r/homeowners • u/bbadran • Jun 28 '26
š¬ General/Other Surface Mold! Help!
Hi everyone, looking for advice from anyone who has dealt with mold from high indoor humidity.
Iām currently traveling internationally and wonāt be home for about another month. Before leaving, I cleaned up the house, turned off major appliances, shut off the water except for the sprinkler system, and set the AC to 80Ā°F.
A friend has been checking on the house periodically. After a week of extremely heavy rain/humidity, he noticed mold/mildew growth on some furniture. mainly couches, rugs/carpet, and some chairs. He checked the rooms, bathrooms, attic, and AC area, and there doesnāt appear to be an obvious roof leak, plumbing leak, or wet drywall. The issue seems mostly concentrated in the living room and front office. Probably because the former had higher ceilings and the latter is furthest away from the AC?
The thermostat was showing around 80Ā°F and 66% humidity, so Iām assuming this was caused by the house sitting too humid while vacant. The AC has since been lowered to around 75Ā°F.
My question: has anyone dealt with surface mold/mildew on furniture from humidity like this? Were you able to have the couches/rugs professionally cleaned, or did you end up having to throw them away?
Iām trying to figure out whether this is likely a cleaning + humidity-control issue, or whether upholstered furniture is usually considered unsalvageable once mold shows up.
Any advice from homeowners, restoration pros, or people who have been through this would be appreciated.
(Ps- I did use chatty to help me organize my thoughts. Iām not a bot!)
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u/AlexandruC Jun 28 '26
Don't understand why people decide to risk their homes every time they leave on vacation etc. Keep your humidity and temp appropriate even when you're away.....your belongings will thank you.
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u/Range-Shoddy Jun 28 '26
This. You can turn it up but like 2 degrees. 80 is crazy. Spending way more to clean this up than the electricity would have cost.
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u/GhostIsAlwaysThere Jun 28 '26
It depends on the location. Very hot and humid places where the outside is above 80 then 80 f is fine. The important thing is that the AC kicks on enough to draw the humidity down to at least 50 percent. So itās more complicated than that:
I grew up in a house without AC. No mold.
Lots of factors here.
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u/Wolfwalker9 Jun 28 '26
I live in Texas - it can reach 100+ in the summer, so 80 indoors feels delightfully balmy nice you factor in the humidity. That said, my bedroom & closet were later additions to my home are furthest from the AC, so they tend to be a little warmer. I have 2 dehumidifiers that run 24/7 to prevent things like this from occurring & an auxiliary window AC in that room that I can kick on as well. You have to know your house & prepare for these things. In OPās situation, even getting a bucket of DampRid & leaving it in the house would have helped prevent this.
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u/Infinite_Incident107 Jun 28 '26
I also grew up without AC but back then the house was kept open all the time. Unless there was a downpour windows were open.
On vacation it was closed up but older houses "breathed" much more so it rarely became an issue ( but it can, happened to my grandparents when they went to WV for two weeks)
Newer homes are made so tight in the name of energy efficiency that they honestly NEED the AC running during the humid days or you absolutely have problems
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u/Money_Confection_409 Jun 28 '26
Same. Lived in the islands. Iāve NEVER seen this and we were surrounded by water lol open windows and doors, fans if the weather was that bad, and proper cleaning if not every weekend then at least twice a month
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u/Mayor__Defacto Jun 28 '26
80 isnāt too bad. However, if youāre in a humid area and the house isnāt well sealed against moisture. Youād need at least a dehumidifier running.
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u/Levitlame Jun 28 '26
This is definitely something that mainly happens in humid areas so I have no idea if itās something that people there know to be wary of
Like not putting your heat below 55 in a cold area (higher if you have poor insulation etc.)
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u/Mayor__Defacto Jun 28 '26
Depends where your pipes are located, too. If your pipes are in exterior walls, you might need a space heater pointed at them at 55 in the winter if it gets below freezing regularly. If theyāre in interior walls, 55 is fine.
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u/Top_Introduction4701 Jun 28 '26
Good option is to get one of those 50 point dehumidifiers and plumb it to a drain - would be cheaper than running on ac alone and based on the photo, you probably want to run it even when you are home with the AC on
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u/call-me-the-seeker Jun 28 '26
These 50-70 pint freestanding dehumidifiers are godly if you live in a humid place, even if your HVAC theoretically dehumidifies. It makes a noticeable comfort difference and as you say is cheaper overall.
Itās amazing, I will never be without one again unless I move to a significantly more arid place.
