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.

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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
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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
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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
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What is this on two boards in crawl space?

These two boards are in a dry crawl space. Whatever is on them is not present on any other boards. Is this mold? Or something else?
Ben
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How to self-remediate mold?

We had some water damage recently (leaky toilet supply line) that flooded an upstairs bedroom and the room immediately below it. We had all the drywall torn out in anticipation of rebuilding and had a mold test done. Despite the water being around…
Michael Moussa
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Is spraying peroxide on studs with mold enough?

After removing some drywall in a basement that had mold on the bottom 1-2 inches, I was left with the base stud still black. Per the recommendation of a local company, I sprayed everything with hydrogen peroxide. I'm now trying to decide if I should…
Jeremy Mullin
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How do I know which mold agent is best?

I've had several mold remediation specialists come to my home each touting their preferred EPA approved mold killing agent including: Cal-brite, Fiberlock Shockwave, Microban BotaniClean. I've looked at the specs and can't tell the difference. Their…
none
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What should I do to prevent mold from flooding?

Thanks to old plumbing, my upstairs toilet has flooded the bathroom -- and it's dripped all the way down to the downstairs bedroom, where it's soaked into the carpet there as well. I've got buckets and towels; however, I'm highly allergic to mold…
Yamikuroune
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Why is my new house making me sick?

I just moved into a new house and my son and I have been experiencing tightness in the chest and asthma. When we leave the house and are out and about; the symptoms are gone. Our bathrooms have no windows and the exhaust fans are in the ceiling. I…
nycgirl56
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How can I prevent my dehumidifier drain line from freezing?

Is there a 120 Volt switch that would shut down power to a dehumidifier when the outside temperature goes down to 35°F to protect the drain line from freezing. A digital thermometer would need to be mounted outside to detect the 35°F temperature to…
Jim Molner
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Can I kill this mold?

An old house is in the process of being signed over to me. The house has been neglected for several years and I have begun trying to fix the place up. The front of the house has been victim of a severely leaky roof for several years and the water…
Mr. T
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Can I determine the cause of mold?

I was in my attic and took this picture. No visible water and nothing damp to the touch. 8' from a small window. Not above a bathroom. I don't think it's from poor ventilation. If it is mold how can I find the ventilation issues? It's on this…
Marinaio
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How serious is mildew on the ceiling of the top floor of a house?

If a house had mildew (I'm assuming it's mildew, it's black and slowly spreading) on the ceiling of the top floor of my house, what could cause this and how serious could it potentially be? The building is a 3 story (minus the roof space) house in…
JMK
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Is this mold in my apartment?

I recently found a slow water leak in the back of my closet which houses both the AC unit and the hot water heater. Maintenance came and pulled up the carpet and sprayed water/bleach on the affected area and has a fan blowing on it to help dry it…
Zhro
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Why do anti-mold products avoid stating it kills mold?

I've noticed almost all products for treating mold/mildew say something like "mold stain remover", rather than indicating they can actually kill the mold/mildew. I'm wondering, are these products generally reliable? I imagine the product is…
AaronLS
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