BASEMENT WALL MOLD

[JERRY IANNUZZI]

i resently purchased a home that is approximatly 80 years old.i discovered what seems to be some kind of mold on the basement walls.i applied a coat of latex paint to the whole cellar and in approximatly 2 wks. the mold started to reappear in the same locations as before. can anyone realate to this problem and suggest anything to resolve this mold or fungus type of problem
that i believe this is
thanks
jerry

[Jay J]

Jerry,

Is the basement refinished?
Are the walls drywall (although you said you applied latex paint, I can assume so.)?
Is this problem happening on the 1st floor of the house too? (If so, in what relation to the problem in the basement.)
Did you prime the walls first with a Stain Kilz type of primer? (What was it?)
Is the basement below ground?
What is the floor made of?
How is the floor constructed?
Is the problem on only 1 wall?
What’s near the wall(s) in question (drain, HWH, washer/dryer)?
Do you have a humidifier in the basement now?
Do you have ‘positive’ grading outside the wall(s) in question? (In other words, does water run away from the foundation or towards it?)
Do you have gutters?
And are the downspouts ‘carrying’ the water at least 3′ from the foundation?

I’m sure there are more questions but at the moment, they escape me. Please post up individual answers to them. For now, I patiently await …

Jay J

[Henry in MI]

Hi, Jerry. I’m sure that your mold (probably) or fungus enjoyed the meal that you gave them and are growing better now. The latex paint was probably a real treat for them.

What you should have done is first kill the mold by washing with chlorine bleach and then keep them from returning by sealing the wall so that water cannot seep through. The next step should have been to check outside during a rain to see if water is puddling close to this area and divert the water away.

Since it is too late to do it the easy way, I think that your best bet is to scrape the basement walls in the area where the mold was growing and then redo it the right way. Get the walls down to bare concrete if possible and use one of the special basement wall paints that gets into the pores of the wall to block the water from penetrating. You can also add a fungicide (available from paint stores) to this paint.

Some people might try to tell you that exterior basement waterproofing or a basement drainage system is necessary and they might be, but they are big bucks. So try this first and be sure to get any water off the roof at least 6 feet away from the basement walls and have the dirt around the walls sloping away from the house for this same distance.

Good luck.
Henry in MI

[John 2000]

“Hi” Jerry,
Do you want the good news first:
If you have mold, then the info from Henry in Mi is as
near to geting rid of as you can get….. BUT..
Now the Bad news.
Is the “mold on stone or timber. ?
If its on stone then no problem, you can get rid of it
fast.
If its on timber, well you “could have a problem”.
There are two main type of fungus that lives in basements
where the air is warm and still,
(1) it is call Wet Rot or Mine fungus ( coniophora cerebella )
This will only attack wood, like an old beam, but it will stay
on that beam till the beam is like wet powder then it will die.
“It will not attack other timbers in the area.
(2) Dry Rot ( Merulius Lacrymans )if you have this then you have
big problems.
has the “mold” the appestance of cotton wool, thin and pancake looking
with white in colour on the edges and brown dust like in the center.
If its on wood then put a knife into the timber to see if its soft.
the fibres of the timber will break down it will look like small cube
in the timber.
Have a look to see if there are little fibre strands, white, on and in the wood
look to see how far the strands have gone.
the strands are the fingers of the dry rot and are looking for more food (wood)
the strands can go through brickwork (true) so look around, even behide plaster
cut a small hole in the plaster about 6″x6″ down to the brick
if you find Mycelium (white strands) cut another hole about 2′ and look again.
PLEASE COME BACK ON THIS MATTER,IT COULD BE NOTHING (I Hope for you)
or you could have problems.
John 2000.
PS: If you get an “Expert” to look at what you have, get him to give you
the latin names, if he does not know, Drop him.

[John 2000]

Jerry,
Has the fugus eaten you, we have had no come back from
you.
Let us know how things are. “OK”

John 2000

[Don]

Jerry,
Your mold problem, is more than likely due to moisture that is leaching into the mortar joint of the wall. If it is like a powdery white looking substance. Painting over it with latex paint will do no good. The best solutions is to wash the wall with a strong solution of muratic acid, (following the instruction very carefully) then you can apply your primer and paint. Hopefully this should solve your problem.

The Yellow Rose
Don Cagle

[Bre]

We have a basement, and recently tore some of the cedar wood from the wall area and noticed a mold growing behind it. Would like any and all information that you might have on this.

[Kathy Creech]

I have a 100 year old house that has a gravel cellar. You actually have to go outside the house to get to it. Everything is concrete but we do get quite a bit of a mud problem when it rains. Should I be concerned about mold?

[Author]

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