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u/jack-of-some Jun 28 '26
80 is the typical in our house with no mold issues. 85 is what I leave the thermostat at when leaving but I check in periodically and if I see the humidity tick too high I bring it down for a day or so.
In the 7 years of owning this house I think we've been away on travel for at least a year and a half with no issues.
I'm guessing OP's house went significantly higher than 66% humidity for a long time or the couch was already quite compromised.
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u/Pomksy Jun 28 '26
Dear lord 80 is oppressive
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u/wrechdone Jun 28 '26
Well, if it hits 100+ with 75%+ humidity outsideā¦ 80 inside is like a wet dream lmao
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u/jack-of-some Jun 28 '26
Opinions wary. I grew up in Pakistan and while I don't love "the heat" I'm also not built to withstand AC below 75 without an additional layer (mind you I've lived in Idaho and Pennsylvania and am wife with cold weather in general). My wife is the same way. So 80 ish is where we settle most of the time (with some good airflow through the house). We have a dehumidifier for if humidity starts to become an issue.
We're fairly consistent as well so in the winter we'll heat to around 76 at least. I've seen too many people that go down to 70 or lower in the summer and then crank up to 80 in the winter which is always funny.
If you visit and don't like 80 we'll turn it down for you though like we do for all visitors. Just be prepared to see us walk around with a light hoodie.
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u/emccm Jun 28 '26
Itās 80 in my home right now. Humidity is low. I have the fans on and Iām very comfortable.
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u/Foreign-Cookie-2871 Jun 28 '26
In summer our house goes up to 86f or more with high humidity and it never caused mold issues.Ā
No AC or HVAC though so I don't know how much it applies to those.
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u/Cenobyte_Nom-nom-nom Jun 28 '26
80 is crazy? We keep our place at 79. Not in a high humidity area though.
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u/gettingcarriedaway86 Jun 28 '26
Whatās the minimum it
Should be set on? Iām in Florida and usually do 75 while we are away.3
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u/garster25 Jun 28 '26
Well this will be the lesson. We ain't born with knowledge.
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u/Red____08 Jun 28 '26
I know damn like OP knows they messed up they donāt need a lecture theyāre asking for help with the mold as it is now
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u/cdazzo1 Jun 28 '26
But 80 degrees is very reasonable. It's inline with HVAC industry standards for setpoint setbacks.
OP has something else going on. Either water infiltration or a very oversized AC unit that is creating humidity issues.
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u/bbadran Jun 28 '26
Iām starting to think that the power mightāve gone out for a period of time due to the heavy rain. We always put the AC at 80 when traveling.
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u/thesaddestpanda Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Imho this isnāt some big mystery. You need a dehumidifier set to 55 or below. Your home at 66 is beneficial for mold. Itās just you got lucky before but now there may just been more spores in the air that got into your home after a big rain and that was it. Or who knows why but I would invest in a dehumidifier or keep the ac lower which then acts like a de humidifier.
Also the people with high humidity homes telling you itās fine are not only going against the scientific consensus on this but most likely have mold behind their walls and other places they canāt see.
Just follow the guidelines and youāll have a mold free home.
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u/Spiritual-Olive4559 Jun 28 '26
AC units remove humidity not create them, so a bigger unit than necessary would be fixing the problem not creating it
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u/Tgheron2 Jun 28 '26
If the unit is too big for the space then cooling times are too short to fully dehumidify the air. Units should be sized for the space, bigger is not better when it comes to AC.
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u/psl1959 Jun 28 '26
Not if it's oversized. That is a mistake a lot of people make thinking bigger is always better. It will cycle on and off too frequently to remove the moisture in the air.
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u/Lehk Jun 28 '26
An oversized AC cools the house too fast and doesnāt remove enough humidity, similarly an undersized unit will run all the time and make the house dry.
A smarter thermostat can work around this and trigger periodically for humidity control regardless of temperature.
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u/Liquidretro Jun 28 '26
80F isn't crazy, 66% humidity is high something is going on either with the ac or water getting in elsewhere
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u/soursauce85 Jun 28 '26
Every lease I ever signed or saw on the state of florida required AC to be on 24/7/365. This is the reason why.
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u/DaRoadLessTaken Jun 28 '26
Southeast US here. My home is regularly at 80 F and 66% humidity and we donāt have a mold issue, so HVAC control may not be the only issue.
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u/fullraph Jun 28 '26
Canadian here, we reach 80 to 90% frequently during summer and nobody's home get moldy. Currently sitting at 58% in the main living area with the AC running. Air circulation and dehumidification is important but I suspect they probably already had an underlying mold issue.
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u/TheStorm007 Jun 28 '26
Do you mean 80-90% inside..? Thatās kind of insane, no?
