Please help-possible leakage/mould

[Melbournee]

Hello all,

Attached are the pics of one of the bedrooms.

I noticed some water droplets on the wall and some spots on the ceiling as well.

Attached are the pics.

Looks like mold to me (I know nothing about this to be honest)- how can this be treated if it is infact mold.

I am getting someone to come in and check if there is a leakage in the roof??

THere is a humidifier running in this room so can that be causing or accelerating it?

Please help me - getting real stressed (heard mold can be real dangerous and all that. Got a little toddler in that room) Thanks.

 

[Propertunity]

I can tell you from experience that that particular mould pattern is not from a leaking anything. It is from your humidifier. When the warm moist air meets the cold ceiling and wall, it condenses there as moisture and facilitates mould growth.

You need to clean off the mould with a bleach solution. Then I would go over it again with vinegar (which is supposed to kill mould spores). Then repaint (one coat) with paint to which has been added an anti-mould additive (Bunnings has this - http://www.floodaustralia.net/products/anti_mould/VC175.php)

You should also ventilate the room during the day - opening the windows etc.

There is no point telling you not to use the humidifier as you are obviously running it at night for a child with a breathing issue (our younger kids had croup during winter occassionally too).

 

[Melbournee]

makes lot of sense. Thanks.

Yeah, the little one has had a lot of congestion(cold etc) so the doc said try a humidifier.

I was looking through and through and couldn't find anywhere the water could be coming from.

Is vineger the best way - Isn't some kind of oil the best remedy against Mould. As I said I am no expert but if I am going to bunnings I am happy to pick whatever the best solution to the problem is.

Do these solutions etc leave marks - I mean is the painting over the top necessary. THe room had new carpets etc so want to avoid any accidents....

 

[Propertunity]

Is vineger the best way -

Yes - and it is cheap.

Isn't some kind of oil the best remedy against Mould.

Dunno, but you can't put oil on your plaster. That will stain.

Do these solutions etc leave marks - I mean is the painting over the top necessary.

You can paint over the top after removing the mould OR you can clean the mould off every 2 - 3 weeks - its your call.

THe room had new carpets etc so want to avoid any accidents....

Use a drop sheet

 

[NSWinvester]

My new purchased property had a lot of mould in it aswell, the property clearly had cracked tiles and they were repaired immediately.

I used the same methods Propertunity stated and the mould hasn't come back since.

My advice would be not to use any fancy or marketed products which could cost you hundreds of dollars for e.g. a specific product made for removing mould (I can't think of any examples...). At the end of the day it's just bleach $15 and vinegar $5 added to water and elbow grease.

I also added a anti-mould agent to the paint from memory cost $20 per bottle which gets added to 10 litres of paint.

Good luck

 

[Melbournee]

thanks Prop and NSWI.

Mixed Bleach in water and cleaned it.

Is the vinegar to be applied straight on or mixed in water- and if so what ratio.

thanks

 

[nww]

I'd also be concerned on the cut in on the paint job.

 

[Melbournee]

u mean vinegar on the paint job will cause cracks?

getting rid of mould is top priority for now.

Can always comeback and fix the paint....

 

[nww]

u mean vinegar on the paint job will cause cracks?

getting rid of mould is top priority for now.

Can always comeback and fix the paint....

Yeah the paint job is not the best.
That's just something I could not live with.
But mould priority 1

 

[Melbournee]

ah! so the vinegar can cause cracking which is hard to fix even later on??

how would something like "Exit Mould" work??

Any other suggestions?

 

[wylie]

ah! so the vinegar can cause cracking which is hard to fix even later on??

how would something like "Exit Mould" work??

Any other suggestions?

I think you read the comment about "cutting in" to mean the vinegar would cut into the paintwork. The comments are to do with the "cutting in" where the wall meets the ceiling... a bad paint job .

Shannon Lush suggests 1/2 teaspoon Oil of Cloves in one litre of water in a spray bottle to kill the mould spores. I use this but vinegar might well do the same job.

 

[Propertunity]

ah! so the vinegar can cause cracking which is hard to fix even later on??

No. Vinegar is only acetic acid.

how would something like "Exit Mould" work??

Exit Mould is only a bleach solution.

Any other suggestions?

Bleach first. Then 1 cup vinegar to 3 cups water to wipe down afterwards.

 

[Deena]

Yes I agree clean with straight bleach, then go over it with straight vinegar which will kill the mould spores and it will not return, if............ Mould will grow in a damp enviroment, if you are using a humidifer then that is probably the cause. These solutions will stink big time so work in a well ventilated enviroment.

I lived in an old damp house, mould was a big issue, despite having windows open it was never enough, and windows open in winter it was a freeeeeeeeeeezing cold house. I bought tubs of damp rid, best thing since sliced bread I could not believe the amount of moisture they trapped. I used to empty them every few days as they would be full. I never had a mould problem after that.

 

[Melbournee]

Thanks for all the quick replies once again!

Put a thin coat of vinegar over the affected area. Looks nice and the smell is almost gone. (opened all windows + put the fan on for a while).

I lived in an old damp house, mould was a big issue, despite having windows open it was never enough, and windows open in winter it was a freeeeeeeeeeezing cold house. I bought tubs of damp rid, best thing since sliced bread I could not believe the amount of moisture they trapped. I used to empty them every few days as they would be full. I never had a mould problem after that.

damp rid- isnt that like moisture absorbing crystals etc?

wouldnt those be drying the air out whereas the humidifier would be doing the opposite of that?

Just making sure that I cant use that, right??

 

[Deena]

Yes Damp rid is moisture absorbing crystals, but if you want to avoid further mould development, I would use them. I used to use a humidifier when my son was young. Guess you are inbetween a rock and a hard place, if the mould has only developed since you have been using a humidifier, but then mould will increase likelyhood of more health issues.

 

[Melbournee]

Yes Damp rid is moisture absorbing crystals, but if you want to avoid further mould development, I would use them. I used to use a humidifier when my son was young. Guess you are inbetween a rock and a hard place, if the mould has only developed since you have been using a humidifier, but then mould will increase likelyhood of more health issues.

exactly right. Bad position to be in.

giving the humidifier a miss for now. Might turn it on every now and then when cant do without it.