We are looking for a house to buy and the one we are interested in has mold on the bathroom ceiling. There isn’t a fan on the ceiling, just a window, and the house is 42 years old. What do you think the chances are that it is just surfacce mold? What can we do to get rid of the mold and what will happen if it is in the building materials?
Image taken on 2006-01-20 15:21:37 by travelin_kate.
The bathroom is a high humidity area so the finishes in the bathroom are important so you don’t encourage mold. Bath fans later will help as well.
Go to http://www.thermoguy.com/globalwarming-heatgain.html to see how exterior solar exposed colors can generate heat the building isn’t designed for.
Go to http://www.thermoguy.com/globalwarming-heatloss.html to see the Heat Loss function of a building.
Does your new home have shade trees? What color is the exterior? There is lots of homework for you because your building inspectors can’t see the function of the building.
Reduce not prevent mold problem.Many variables in bathroom mold conditions and causes. but follow the advice.
And if you go through with the purchase of that house, and your mold problems is fixed, you need to install or have installed, a fan/blower in that bathroom in the wall above the shower. That will prevent a recurrence of the problem
Be concerned. Mold is extremely difficult to eradicate, as the hypae (roots) get deep into the substrate. Hopefully it is only surface- try wiping it off; if you see a bad stain underneath, chances are that it might be a problem. Not even bleach or paint will get rid of tough mold- you have to replace the section. And black mold, or Stachybotrys, can make you very ill- I had it in the filters of my air conditioner after a hurricane, and was breathing it in for months- it almost killed me; I would come home from a run, and stick my face right in front of the AC unit, breathing the cold air deep into my lungs for ten minutes… I got poisoned by mycotoxins, had to quit work for six months, and was sick for two years. But in general, this would never happen- maybe some allergic reactions, stuffiness, etc. Here’s a link:
http://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm
Mold is a pretty major concern. It can be a health hazard. Some states actually require that you remove all mold containing building materials from the home before a sale. It could involve removing/replacing the wall board and potentially the framework behind if the mold has penetrated.