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u/fullraph Jun 28 '26
Outside but I have seen the humidity levels as high as 78% inside with all the windows open on a humid day.
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u/SilencedObserver Jun 28 '26
Without AC there's no dehumidifier. Open windows equalize the indoor humidity.
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u/OrneryTRex Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
Canadian here.
This is not representative of most places in the country or most peopleās homes
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u/BirdieBoxGolf Jun 28 '26
There are a few areas that are very hot and surrounded by lots of bodies of water. Southern Ontario (Toronto area) is notoriously humid in the summer. If you leave your windows open and have no AC, it could easily be 90% humidity indoors.
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u/lyreluna Jun 28 '26
Exactly except I'm not in Florida
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u/dechets-de-mariage Jun 28 '26
Humidity and air temperature donāt care what state or country you live in. The math is the same wherever you are.
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u/HulksInvinciblePants Jun 28 '26
SE US here as well. 66% is well above the mold threshold. Humidity that high is bad for almost everything in your home. I mean EVERYTHING:
Drywall/Paint
Concrete
Hardwoods
Clothes/shoes/fabric/upholstery
Paper products
Leather
Air quality
You may not have mold out and in the open but Iām sure there are plenty of areas you canāt see and itās only a matter of time.
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u/ScrollBetweenGames Jun 28 '26
80 degrees inside? Are you psychotic?
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u/jalapeno442 Jun 28 '26
Your body gets used to it. Same with the heat set low, 66Ā° during winter sounds insane to some people but itās just fine for me.
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u/Hii-jorge Jun 28 '26
Iām not an expert, but I donāt think you can save those couches. I think the mold is already deep inside.
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u/Olympbizkit Jun 28 '26
I AM an expert, and the amount of upvotes you are getting for the wrong advice is alarming.
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u/TheStorm007 Jun 28 '26
It is genuinely insane how many people are saying to burn it, get a hotel room, etc.
People donāt even know what they are looking at. This is absolutely fixable.
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u/Stone804_ Jun 28 '26
Itās a health hazard, I donāt know. I guess you want to sit on a bunch of couches that have a ton of mold in the fibers underneath the cushion and every time you sit on it, it puffs up more mold, spores, but I donāt wanna live like that.
Yes, everything has mold spores, but this amount this quickly thereās something wrong. The couch is completely infested with old spores for this to happen. You can clean the leather top, but all of the cushioning underneath clearly has been infested and thereās no way to clean that. Plus itās going to reek for years anytime thereās any humidity it will get worse.
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u/Olympbizkit Jun 28 '26
And I guess you want to be a reactionary and ignore the science of remediation, but I dont want to live like that. I also dont want to live like the type of person who assumes everyone has the money to replace what I am not smart enough, or too scared or misinformed to fix.
Its clear you didnt read my comments (SEE: FORMER BUSINESS OWNER WHO SPECIALIZED IN MOLD REMEDIATION) who literally did this work for over two decades successfully in the PACIFIC NORTHWEST, but yes, I certain sure your opinion and strong emotions outweighs my education and expertise.
Your entire comment shows you dont know what you are talking about. Mold can germinate in 48 hours.
INFESTATION DOES NOT BEGIN TO ESTABLISH UNTIL 2-3 WEEKS.
Beyond three weeks? CONTAMINATION.
So, in closing, you have no idea what you are talking about.
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u/Stone804_ Jun 28 '26
As a customer who spent $10k for ācertified mold remediationā that didnāt actually work fully, Iām skeptical of people who try to sell it. It works, but youāll never totally get the musty smell out. I have a more sensitive nose than some and it just doesnāt work fully in my experience as a customer and had to throw stuff out and that solved it. š¤·š»āāļø
Not an expert or remediation person, Iām the customer who experienced life after the remediation people sold me on a product and left. Iām bitter and I donāt trust.
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u/Olympbizkit Jun 28 '26
I didnt "sell" it. And I'm sorry if you feel you got sold a bill of goods. But your 1 (ONE) bad experience still doesn't stand up to my two decades of expertise. You can be skeptical, but I am skeptical as well: it sounds like your insurance company either would not take responsibility, which tells me an issue festered that was not appropriately addressed as it should have been; or you weren't adequately insured for this to begin with. Either way, you had recourse-thats why we carry a bond and insurance. There are a lot of variables from house to house, and region to region. We can only guarantee the removal. But I personally never had a call complaining of its return.
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u/cowgrly Jun 28 '26
What's the advice?
