My house is being taken over by mildew

[prothyraia]

So, it's been raining like the dickens for weeks. Our living room doesn't get ANY direct sunlight this time of year, due to a combination of the upstairs porches and leafy green things in the way. Between that and the "basement" below us that is a poorly insulated mud pit, and the amount of indoor diaper drying we have to do because of the rain (not that they've been drying ) we're getting into a dire situation.

My house is getting moldy.

-Mildew behind the constantly sweating toilet...alright, understandable.
-General musty basement smell... smudging the carpet with sage, sprinkling baking soda around, and annointing the floor with clove/tea tree oil seems to help that dramatically.-Inside of the bottom cabinents smells musty...well, the sink is right there, that makes sense.-Sheets in main bedroom feel damp constantly...the air conditioner is in that room, and not sealed well, and the blackout curtains are up, this is nasty but I can see why they get that way.-Mildew growing on the front of the kitchen cabinents...that's really yucky, let's wipe that off.
-Grabbed a pair of pants out of the dresser for my toddler and discovered they were mildewy... huh. Maybe they were damp when I put them away.-Grabbed a shirt for my toddler that had been hanging up in the bathroom for a few days...also mildewy. Okay, shouldn't leave things hanging in the bathroom.-Discovered that all cloth-bound books in the bookcase have mold growing on the spines...WTF?

What exactly am I supposed to do here? The only advice I can find online is "Keep things from getting damp". I'm afraid to go get my non-maternity clothes out of the bedroom closet because I don't want to discover they've all turned green and fuzzy. Our dehumidifer broke and the bedroom was nasty when I went in just now- I don't want our newborn sleeping in there, I can't imagine that it's healthy.

Thankfully, the second bedroom and the media room some mostly mold-free- they also get the most sun and see the least use.

So, what the heck do I do? Make mobiles out of those little packets of dessicants and hang them from the ceiling? Spritz bleach over everything? Buy several gallons of tea tree oil and coat every item we own with it? Replace all our light bulbs with UV blacklights? Fight mildew with fire and get the wood stove going? Have a campfire in the bedroom?

Anyone?
I'm afraid I'm going to wake up one morning and find mold growing on the baby...

[CariOfOz]

Holy moly! That's unbelievable, and I thought Aussie was bad for moisture! We have these things here called 'closet camels'. They are basically a bucket/tub with 'stuff' in it that absorbs moisture in closets...although I'm sure you could probably put one in the room with the dresser & leave the drawers open and put one under your bed maybe? Or you could break down & go a dehumidifier, which hurts the power bill, but will almost certainly help?

[SleeplessMommy]

Mold grown in damp, warmth, and lack of sunlight.

You can turn the AC temperature all the way down and run it all the time ... or you can get a dehumidifier and run it all the time. The dehumidifier will be cheaper than mold damage to your house and books.

A temp/humidity monitor is about $20 at KMART. This can tell you the effectiveness of the dehumidifier.

While you are at it, check the basement for water intrusion, if you have one.

If you are using a clothes dryer at all, please make sure it is vented to the outside.

The desiccant packets will hold just a few grams of water each. A dehumidifier can take gallons of water per day from the air. Gallons is what you need. Close the toilet lids while running it.

[harrietsmama]

yep, we had this happening and we are getting about 1-2 gallons a day easily in our dehumidifier and I agree - make sure all your sources of standing water are covered as much as you can.