach for mildew you need to be sure to dilute it quite a bit...it kills them slow enough so that they don't dump all their spores all at once (which is what happens when you use undiluted bleach).  For us the key is always the dehumidifier - running constantly and some fans to move the air around more.  I'd definitely check with your landlord, though and get them to address the underlying issues.

[PenelopeJune]

We had to move out of a rental house last February because of mold. We lost so, so, many possessions because of it. All of our beds and mattresses, our couch, two sets of bookshelves, not to mention all the small things. It was heartbreaking. Our lease was up, and the owners (a foundation) didn't want to pay to replace ANY of our belongings. For MONTHS we had been begging them to fix the problem, sending them detailed pictures and letters, but they refused. We had to threaten to sue for them to give us a few thousand dollars, which didn't even begin to cover our losses, but it was something, at least.

Don't even bother trying to remove the moisture until the problem is fixed. Our problem was a mixture of leaks and a gas furnace that put too much moisture in the air. We ran a dehumidifier 24/7 and all it did was make our electricity bill skyrocket.

Document everything. It's only a rental, so I'd get out of it. The house is unsafe and damaging your possessions, it should not be too difficult to get out of your lease. Get out as soon as you can, before you lose more of your things.

And when you move, you want to be sure not to introduce mold into your new house. We washed every article of clothing, towel, sheet, etc, and then bagged it up and moved it out of the house as soon as it was out of the dryer. (I started this weeks before we moved, it took forever.) We wiped down all hard-surface furniture and toys with clorox wipes. I washed all our dishes (the mold was even in our cabinets) in hot water, dried them, and boxed them up and moved them out.

Anything with mold we left behind, particularly soft furniture that wasn't possible to wash, ie, mattresses. I did NOT want to have to deal with mold all over again.

Good luck to you. I hope you can get out soon.

[~Amy~]

We don't rent so it was our problem to solve, but what worked for us was a combination of additional attic insulation, a central air exchange system, a dehumidifier, and mould-resistant paint.  It wasn't a cheap problem to fix (cost us ~$5000), but we've had absolutely no issues since we took these measures.  I hope you can get your landlord to take it seriously or get out of your lease somehow.  Good luck.