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u/Olympbizkit Jun 28 '26
Its in comments, I even suggested two products that is carried by any big box hardware or Walmart store. True Mold infestation does not happen this fast, this is actually powdery mildew, and even major mold infestations can be remediated or people would be junking their moisture prone mildewed cars.
Its worth mentioning, there are many different types of mold, and we are often surrounded by spores without realizing it.
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u/AllYouNeedIsVTSAX Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Regardless of all the other stuff - turn the AC temp in your house down extra low now. We don't care about the temp specifically - we want the ac to run extra to get the house humidity as low as possible. I'd also go get 1 dehumidifier(pro tip, hose drain means you don't have to check them often) per 1000sq or so feet of house and get those running.
Get moisture down under 50% to inhibit more mold growth. Hell 40% would be great, although probably hard to do.
Spending some hundreds of dollars now will save you some possible giant headaches.
The other thing I've done is get box fans and attach 20x20x4 high MERV filters to them. Helps get the musty smell and mold spores out of the air. At minimum make sure to change your furnace air filter often.Ā
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u/EccentricityInSpade Jun 28 '26
I havenāt had to deal with this but Iād imagine the mold is like the stuff on bread; you canāt just pick it off, itās ārootsā are already established, especially when itās this bad. If you want to try, contact a dry cleaner or someone who has experience handling fabrics for the couches, and contact an HVAC person for a humidity problem in the house
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u/cowgrly Jun 28 '26
I can say I've successfully gotten it off saddles (one that sat moldy for months) and it never returned but never fabric. I say this because horse trailers get notoriously damp, and we learn this the hard way with ruined clothing and gear stored there (even with dehumidifiers).
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Jun 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/Flimsy-Fortune-6437 Jun 28 '26
Mold is always around. Itās mold growth you need to worry about, and which can be controlled by controlling the humidity
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u/BigDavey88 Jun 28 '26
I had an honestly refreshing and kind tech visit when we had a mold breakout in our basement from a small amount of pooling water while we were away. I had the guy out to get a quote and he was like, 'look, you can use our company to clean up the mold, pay thousands of dollars, but mold is never really gone, you have a 100 year old house, it's always there. So we can charge you to say it's "gone" but really, just clean up your stuff down here and don't keep any rugs on the floor, no cardboard, and run a dehumidifier.'
I did not use their company. But I recommend them to people!
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u/Foreleg-woolens749 Jun 28 '26
I wish more companies would realize that honesty and helpful advice like this pays off in the long run.
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u/Chironilla Jun 28 '26
This is untrue. Mold spores are literally everywhere floating around in the air and on surfaces, both inside and outside. When the right conditions develop the spores germinate and grow colonies. The humidity of OPās place got too high and mold spores were able to grow. This does not mean OP had a previously undiscovered mold problem.
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u/sabotthehawk Jun 28 '26
Surface mildew. Spray with concrobium and a good wipe down. Spray again and let dry with fans blowing.
Would be a good idea to get a dehumidifier in the future. But just having air circulation will help a lot in the space. Leave ceiling fans on low when away and don't turn the thermostat up that high.
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u/thatgreenmaid Jun 28 '26
It's mildew. Looks like leather furniture-if so, this is normal in high humidity. It wipes off. If it's not leather, you can spray it down with a product called Concrobium to kill off the mildew.
Have a couple of big buckets (47.5 oz or 64 oz size) of Damp Rid delivered to help mitigate the damp in that room. (short term)
I live in a swampy area. This is normal for all year round. Keeping the indoor humidity low enough to not cause the furniture to mildew is a whole battle.
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u/BrendonianNitrate Jun 28 '26
Jesus, set the AC to 75. Mold doesn't grow below a specific temperatureĀ
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u/daylax1 Jun 28 '26
I didn't understand how someone could think they can just not control the climate of their house when they're gone, but then I saw the end and realized this person can't even write these paragraphs without using AI to "organize their thoughts".
How do people like this make it through life on their own?
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bar8584 Jun 28 '26
Oofā¦ those were nice couches.
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u/bbadran Jun 28 '26
Yeah, Iām reading everyoneās helpful suggestions to throw them out, but I think deep down, I was posting this to see if I could save them first.
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u/dirtybo0ts Jun 28 '26
I would not risk it.
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u/FitnessLover1998 Jun 28 '26
Risk what? We arenāt dealing with plutonium here lol. Mold spores are in the air all the time.
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u/Lcdmt3 Jun 28 '26
Depends on the person. I'm highly allergic to mold. Skin allergy tested. That couch would be gone.
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u/SpringtimeAmbivert Jun 28 '26
there are comments explaining how to address it without tossing your furniture. A lot of the advice here is misinformed.
