Bit late but this brief description maybe of use: To combat mould first arm yourself with a mask and eye shield so that you can remove as much as you can physically without getting to heavy a dose of the spores whilst doing so. After removing as much as possible wash to area several times with first soap and water and then either a commercial mildew remover/cleaner and/or one gallon of water mixed with ¼ of a cup of chlorine bleach. Obviously depending upon the level of damage any damaged materials will have to be replaced and unless you solve the original moisture problem it will most likely need replacing again from further damage. It may well be worth purchasing a humidity meter ($15) which if it shows a reading of more than 50 then you should really look into buying a dehumidifier. There are a wide range of home dehumidifiers available suitable for home use and they usually range from the $100 and upwards mark. Here are a few pointers to remember when selecting a dehumidifier: If you require a dehumidifier in more than one room then consider buying a whole house dehumidifier rather than a single room dehumidifier. It will do the job more efficiently and last longer than running several smaller dehumidifiers continuously which will incur more maintenance costs. Also donÂt forget that if you will be running your dehumidifier in particularly cold places that it has an auto-switch off when it starts to freeze. If it doesnÂt have one then it will become damaged if you run it and it starts to freeze. Also check that the noise level is not too high in the shop before you make a purchase particularly if it is to be used near your bedroom. Further more it may well be worth getting a trusted builder/contractor to take a look at the area to check for possible causes and remedies of the moisture problem. Also having a word with your family doctor about any allergic symptoms and further dangers it may pose should also be done in order to consider how seriously you need to take into account the mold problem. Hope that helps. More comprehensive info available on the link below: Here is a link that might be useful: air dehumidifier, home dehumidifier

There's no reason for insulating a basement ceiling except for noise abatement. And fibrous insulation by itself is virtually useless.

I just fixed up my basement on the cheap. Painted the cement walls harvest gold behr basement wall paint, threw down the cheapest rug off the roll from HD, so thin I cut it with scissors to get around the poles in the basement, went to wallmart and bought tan tab top curtains (19.00 a pair) and nailed the tabs into the back of the beams in the basement to seperate the laundry area and also along a section of the basement to hide the water heater and furnace and keep that side for storage, took baby pins and pinned the curtains together so they didnt look seperated, spliced the cable and stuck a tv down there put the kids toys, playset kitchen, 2 comfy arm chairs and a small undercabinet frig, painted the wood stairs brown and stapled a runner down the middle. If you just have studs for walls can you just buy those big sheets of primed beadboard at HD and nail it up? I might just take burlap material and nail it to the beams to hide the pipes and wired all over the bare ceiling. The kids love it...not so scary anymore. Good luck!

Sue, I've heard folks tell that it helps to insulate under the floor. But what about insulating down the basement walls to a few feet under grade? That wouldn't take a lot more insulation, and you'd have some more comfortable space in the basement. In summer, I often turn on the furnace fan late in the afternoon when things get rather hot, here north of the southernmost Great Lake (Erie). That blows some rather cool basement air up into the house. We find that in that semi-cool basement in summer the warm air moving down there from outside tends to deposit some moisture and goods made of iron tend to rust. Some papers, etc. tend to mould and there is some on the walls of a finished basement room. Several years ago our local utility added a timer to our water heater that made it run at 2:00 a.m., when there was low demand for power (with an over-ride button that one could push in case of shortage). Plus they added an insulating blanket. When another jurisdiction took over that project, they removed the timers when they made service calls, plus the insulation, when they installed a replacement heater. At least, they were going to, but I told them to leave that blanket right there - which they didn't mind doing. Hope you can make arrangments that keep you and yours as snug as a bug in a rug (or should that be, " ... as snug as bugs in rugs"?). ole joyful P.S. I guess the number of bugs isn't a big deal for you who, like I, live alone. o j