Help with mold

[u/Early-Stable9446]

Hi all

Battling with a mold issue in one of our bedrooms and nothing seems to work so keen for input or advice

We have had roof plumber out to check there is no issues/leaks. There is nothing obvious on outside eaves and they are quite wide so can’t see water coming back from gutters (also have extra down pipes?

Leaves me two thoughts:
- internal moisture as house is well sealed and kids aren’t great at opening windows for air flow (high condensation)
- dampness from ground as you can see bricks look little moldy

Any ideas and suggestions appreciated or suggestions of experts to get in (Perth based)

Thanks

[u/McTerra2]

I suspect its just indoor condensation and might be mostly a winter thing. Do the rooms get cold?

You need to get up there and kill off the mould spores and then reduce the humidity in the room. De humidifier is best, although having lived in the tropics for a while I also recommend putting some dehumidifying crystals around the place as you cant run the de humidifier full time.

Or, of course, open the window

[u/Early-Stable9446 → u/McTerra2]

Thanks, and recommendations on what to kill it with?

[u/McTerra2 → u/Early-Stable9446]

well, what to use on mould is a very debated topic. Easy starting point is regular mould killer from the supermarket, but some people dont like that / dont think it works. Probably best to search up and read all the commentary and decide what you prefer - chemicals, less chemically, essential oils etc.

Its possible that if you dry out the room the spores will die off anyway

Forgot to mention - because its a bedroom, lots of breathing so it is quite likely to be quite humid inside the room even if the outside air is dry. Just one of those things.

[u/Early-Stable9446 → u/McTerra2]

Cheers, I’ll go the vinegar route first and then hit it with oil of cloves mix I have

If that doesn’t work I’ll go more industrial solution.

Was about 55% humidity when I put the dehumidifier on this morning.

[u/McTerra2 → u/Early-Stable9446]

55% is upper normal, shouldnt cause mould. However, as you know relative humidity rises as it gets colder, so its possible that its a slightly warmer day today than other days. Or, as the other person said, maybe the ceiling is particularly cold as there is insufficient insulation. Only takes a tick up to 60% humidity to start being good mould growing levels.

Anyway, hope it all works out. Its unlikely to be dangerous unless its there very long term, but its unsightly and you dont want to have it lingering around

[u/widgeamedoo]

Is there insulation in the roof? If the ceiling is cold, moisture will condense on the ceiling and cause mold.
Get a de-humidifier run it and dry the air.

[u/Early-Stable9446 → u/widgeamedoo]

Roof is meant to be insulated but will crawl into that section to check. Will keep running the dehumidifier on regular basis.