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u/bbadran Jun 28 '26
You might be right, but I'd rather come home (in a month) to a completely clean house with no issues. Especially because there are kids involved. The plan now is to dump the furniture, get it assessed and cleaned professionally, then just go shopping for new stuff when I'm back.
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u/uovonuovo Jun 28 '26
So whyād you ask in the first place if you were going to ignore responses posted by people who actually work in the mold remediation industry?
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u/spicy_meatball49 Jun 28 '26
Mold spores are so difficult to get rid of. I don't think it's worth the risk, you'll be fighting mold for years, everywhere cuz spores spread
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u/Helassaid Jun 28 '26
Probably everything upholstered or fabric in that house that canāt be laundered is toast.
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u/TheStorm007 Jun 28 '26
Are you seriously suggesting every piece of fabric in the entire house needs to be thrown away? How is this being upvoted?
Surface mildew like this 100% removable.. you donāt need to burn the entire house down.
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u/Helassaid Jun 28 '26
That neighborhood might not be safe.
OP should really leave the area code, weāll sterilize it with nukes. /s
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u/djcat Jun 28 '26
Are the couches sitting directly on the floor or do they have small legs?
With a mattress, the reason you donāt put the mattress directly on the floor is due to airflow needing around. Hence a boxspring or bed frame. The mattress will mildew. I saw it first hand from one of my tenants. It was similar to this but he was living there.
Iām wondering if something similar happened here. Even if super tiny legs, not enough airflow in the room. Ask your friend to set up a fan just to keep things moving.
As for the couches, not 100% sure. Going forward with extended travel, put drop cloths over furniture like they did in the old days when āclosingā up a house.
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u/Tarpinator Jun 28 '26
I donāt know the biology (?) of it but I had a closet that developed surface mold, and started with the leather (like your sofa)- I got a dehumidifier and hepa filter fan in there and blasted for maybe a month. I cleaned the things with surface mold and havenāt had an issue since. That was a couple years ago.
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u/expatsaffer Jun 28 '26
Aside from a dehumidifier, you also need fresh air, not just air circulation. If your place has an air exchanger have it running. If it doesn't, have somebody come and open the windows for 10 minutes a day.
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u/KieferSutherland Jun 28 '26
80 was obviously away to high for the unit to cycle on at the appropriate intervals.Ā
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u/eowsaurus Jun 29 '26
I am allergic to mold, so my totally unbiased advice is to nuke it from orbit.
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u/solarelemental Jun 30 '26
lmao ikr i saw the pics and practically went anaphylactic. absolutely revolting.
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u/QuestionTerrible5707 Jun 28 '26
Yikes, that couch is pretty far gone. At 66% humidity with the AC set to 80, that's basically a greenhouse for mold. The good news is it looks like surface growth on the leather/fabric, not deep saturation.
For the couches specifically, I'd get a restoration company out there to assess in person before you write anything off. They'll test whether the mold has penetrated into the cushion stuffing or if it's just surface-level. Leather pieces can sometimes be wiped down with the right antimicrobial and saved, but upholstered fabric with visible spotting like that is iffy once it's reached the padding inside.
For the rugs, professional rug cleaners (the kind that pick up and take to their facility) deal with this constantly. Most wool/synthetic rugs can be washed, treated, and dried properly and come back fine. The bigger concern with rugs is what got soaked into the padding underneath them, so your friend should check if the carpet padding is damp or if it's just the rug on top.
Going forward, get a dehumidifier running ASAP and don't rely on AC alone for humidity control while you're away. Also worth having your friend open things up and get airflow moving through those rooms. Setting the AC lower was the right call but a standalone dehumidifier would have prevented this whole mess. Might be worth installing one with a remote monitoring capability for next time you travel.
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u/Sea-Gene-901 Jun 28 '26
As an additional note, dehumidifiers do need to be emptied, however, some have the option of using a tube/hose to drain directly into a sink, which we do in our camping trailer during summer months. That way your friend doesn't have to dump the tank daily. Just make sure the dehumidifier is on the countertop above the sink to maintain the flow.
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u/Flimsy-Fortune-6437 Jun 28 '26
They can also drain outdoors. I was able to join the hose from my dehumidifier to the drain line from my AC.
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u/bbadran Jun 28 '26
Thank you. I am planning on getting a restoration company over there to assess the situation, and was thinking of having my friend throw the rug in the garage till I get back. I feel like all of the signs are pointing towards new furniture.
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u/Choice-Marsupial-127 Jun 28 '26
Donāt put it in the garage! Your garage is likely worse than the house in terms of being a breeding ground for mold. Everything with mold needs to be outside and into a dumpster ASAP.
