Mold Smell At Night

[mattdiez]

Well, as a followup, I managed to fix the source of the water leak in my wall (overflowing sewer pipe that wasn't capped during a botched later-nineties remodel ).

Anyway, that leak had caused a nasty mold infestation on my drywall and in the cabinets.

So, I figured, with the water leak closed off, and the walls and cabinets scrubbed down and Cloroxed, and, all rotten wood or drywall removed, then treated all of it with Concrobium, that I'd have the mold smell licked.

And, I was largely right, until it hit sunset, and the smell came back. As it turns out, the mold smell comes back at night, and then every day, goes away. I'm guessing this is due to the condensation and the night air in my extremely humid (South Louisiana) climate. Sooo:

1. Does that seem to make sense that night air is reigniting my mold?

1. So, what do I need to do? I'll be buying a dehumidifier, but I don't really want to run it 24/7/365. Can I install some sort of moisture barrier between my masonry (concrete block) walls and the drywall/wood bolted to it?

Thanks in advance,

-Matthew D. Diez

[Oren]

Tell me the truth, are you a mold expert?!!

-- Oren

[cshenk]

wrote

Matt, I think it more likely you change something at night, shch as close the door or windows (safety thing possibly). Possibly some fan you run in the daytime is turned off? Thats allowing the smell to build?

[mattdiez]

I just bought a dehumidifier, and ran it all night. No mold smell this AM.

So, this seems to confirm my suspicion about nighttime humidity reigniting it.

Any experience with vinegar instead of bleach?

[mattdiez]

Doors and windows are closed all day long, also, I'm not running any fans or A/C units.

However, I just bought a dehumidifier and ran it all night, and now I have no mold smell whatsoever. I -am- concerned about it coming back. Perhaps I'll check for small cracks/fissures in the walls where outside moisture might be entering.

[Norminn]

Night air wouldn't change your environment as far as I know. Is the smell local to where the leak was, or throughout the house? How extensive was the damage? Where? Where do you notice the odor? Two things come to mind: carpet, bedding, clothing might have soaked up the odor....cleaning/laundering them might help. Second, if you close up the house or a particular room in the evening, then less circulating air might make the smell more pronounced.

What kind of cabinets were affected? How repaired? What about flooring? More info would help, perhaps.

I repapered a bath about three years ago - the old paper was peeling and had mildew along the seams that had begun to open. I washed the wall well with bleach before putting on the new paper, but I noticed the same area is beginning to darken. I am sure the mildew is back, but I'm not going to paper again until I need to. This is an outside wall, and our bath appears to have studs that are 2" rather than 4". Concrete block and stucco, Florida. I suspect there is moisture in the wall - perhaps sucked in through outlets or other openings and condensing when it cools??? The outside wall is south facing, gets a lot of sun during the day, so I suppose it could warm up enough to pull moist air into the wall space. I can't figure out any other reason for the mildew - the outside of the wall is sound, no cracks or peeling paint.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

You said it's extremely humid where you live. Then, you say the house is closed all day long, and you run no fans or AC. That sounds disgusting.

I have a constitutional right to be wrong, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that maybe you had the beginnings of a problem BEFORE the plumbing leak.

[ransley]

Bleach kills mold by removing oxygen to the plant, vinegar might be food for it. Spray the infected area with alot of bleach completely, its cheaper than vinegar also. If its inbetween walls , drill holes and use a garden sprayer.

[NA]

High humidity make mold active. Suppose your room humidity 50% at 80F during the day -- mold is suppressed. The same air will be at 100% RH if the room temperature drops to 60, making the mold active. So if your air is not circulating, and night temperature is significantly lower than day temperature, mold might be active.

[HeyBub]

Only at night?

Does something snuggle up next to you in the darkness, something that needs a "little lovin'?"

Maybe a wet dog?

[mattdiez]

As I said, the mold was in the backs and bottoms of the cabinets and drywall. The leak spilled onto the backs and bottoms of the cabinets and drywall and concrete blocks. The mold smell comes from the cabinets and drywall and concrete blocks. There is no mold nor mold smell elsewhere in the house.

It's quite possible that the wall (south and east facing) is doing like yours did.

The cabinets are the standard-issue fare that you may purchase at any home-improvement store.

[mattdiez]

It's 70 during the day and mid-fifties at night. No need to run fans or A/C right now. In a couple of months, however, they'll become a necessity.

It's quite possible that the walls could have been wicking moisture in before the leak, true.

[Norminn]

Bath? Kitchen? If possible, it might help to keep the room closed (easier for a bath, I'm sure) and keep a dehumidifier running. If the wall was open, was the concrete block sprayed with bleach? CB will never dry out completely, AFAIK, so it could continue to give off odor. That might be the source of the odor, in which case completely sealing the room might help - caulk around all receptacles, baseboards, etc. Paint or seal all surfaces of cabinets that were affected and not otherwise sealed (under shelves, etc.). Cabinets taken off the wall and back surface cleaned? Just a thought :o) And the roof, siding, windows and fascia are in good shape and not letting in moisture?

[Frank Warner]

Just for the record, there is nothing in the United States Constitution about having a right to be wrong, but we know what you meant.

-Frank

[JoeSpareBedroom]

I think it's part of the 147th amendment.

Nice knives. What's a good way to touch up the edge of a really nice set of barber's scissors? Japanese water stone, maybe? The scissors aren't a wreck, just old, and beginning to tug on beard hairs just a bit.

[cshenk]

"ransley" < wrote

Are you sure the drilling holes and spraying is safe? He&#39;s apt to have electrical cables back there and bleach can damage the coatings.

[clifto]

Naw, vinegar kills mold pretty well. Had to use it on our carpets in the apartment we had last.

[Ma.bryant2]

replying to HeyBub, Ma.bryant2 wrote: We are having the same problem in our home that we recently bought. The house was a foreclosure and sat vacant for a year. Mold has been treated in the crawl space, but keeps recurring. I notice the musty odor in the evenings and night, must have something to do w condensation on our floorboards. Just a thought.

[Shadow]

Avoid Camembert and Brie the day before(Olde Stilton is also dangerous), and all should be well. []'s

[jamoral]

replying to NA, jamoral wrote: I have the same issue in a house in the mountains in Spain. This is the only theory that makes sense.