Mold, what to do?

[Josh the IH guy]

Hi all,
Not really garage related, but I know you guys are in the know. I have mold in the southern wall of my house. My wife and I were planning to expand that part of the house. We poured a pad, and the covid hit, and now prices are insane. I know that the expansion is in our future. Weve already bought lights, flooring, etc. My question is this; should I call my insurance company to see if they will cover this? If I do, can they increase my bill, even if I dont file a claim? Regardless, I would do the work my self, but with prices they way they are, insurance help could be nice, but I just dont know.

Any suggestions?

 

[Neggy]

mold needs water or high humidity, and heat to grow.

What is causing it?

you need to figure that out before you do anything else

 

[firebirdparts]

Yes, call them, they may pay something. This time of year, air conditioning should be reducing the indoor humidity pretty well. You can of course dehumidify and go lower. If you have water coming in, you need to stop that. Once you do that, clean it all up with bleach or strong peroxide. Then if lingering effects of mold worry you, you could fog it. My wife is a health nut and I think she would recommend biobalancenow.com; I dunno if they're really better, but they're in the health nut network that she listens to. There are local remediation companies everywhere, but you can clean mold yourself if you want to.

 

[Bretny]

Bleach dosnt kill mold in porous surfaces. White vinegar usualy will though.

And no I wouldnt go though insurance first. Have any pictures of the mold?

 

[Ralf11]

south side seems odd - sun should dry it out

where are the plumbing runs?

 

[Josh the IH guy]

Bleach dosnt kill mold in porous surfaces. White vinegar usualy will though.

And no I wouldnt go though insurance first. Have any pictures of the mold?

Here is a picture. To give an idea, this is 2 feet inward from the SE corner of the house. The room is air conditioned. But that south wall is fully exposed to the sun. There is nothing to block it. The rain gutter comes down in that corner, but it is clear of debris, and connects to an underground drain, which exits approx 50 ft from the house. This is the old master bedroom, so it has an on suite bath with an exhaust fan. The bath is in the opposite corner. NW corner. The room is 14 feet deep, and 12 feet wide. Immediately to the right of this is a hutch that stores sheets. To the left, are about 6 dresses, then the corner. This is newly formed. Weve been here 5 years, but recently a box containing a light fixture was set up against the wall in this location.

south side seems odd - sun should dry it out

where are the plumbing runs?

The plumbing is in the north wall. This is just a basic framed wall. Roof leak is my guess, but then again, the wall feels dry. There is never water on the floor. And there is no other mold in that section...
The house is cedar sided, but I have no idea what's behind the siding. I can tell you, I have found several exterior wall with no insulation, so who knows what the PO did here....

 

[Ralf11]

the mold is from the box sitting where it touched the wall?

if so, I'd spray it with a mold killer and see what happens next

if not, then it might be time to either tear out part of the wall or drill and stick an inspection camera inside

You don't want to mess around dealing with mold - I've seen people burn down their houses to get rid of it...

 

[Josh the IH guy]

the mold is from the box sitting where it touched the wall?

if so, I'd spray it with a mold killer and see what happens next

if not, then it might be time to either tear out part of the wall or drill and stick an inspection camera inside

You don't want to mess around dealing with mold - I've seen people burn down their houses to get rid of it...

Yeah, the cardboard box was sitting against the wall for about a month. Weve had a ton of rain, mixed with sun, so the humidity outside has been insane... We will apply a mold killer and see what happens from there....

 

[Showkey]

Picture of the outside of the wall in the same area……..would be helpful ?

Basement, crawl space or slab construction ?
If it’s basement or crawl……..what does sill and rim joist look like in the same area ? Same with the attic space above this area.

 

[Josh the IH guy]

Picture of the outside of the wall in the same area……..would be helpful ?

Basement, crawl space or slab construction ?
If it’s basement or crawl……..what does sill and rim joist look like in the same area ? Same with the attic space above this area.

Pictures of the outside would have been a great idea. But I've already removed the downspout, and the bottom piece of trim, so pictures would now be misleading. It looks to be solid under the trim, but no house wrap from what I can tell. I have not been in the attic. It's a slab foundation.

 

[Nthill93]

The cardboard was wet and sitting against the wall is what caused the mold. Get some bleach and a sponge and clean it. Your house is fine

 

[BillK]

Is that the only spot ?????? I would get the Spray Nine out and clean it off and be done with it. That is nothing. Like the others said its from the box.

 

[dogdog]

dependents on how handy you are and comfortable you are... if you are DIYing it

Mold Armor or CONCROBIUM are the two brand of mold control that is pretty good... I have used both. Just don't mix use with bleach..... not compatible.

Just spray, cut out the dry walls, spray studs and surrounding area , patch , add the M1 Mildewcide to paint and paint.


it's not that difficult... unless you wanted lab test reports , air samples etc.

M-1 1.5 oz. Advanced Mildewcide 78902 - The Home Depot

Visit The Home Depot to buy M-1 1.5 oz. Advanced Mildew Treatment AM1.5B

www.homedepot.com

 

[Jlbc212]

I suspect there is little or no insulation behind that area of the drywall. In the winter the drywall surface temperature falls below the dewpoint temperature in the room causing moisture (water vapor) in the room to condense (turn back to a liquid) on and in the drywall. You can wash the mold off, but if I'm correct, it will be a recurring issue. You need to open up the wall. You may also find mold and rot on the exterior sheathing behind the cedar siding.

 

[Bretny]

I suspect there is little or no insulation behind that area of the drywall. In the winter the drywall surface temperature falls below the dewpoint temperature in the room causing moisture (water vapor) in the room to condense (turn back to a liquid) on and in the drywall. You can wash the mold off, but if I'm correct, it will be a recurring issue. You need to open up the wall. You may also find mold and rot on the exterior sheathing behind the cedar siding.

This was also my first thought. No insulation. You can tell that's a prety old wall due to the baseboard trim..but it could have been put back on how ever it does look like it's been painted quite a bit.

Do you have any outlets in that wall? I would remove a faceplate and take a look around to see what you can see.

Il be willing to be if you pull that drywall out the whole back is going to be mold. Dont go at mold with what ever you "think" will work. Do some research on what actualy kills mold.

 

[jkuro]

Cut a hole in the wall and take a look.

 

[rburke65]

For starters, cut out the drywall and see what there is beneath. This will give you some clues and an answer to start.

 

[nadogail]

X-14 does a good job killing mole, and it’s a WD-40 product.