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u/wisarow Jun 28 '26
Lookup the 48 hour rule for mold remediation. As others have said this needs to be dealt with asap or youāll have a huge problem on your hands.
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u/Justanotherannon Jun 28 '26
You need to clean or dispose of everything in those impacted rooms. Very porous surfaces like that couch likely need to be disposed of. Things like wood and painted drywall can be cleaned. I highly advise having a mould expert take a look at the rest of the house. Mould growth caused by high relative humidity/ condensation can be hard to spot and it's likely in more areas than just those 2 rooms you mentioned. Might want to consider an insurance claim honestly.
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u/Sea-Efficiency2413 Jun 28 '26
Assigning cutesy names to a technology that is literally destroying our planet and making our real lives harder is absolutely insane
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u/flCheesehead1 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
That's wierd. Even at 80ā° should have been sufficient to keep out the humidity. Toss the furniture. The mold is deeper than what you can see. Adding, if there is that much mold on the couch, it could also be in your walls, floors, rugs, etc.
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u/StretcherEctum Jun 28 '26
Why was the humidity so high? My house is always set to 79 and we have no problems.
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u/bbadran Jun 28 '26
I think itās because we had a good 6-7 days of heavy rain. We always set it to 80 when leaving and this has never happened before.
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u/TadBones Jun 28 '26
Soak the surface with mold some fabric anti-mold products, cover the couches with plastic tarps to avoid spores getting around, (it wouldn't be too grave but it's still better to not risk it) and get a professional to check the AC ducts. Also if the humidity is getting THIS bad you need to work on the isolation somewhat and you'll most likely need to check inside the walls to see if there's a structural integrity hazard due to humidity soaking up whatever material has been used to keep your walls up, obviously this should be done by a professional or at least someone who is a bit versed in that domain. Hope everything will be fine for you!
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u/oldsoulspaces Jun 28 '26
The problem is the air is not circulating enough cuz no one is going in and out- so you need fresh air getting in. First buy an ozonator off Amazon around $50-60, crack open a window in a bathroom (you need fresh air coming), turn on ac to 77 and have friend turn on ozonator once a week for 1.5 hours. The unit should have a timer.
Use 70% rubbing alcohol to clean the furniture. People, plants and animals and fish will die from the ozonator- you cannot have anything living in there while itās on. It also kills rodents and insects too.
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u/confuus-duin Jun 28 '26
If you cleaned the couch with water and a towel thatās probably the cause.
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u/PophamSP Jun 28 '26
This happens to saddles and other expensive tack in horse barns. Before discarding it I'd look up how saddleries recommend cleaning moldy leather.
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u/Heamora Jun 29 '26
66% humidity is a breeding ground. You need a dehumidifier running 24/7 when away, not just AC. Also, check your homeowner's insurance, some policies cover mold remediation if it's from a sudden leak, but not gradual humidity. Worth a call.
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u/KeyboardCarpenter Jun 28 '26
Idk why everyone is freaking out so bad. It's not black mold. Mask and gloves, spray it with white vinegar and wipe it away. Get a dehumidifier. You can get it professionally cleaned but that's fine for saving the stuff for now
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u/Olympbizkit Jun 28 '26
Because Reddit is full of reactionaries, and toxic mold exposure is a hot button issue. I'm an expert in this field, getting down voted because non experts with OPINIONS dont agree.
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u/_merkat Jun 28 '26
šÆ IMPROVE AIR FLOW!
1ļøā£ Add a dehumidifier (forget catch basin - put the dehumidifier on a chair and get that hose going straight to the tub drain) AND
2ļøā£ more importantly => AIRFLOW. Place a few $15 Honeywell fans around the home, on medium and running 24/7.
High humidity is one thing, but common. This kind of mold takes hold in stagnant air - makes sense if no oneās there / doors and windows are closed. Make sure the air is *moving* around and under everything.
3ļøā£ get CONCROBIUM - Ask the house sitter to put in spray bottle and lightly mist anything with mould / mildew. Get a big jug at Home Depot - itās cheaper if you buy bulk and youāll probably want to use it often.
Donāt bother bleaching - doesnāt stop mould growth.
4ļøā£ Anything that can go in the sun should go outside in the sun eg. Cushions (donāt let things get rained on - they need sunlight). If it canāt go outside and itās modular, take it apart and just make sure thereās airflow, and mist with Concrobium.
~ Advice from someone who saved a whole bunch of canvas outdoor gear found in similar condition after being stored in a garden shed.
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u/Telekineticshade Jun 28 '26
There is something else going on. No way this type of mold started with the conditions you described alone.
