Mold/Mildew issues with undercounter sink?
nonnyx2
14 years ago
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annie.zz
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Bad Moist/mildew smell in my home
Comments (5)I just toured a property with a mold expert. Not a mold remediation contractor,(who may be hoping to find a big problem to work on) but a Certified Industrial Hygienist. (CIH) He brought a moisture meter and other equipment. He checked under each sink looking for leaks. With the probe he checked a ceiling spot that looked like an old leak, but he said no moisture present there. You are going to be looking for water intrusion (roof, wall leaks, plumbing problems.)because those are spores you are smelling. a CIH can do air samples as well to see if spores are in the air. The fact that you could smell a change after rain suggests a roof leak or a crack along a wall outside. Can you go up into the attic space with a flashlight? A home inspector who checked the house out when you bought it wouldn't have found anything necessarily because as a new home ages it settles. You can find cracks around the fireplace flashing up on the roof because that caulking cracks sometimes with a change of season. Recaulk. Send a registered letter now to the builder detailing the fact that you gave notice earlier, and now the problem is worse after a rain. If you installed satellite or cable and the installers made holes for their equipment on the roof or just walked over the roof--that could be the area water is entering....See Moreunder-counter venting for rice cooker?
Comments (12)I have a MAJOR mold allergy, so this isn't just a matter of aesthetics for me. In fact, when we moved into our previous rental I had discovered a plume of mold damage on the back wall and under the wall kitchen cabs. The owner then figured out that that was the location where she'd kept HER rice cooker for years and years. So I'm concerned, and I do pull the rice cooker forward as much as possible (on a 24" counter), but the front and bottom edge of the wall cabinets still get steamy (cabinet rail is 15" above counter). And, I just looked and there are brown condensation spots underneath the top cabinet, behind the light rail. Am I the only one?? For those of you with NO problems from the cooker, how far is its vent from your upper cabinets -- both horizontally and vertically? I've found 50-90CFM bathroom fans @ 0.3 sones. (0.5 is the sound of rustling leaves), so that's quiet enough. But it would be an under-insulated penetration in a (SF Bay Area) house we hope to have very insulated. However, it does seem like overkill, I recognize. That's why I'm posting here -- to get insights from wise folks who cook and who think deeply about kitchen usability....See MoreMold/mildew under kitchen cabinet
Comments (7)Believe you me, I know all about hot flashes, lol! :-) Yes, visqueen is a brand name, and it sounds like what you got is the same thing. It also sounds like you used the correct type of tape, so I'm surprised some of it came undone. On that mcgarryandmadsen.com site, you probably read their recommended method for patching, using both staples and the tape. It sounds like a lot of work, especially in the heat and under the house! I agree with you, though, I'd rather be under the house with the visqueen down than on the bare dirt. I also think you're right about the AC and the condensation being a contributing factor to your problem area. I just have a window unit in the living room, so I haven't had to deal with that. I'm hopefully putting in a mini split system next fall, and that eliminates the need for ducts, and I can't wait! You might be able to get a free mold inspection through your state and/or county. It would be worth a couple of phone calls and an internet search to find out. Your state and county also might be able to help with mold removal if any bad stuff is found. I hear you about affordability--everything is just so darn expensive! I got this house (14x64 SW) last January almost for free ($2,000). My daughter and I moved in on March 1 and the previous owners, who are good friends, were still here. Unfortunately, my friend has a shopping addiction and is a hoarder. The MH was falling down around them and they either couldn't see the problems, because they were buried underneath the hoard, or they didn't think it was important, like not thinking a fan in the bathroom needs to be kept in working order, or they "could 't afford" to fix it, like the furnace which they lived through three winters without! Yet, she could afford to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars every month on clothes, make up, shoes, handbags, etc., 80% of which still have price tags on them. Anyway, when my daughter Joy and I finally got the house cleaned out of the gigantic piles of hoarded stuff, and got the house as clean as we could by ourselves, we were able to see the extent of the damage--and it's bad. Really bad. There's like 4-5 really major projects that all need to be immediately if we hope to salvage the structural integrity of the home...but I am not a wealthy woman by any stretch of the imagination. So it has to be one project at a time, as money becomes available. So I've spent literally over one hundred hours researching every aspect of manufactured homes. This site has been a treasure trove of information! Last October, when I agreed to buy this house from my friend, I actually read through every single thread on this forum! It was like taking a class in MH101. I've also read all the blog entries on MHs on the mcgarryandmadsen site. mobilehomeliving.org is another good one. Joy and I figured out that we spent about 300 hours between the two of us cleaning out the massive hoard they left here and cleaning. That didn't even include the regular home cleaning and maintenance of our own stuff! There are a few things I can't do because I have pretty severe rheumatoid arthritis. The range was one of those things. I managed to get the stove top pretty clean and put in new burner bowls, but there was no way I could have scrubbed the hood, under the stove top, the oven, or underneath the oven where we found all kinds of used, greasy paper plates! Last night, a young couple I hired from craigslist came over and it took them two solid hours, so four work hours, to get it clean! It was definitely worth the $60 I paid them. Well, good luck with your mildew problem...I hope you can fix it without too much expense or too much time crawling around under the house! :-) Sincerely, Debbie...See MoreWarm solutions for concrete basement floor with mild water issues
Comments (5)Anything that is applied topically has the potential for being overwhelmed by moisture. And yes, you are correct that the moisture content won't change because the slab is still 'holding' onto the moisture. Absolutely correct on that one. Did the ENTIRE BASEMENT receive the treatment? If not, it won't work. Imagine trying to keep a small portion (size of a penny) of a sponge dry by placing a penny sized piece of plastic on top of the sponge. Now float that sponge in a sink full of water. How long will it take the tiny piece of plastic to become 'useless'? Not very long. Water finds the path of least resistance. It will move up/around/sideways and over top of anything in its way. The only way to keep 'office' area dry is to treat the entire basement. Yep. The ENTIRE thing. And that's assuming the SHOT BLASTING and the EPOXY and the PRIMING and the MICROTOPPING are done using an epoxy specialist. A 'good coat' of sealant is probably not going to work. The DIY level of coatings from HD (et al) are some of the epoxy specialist's best friends. These topical products make the professionals a whole heap of money. Because they are called in to 'remove' (ie. spend more time removing the bad 'fix') and then fix the topical sealant that was originally applied. It gains them another $1-$2/sf for the job. They like it (but hate it at the same time...they wish people would simply call them first). In your situation, the BEST solution (warm underfoot) is carpet. I know you don't want that, but it is the honest truth. Carpet and its pad are BREATHABLE materials. Believe it or not, that is the BEST THING for a slab with moisture issues (not 'standing water'....but water vapour moving up through the slab). The water will always have a place to go...which is into the air. It will not be 'trapped'. Trapped water means potential for mold growth. I would go with a low-pile berber with an appropriate pad (most berbers don't need them...but some will accept them) for now. Carpet is cheap to purchase and cheap to install. It is cheap to remove and cheap to dispose of. If you are not overly concerned/pressed to fix the issue, then carpet is your best friend. To get down any other type of flooring (and NOT have mold/mildew issues) you will NEED to fix then entire basement slab with the professional shot blasting/epoxy/primer/microtopping routine....See Morenonnyx2
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