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jlsrent

Mold in basement

jlsrent
17 years ago

I have found some mold in my (unfinished) basement. It is an old home (70+ years) and I am seeing some on the cement block as well as some of the duct work. The cememnt block is slowly but surely crumbling away, not too bad but it is falling apart.

Is there a good way to get rid of the mold on my own? Something to mix up and spray on it? I would like to get rid of it and then fix the cement block.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

Thanks,

Jen

Comments (2)

  • pjb999
    17 years ago

    There are lots of ways to attack it, read other posts on this forum first, but the most important one is to find out WHY the mould is happening. If you don't, then it will keep re-occurring.

    The spalling or breakdown of the cement (is it concrete, or mortar? At the age of the house, I guess it's not reinforced concrete but you need to find out why it's breaking down. That's potentially very, very serious as it could conceivably result in the wall collapsing, having unfortunate consequences for yourself and your house.

    Upon reflection, I think you're probably best trying to find an expert - a real expert, not one of these snake oil 'mould experts' - probably a structural engineer. As I say, if you don't find out what the root cause is, most possibly a breakdown in the dampproofing, you'll be wasting your time.

    If it is a damp-proof problem, there are a number of retrofit solutions on offer, although if possible, excavating (use an expert) and re-applying protective material, is probably best.

  • peterbog
    17 years ago

    Diluted household bleach, 1 part bleach to 4 parts water, or diluted tri-sodium phosphate (TSP), follow the directions on the box, will kill mold. Just mix it up and brush it on and let it stand. I got my TSP at Lowes or Home Depot.

    Mold will come back if moisture is present so that needs corrected for a permanent fix.

    The breakdown of the concrete blocks is probably being caused by water especially if you live where there is natural acidic soil. (The water will leach the acids from the soil into the blocks where they will react with the lime in the blocks leaving basically sand if it occurs long enough.)

    So you do need to find out what is causing the blocks to breakdown! It may be the same thing causing the mold.