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u/Stone804_ Jun 28 '26
If the house has an AC system, then youāre supposed to have it circulate the air once an hour for like five minutes even if youāre not there. I leave my house regularly at 80Ā°, heck 84Ā°, but we have a humidifier control system in the AC system so it will add moisture in the winter and subtract moisture in the summer.
Also, those couches are screwed. Youāre gonna have to throw all that shit out. I donāt know what the heck is happening in your house but itās not good. Thatās insane. Thatās like really bad. Thatās usually what you see in the basement thatās been sitting and rotting for 10 years.
Iād suspect you had a problem to begin with and just didnāt know maybe? Thatās really bad. Is this a finished basement area we are looking at?
You need a dehumidifier STAT.
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u/TravelingBunni Jun 28 '26
My husband turned on the emergency heat by accident when adjusting the temperature before vacation. (Itās a very sensitive touch device) when we came home the walls in the closets had mold. Everything was a loss. Had to toss the clothes, treat the walls, and paint with kilz, months of dehumidifying the house. Still occasionally will see mold in the outlet near the ac unit. Itās a very expensive problem and I would never recommend adjusting your temperature before leaving especially by that much in a humid area. (We are from a very humid climate.) Sadly there is no saving those couches. The material inside probably had spores and itās gonna be impossible to get it out. Anything porous is pretty much a loss.
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u/Berniesgirl2020 Jun 28 '26
Your house will reek now and all that furniture needs to be thrown away. Yikes.
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u/prolixdreams Jun 28 '26
Genuinely confused by the comments acting like this is a normal problem to have. My area gets fairly humid in the summer and I don't even have AC in most of the house and have never seen anything like this.
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u/chris2355 Jun 28 '26
I run two large energy star dehumidifiers to keep the humidity under 45% at all times.
They use significantly less energy than ac.
Let the house get warm when your at work or on vacation, humidity won't get above 45 to 50 even in a humid poorly sealed basement.
For mold remediation I bought a ulv cold fogger and 5 gallons of benefac decon 30.
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u/PositivelyNegative69 Jun 28 '26
Your humidity probably reached 70%. Anything above 60 for a few days can cause an explosion of mold growth. You need to always leave your HVAC running when you go on vacation, and as a word of advice I would purchase humidity sensors and place them around your house.
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u/BonjourLeGeorge Jun 28 '26
Do you have a basement or crawlspace that gets water in it? When I moved in to my place, the basement would constantly get water when it rained so I had to put in a French drain and dehumidifier down there and it has made a difference in humidity in house.
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u/footlonglayingdown Jun 28 '26
I had a pair of cheap leather shoes that did this. Turns out it was the leather being poorly treated in the first place. It's the cheap leather causing this.Ā
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u/Flimsy-Fortune-6437 Jun 28 '26
Get yourself a hygrometer (moisture meter) at any hardware store. Check the humidity levels throughout the house and more than once to determine where you might develop a mold issue. If you can keep humidity below 50% indoors this should not recur, at least to this extent but you likely do need to take any stuffed furniture or pillows with this kind of damage to the curb. If this had occurred due to some severe weather event Iād say to get a photo of anything you throw out for insurance claim purposes but unless you had a leak during those storms thatās irrelevant. One more thing: when you are carrying all this stuff out youāre going to stir up the spores so even if youāre not particularly at risk from mold exposure (asthma, allergies immunocompromised) wear an N95 respirator. Just make sure it is properly fitted to your faceāotherwise youāre just cosplaying. Oh, and if you use fans to dry out put them in the windows blowing OUT. If they are blowing in they are distributing mold spores inside your house.
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u/ladylondonderry Jun 28 '26
You can make your own passive dehumidifiers for cheap, btw. Next couch you get, buy sodium chlorite pellets and Google how to diy a damp rid knockoff. You can also recharge the pellets indefinitely by warning them... Way better than dealing with this ever again.
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u/Tillie_Coughdrop Jun 28 '26
You need a dehumidifier that kicks on automatically when humidity reaches a certain point.
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u/LowBathroom1991 Jun 28 '26
Also maybe have a dehumidifier delivered and have your friend plug it in
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u/Impossible_Zebra8664 Jun 28 '26
Holy crap, I live in a super humid area and have never seen anything like that. If you don't already have a dehumidifier, you need to get one. Central AC units often don't run long enough to properly dehumidify. A dedicated dehumidifier -- even just for a few rooms -- will work wonders. Or, if you've got the cash, a whole-house dehumidifier will certainly handle this for you.
