Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [mold]

Preventing, identifying, or treating mold infestations in the home.

Molds are fungi whose spores can cause allergic or toxic reactions when present in large numbers. Molds grow well in cool, damp conditions and often appear after leaks or floods, or where vapor barriers are improperly installed.

More information

466 questions
42
votes
9 answers

How can I paint over mold to prevent it from coming back again?

The source of the leak has been fixed, however the old mold keeps showing though the new paint.
Walker
  • 6,129
  • 21
  • 62
  • 85
28
votes
5 answers

Why are we to leave a front-loader clothes washer open, but not the dishwasher?

Everywhere, everybody, says to leave the door open on your front-load laundry washer so it can dry out and not accumulate mold. But no one, anywhere, says to leave the door open on your dishwasher. Why is that? (FYI: I googled the crap out of this…
Steve Wellens
  • 5,760
  • 1
  • 23
  • 36
20
votes
2 answers

1lb of cure is worth 10 tons of mold: DIY repair of a poorly sealed window? lots of photos herein

Preface I live in China. Construction is largely handled by unskilled migrants, and one cannot just call up a specialist contractor to fix a major issue. Problem I've got a window that was not properly sealed when the apartment was built, and which…
Drew
  • 864
  • 4
  • 12
  • 18
20
votes
6 answers

Does A/C encourage mold growth

I think i'm being sold bunk by a mold company, but not sure. We live in the tropics, we recently had our bathroom ceiling flood due to a burst pipe, and went away immediately after. (the landlord had the bathroom ceiling removed a bit under a week…
ChrisJ
  • 303
  • 2
  • 6
20
votes
10 answers

What is the recommended way to destroy mold?

Back in the day I've heard that bleach is a good way to kill mold. The other day a home inspector suggested that Dawn dish soap actually works much better than bleach. I've heard from another home inspector to use the store-bought mold killer. Does…
Joe Phillips
  • 2,145
  • 11
  • 39
  • 57
19
votes
8 answers

What are the black spots on my bathroom ceiling? Are they mold?

My bathroom above my tub is getting some black spots on it that seems to be growing. I assume it's mold. I am wondering how should I deal with this? What should I expect it to cost?
Jon
  • 303
  • 1
  • 2
  • 7
14
votes
3 answers

Something in my home is making my family sick. How do I determine what it is?

My wife and I moved into a new rental house two months ago. Our small dog, my wife, and myself have all started experiencing symptoms such as headaches, runny nose, constant congestion, cold-like swelling in the sinuses, neck, and throat, general…
Bryson
  • 353
  • 2
  • 3
  • 9
12
votes
4 answers

What should I do about mold in a new build?

I bought my first place in December, five months ago. It's a new 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom condominium in San Francisco CA, and they finished construction in October 2019. Over the last few days, other residents have been complaining about mold in the…
Ollie
  • 133
  • 1
  • 6
11
votes
1 answer

How to remove/clean black mold?

What is the best way to remove black mold from wood? Specifically, the mold on my back porch is black mold. Is the best option to use something like Kilz over it?
warren
  • 931
  • 2
  • 13
  • 22
11
votes
2 answers

Mold remediation in crawlspace

Just bought a 25 year old home that has improperly installed insulation in the crawlspace. The insulation is fiberglass rolls with a paper backing, and is installed with the paper facing down, toward the ground. When the home inspector and I…
Eli Heady
  • 253
  • 2
  • 8
10
votes
3 answers

What is this white powder on my foundation?

Can anyone tell me what this white powder might be? I was ripping up the carpet from my basement when I saw this underneath the padding and on the cement foundation. It's white and cakey. I at first thought I would just vacuum it up, so I took a…
rothloup
  • 715
  • 3
  • 12
  • 24
9
votes
3 answers

Santizing a vacuum cleaner by sucking up disinfectant

I replaced the hepa filter and put a new bag in my shop vac a couple of weeks ago, just before I had to use it to pick up the debris from the cleanup of a moldy area. Obviously, the last thing I want to happen is the growth of pathogens inside the…
MarcoD
  • 435
  • 3
  • 13
9
votes
2 answers

We have mold under carpeting, what should I do?

About one week ago, I found what looked like mold under a carpet. The floor is wooden. The carpet is not wall to wall. All the other rooms do not have carpet or have wall to wall carpeting. I am thinking I can just solve the problem by washing the…
Bob
  • 351
  • 9
9
votes
3 answers

Should a bathroom fan vent to a separate duct system?

Is it acceptable to route a bathroom exhaust fan to the return of a central air system? I'm afraid this will cause mold to grow in the air return ducts. There is currently a fan in our bathroom and I can't seem to find any separate outlet or vent…
Joel B
  • 367
  • 6
  • 11
9
votes
8 answers

How do I clean a very dirty refrigerator?

I just got a new house and inherited a very moldy and mildewy refrigerator. My first though it to get some cleaning spray with bleach and just go to town, but I'm worried the bleach might damage the fridge in some way. It's close enough to an…
Joseph
  • 1,290
  • 5
  • 14
  • 21
1
2 3
…
31 32