Mildew growing in our house. Help!

9 years ago

We just cannot seem to stop the mildew. We live in the deep south where it's humid year-round. But we are clean people. Apparently, being clean is not enough! We vacuum. We sweep. We mop. We do not allow piles of things to accumulate. We do laundry. We keep a clean house.

But the mildew will not stop!

We have it growing in our bathroom shower area (and it keeps on coming back no matter how many times I clean!!!!!!!!!!!) We got it now growing all inside both our AC window units!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its starting to grow in some corners of our house. It just won't stop!

Is there a "mold bomb" that I need to buy and use once a month to kill this horrible, never-ending disease of a thing? I am at war here and I need weapons (I mean suggestions!).

Or will a dehumidifier finally kill the darned things? If so, I'll buy it!!!!!!!

Comments (8)

rrah
9 years ago
A dehumidifier won't kill mildew, but it will remove the moisture from the air that mildew needs to grow. Definitely buy one.

I would be concerned about the mildew in the AC units as they are blowing that out into the air in your house. Clean out the units immediately with a bleach solution.

As far as the shower area, it probably lacks the ventilation needed to prevent it from growing.
moviegeek
9 years ago
Bleach is recommended for non-porous surfaces such as your shower, hydrogen peroxide is recommended for porous surfaces such as walls or fabric.

In a spray bottle mix 1 part bleach to 10 parts water(1:10), in another bottle mix hydrogen peroxide with water(1:1). Spray liberally and let stand for at least 10 minutes, use paper towels to clean up.

Never mix bleach and hydrogen peroxide!

If the mold has got into your walls then you will have to replace the drywall. A dehumidifier is a good idea but running your air conditioner will do the same thing.

www.weather.com/activities/health/allergies/mold/control_humidity.html

Ideally you want the humidity between 30-50%, here's a good gauge:

www.amazon.com/Vicks-V70-Health-Check-Monitor/dp/B0000TN7NS

I agree about cleaning out the HVAC, replace your filters every three months.

This post was edited by moviegeek on Tue, Oct 7, 14 at 20:15
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asleep_in_the_garden
9 years ago
I live in basement-like conditions and the landlord bought one for the apartment and I've definitely noticed the difference. Also there is the added benefit of the reverse osmosis byproduct. SOOOOO much better for your houseplants than tap/city water.
graywings123
9 years ago
I would post this on the Home Repair forum. Mold in the shower is minor, mold on walls outside the bathroom is a big problem. You need to figure out a way to reduce the humidity in your house.

For right now, buy a fan that has an auto shut off feature. Aim it at the shower stall and let it run for an hour after you use the shower. You can help the process a bit by using a squeegee on the walls of the shower before you get out. It takes less than a minute to do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tower fan
Swiss_Chard_Fanatic
Original Author
9 years ago
rrah and moviegeek,

Thanks for your recommendations but I have a question. How do I clean my AC units "with paper towels" etc? Wouldn't I have to take them out of their mounts and completely disassemble them? The mold is all the way into the AC units and in every crack and crevice and corner of them..........

P.S. Thanks for that link, moviegeek. I will be buying that soon.

This post was edited by Swiss_Chard_Fanatic on Mon, Oct 13, 14 at 15:50
moviegeek
9 years ago
Swiss_Chard_Fanatic,

Sorry I misread your original statement, I automatically thought you had central air conditioning. Wall units can be opened up to be cleaned, just spray the bleach mixture on the coils and anywhere you see mold(unplug the unit first). Let it stand for at least 30 minutes before plugging it in.

I know they are expensive but central air conditioning is the way to go, in the meantime buy dehumidifiers for every room.
lam702
9 years ago
A dehumidifier will help to dry the air. Moisture is what creates mildew and mold. Yes, clean those air conditioners right away. Does your bathroom have an exhaust fan? If not, get a good one installed, that will help a lot too. If you can afford central a/c that will be a big help. Bleach and water will kill the mold and mildew but unless you can rectify the moisture problem, it will just keep coming back. I don't live down south so I am not familiar with how the weather can affect mold. I do know in the summer here in NY its hot and humid and our dehumidifier runs constantly, We only need it in our basement, but it takes out 2 gallons of water every 24 hrs in the summer. Maybe you should get a couple of them, depending on how big your house is.
tedred
9 years ago
Removing vapor from a bathroom can be a big problem in the South. Never leave any splashed water on the bathroom floor. Mop it every time and leave the bathroom vent open at all times. If needed leave the bathroom door open for extra ventillation until you have no condensation on the mirror. An exhaust fan can be the ultimate solution. I had mildew in bathroom until some time ago. When the landlord decided to do some upgrades, we found out that the metal hoses that connect to the faucets had been very slowly leaking water behind the cabinets causing all the humidity.