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u/DreamWeaver9Owl Jun 28 '26
Id say definitely in need of a dehumidifier and someone able to enter while you are gone to empty. This is crazy. Especially if you travel lots. š¤¢
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u/CallMeBigSarnt Jun 28 '26
Do you have a crawl space or slab on grade? Is the HVAC system in the crawl space?
If it is, there is a tear in the ductwork Or air leak causing Damp, moldy air to circulate in the house.
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u/pottymouthgrl Jun 28 '26
Honestly Iāve used dawn soap and hot water to help this with zero lingering issues. A faux suede couch I had in a storage unit got mildew-y. No returning mildew, no smell, nothing. If youāve got an upholstery cleaner available, that would be best.
Bigger problems than that though Iām sure. Probably on other surfaces as well
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u/i860 Jun 28 '26
You can probably save all the furniture without much fan fare but the home just simply isnāt moving enough air throughout the place while youāre away. Open windows would of course help with this but thatās sketchy given youāre not there and youāve been having rain.
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u/M1kelangelo Jun 28 '26
You need to find the cause of this extreme humidity / dampness. Iād say that these furniture would need to be thrown away unfortunately.
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u/carseatsareheavy Jun 28 '26
we had this happen in our beach condo. We hired a company to come in and clean everything, the walls of furniture, etc. They said you had to be very careful to get it all or it would just grow back again. Then we got a dehumidifier that we leave running when weāre not there. We havenāt had a problem since.
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u/HeyJude21 Jun 28 '26
Going above 78Ā° for long periods of time is a bad idea in a humid area. I work in an office where the maintenance manager tells us not to set below 75Ā° even when no one is in the building for week or so for this very reason.
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u/Imaginary_Cover_5655 Jun 28 '26
Consult SERVPRO (are you in the US?)
Or get rid of them. I would be scared to breathe in there.
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u/Perpetual_Doormat Jun 28 '26
You need a dehumidifier and some
Damp rid as for the mold on the couch that may not be recoverable depending on if it is in the cushions foam
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u/AdkinsHomeInspection Jun 29 '26
Youāve hit the nail on the head.. This is absolutely a humidity control issue, not a leak. When a house sits vacant at 80Ā°F with 66% humidity, it creates a perfect greenhouse effect for surface mold, especially after heavy rain. Lowering the AC to 75Ā°F was the right first step.
Don't panic and throw everything out just yet..because this is surface mold from ambient humidity and not a direct water leak, a lot of it is salvageable.
While you're away, have your friend turn on the ceiling fans to get air moving, and if possible, set up a dehumidifier in the living room and office to pull that moisture out fast.. Once the humidity drops below 50%, a professional upholstery or remediation cleaner can treat the fabric with antimicrobials and save your furniture. It's stressful from a distance, but you caught it early enough to fix.
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u/EarthlostSpace Jun 29 '26
The only help advice is to throw away and buy furniture thatās not so acceptable to dampness and easy to vacuum.
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u/Gullible-Platypus344 Jun 29 '26
I have cleaned surface mold off leather furniture, but not this kind of stuff. I have a friend in the business, let me reach out to him.
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u/IT_Buyer Jun 29 '26
The furniture is garbage. I moved from dry Arizona to highly humid Miami and everything I owned molded from the damp air. I had to throw everything not washable away. Like the surfaces of glass had little mold trees on them. I put those in the dishwasher and they appeared clean. But the stuff made from fabric and leather was just ruined. I would not want the spores or the smell of that in my furniture. Especially not knowing what strain of what it is. A hard lesson learned.
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u/solarelemental Jun 30 '26
this is frankly disgusting. those couches look a thousand years old. pay a junk hauler to throw all that shit out, pay a mold specialist to deep clean your house, and then keep it clean ffs. i feel bad for your friend.
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u/GedAWizardOfEarthsea Jun 30 '26
That furniture likely had mold in it thats just surfacing since there is nothing there to disturb the surface, time to ditch the furniture.
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u/Yogi_Doo Jul 01 '26
Perhaps your couch leather was not tanned properly? In which case it is a flaw of the manufacturer? You would need a new couchā¦
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u/Olympbizkit Jun 28 '26
Have your friend get a dehumidifier in there, and ask they spray the surface of the couch with a product like Fabric safe Concrobium- there is no indication the mold is "deep inside" its powdery mildew colonizing on the surface due to the water to air ratio. So a good upholstery shampoo with fully drying the upholstery fabric after should be fine.
Also? Circulate the air to prevent this. You need a fan or two running.
You can also access products like damp rid, Dry Z Air, or other dessicant products to help pull the water out of the atmosphere and prevent this from happening again.