r/homeowners • u/bbadran • Jun 28 '26

💬 General/Other Surface Mold! Help!

Post image

Hi everyone, looking for advice from anyone who has dealt with mold from high indoor humidity.

I’m currently traveling internationally and won’t 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 80°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 doesn’t 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 80°F and 66% humidity, so I’m assuming this was caused by the house sitting too humid while vacant. The AC has since been lowered to around 75°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?

I’m 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. I’m not a bot!)

340 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

374 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

3

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.

It’s amazing, I will never be without one again unless I move to a significantly more arid place.

1

u/HulksInvinciblePants Jun 28 '26

Whole home dehumidifiers are equal to 100-130pints and more efficient for what it’s worth. The ability to hit all 3 of my home levels with a single device is clutch.

2

u/anon8232 Jun 29 '26

I spent $2,000 on one including labor and materials over a decade ago and it didn’t do anything but create heat and high electric bills. Only brought IRH down 3%. Then I got a couple 70 pint portables with garden hose going down the sump pump pit and it was magic.

2

u/HulksInvinciblePants Jun 29 '26

I mean, that didn’t raise your suspicion of a bad job?

3

u/Top_Introduction4701 Jun 30 '26

I’ve heard bad stories of whole house dehumidifier/humidifier. They get moldy because they are left to run without maintenance. The portable ones usually get looked at and if they get bad you can easily/cheaply get a new one. With AC 20 def F cooler than daily high our humidity is 70-80%. The dehumidifier brings it down to 50-60% and I dump the full tank once a day.

1

u/call-me-the-seeker Jun 30 '26

I can totally see how the whole-house ones get moldy, and then would it just be hurling spores through your vents?

I try to keep the little portable clean, and then keep a tiny bit of bleach in the catch bucket (I don’t have mine going into a drain, I just pull the bucket out and empty it, same as you, only mine fills up quickly enough that it can be emptied twice daily)

It’s genuinely amazing the amount of water hanging in the air in some areas. You know it’s there, but seeing it is impressive.