Q: The paint in our hall bath always peels. Was the ceiling not properly primed? Now we are getting mildew in the bathroom on the ceiling and walls. What should we do?
A: This is a pet home repair project of mine. Paint peels for only a couple of reasons.The primary reason is moisture. The steam from the shower rises and stays on the ceiling. It is critical that the exhaust fan be in use with every shower.
I recommend connecting the fan to the light.That way the fan goes on every time the light goes on. Also check the fan that it is clean and effective in removing the steam.The mildew is created by moisture in a dark environment. Use bleach to remove the mildew from tile. You may have to replace the sheet rock in the ceiling and walls.
More info.... http://greathomepainting.com/Home-Improvemen...
When sidewall venting fans it is not suggested as we used to do to vent out from the soffit area. This creates a pressure in the duct preventing it from properly working on a breezy day.
Ethan is correct also. Be sure to vent system out of attic. Insulate pipe with at least R-6 ...»
Several are vented using the same material that they used to use in dryers. That white plastic garbage. While this may be fine in the warmer areas of the country, in he PA area as in my area NJ we get to cold not to insulate those pipes. ...»
You need to check in the attic to see if the vent has a steady pitch to it. Either pitched towards the inside of the house, or pitched ideally towards the outside of the vent blower. This prevents water build up within the pipe should it get cold enough to condense the vented moisture up and out of the attic.
Debby Gentry, Kilz has Microban chemical in the product. What this does is not kill anything, but create an environment in which the mold cannot thrive. Sort of like a pre-treatment to prevent weeds from growing in the yard. It creates a hostile surface that will not allow mold to grow. If you have anything on a Sheetrock wall and it cannot be simply wiped away and painted, you should ideally remove the drywall and replace. Think of mold having roots, what you see on the surface is minor as what is growing in the material in which it is found. Protocol requires mold removal to include any surface that cannot be thoroughly cleaned to be removed and discarded. Drywall, plaster etc is one of those materials.
Most mold found on ceilings of baths as an example ideally should be removed and replaced. You can get away by cleaning the surface and painting with a Kilz product, however if you do not prevent the moisture the mold will return much faster then it would had you removed the suspected surface and replaced.
1st off the mold your finding on your windows can easily be cleaned off using a good detergent cleaner. Or something that you would use to disinfect your counters.
But I have a larger concern here. And that is the moisture. ...»
If your basement windows are suffering from condensation you have a moisture issue that needs to be looked into. The elevated humidity in a basement is a sign of a few things. A basement that has an issue with water coming in from the outside. A dryer vent that is not properly fastened tight allowing some of the vented moisture to escape into the basement, A leak in plumbing that your not aware of, or most important a plugged chimney on a gas appliance.
When a gas furnace or appliance operates it produces moisture and a lot of it. If the venting system for that appliance is faulty you risk CO2 and elevated moisture levels.
So please check to see if there is any draft spillage assuming you have gas appliances in the basement of the home.
So on the moisture side of things, you need to find where it is coming from and try to correct this. If the shower is located in the basement, is it properly being vented? Lots of things cause moisture. But if you do not know where it is coming from and you have a gas burning appliance in the basement, please check its operation just to be safe.
When cleaning mold one must understand the material it is growing on. Mold needs something organic to grow on. It will not simply take up shop on a plastic panel, a tile, cement wall, glass etc. However many people see mold on these products and wonder why? Think of the side of a rock wall along the highway. You see trees and plants and all sorts of growing vegetation. These plants are not growing out of the rock, it offers nothing to them as far as a food source. It is because the nooks and crannies in the rock as allows for organic material to develop on the surfaces in which these plants thrive.
The same goes with the non-organic surfaces in a bath room or kitchen. These materials are holding an organic material on its surface. In the example of a tile or plastic shower/tub surround it is the soap film that collects on the surface of the tile that allows mildew to develop. So cleaning these surfaces will remove the mold. However you must understand if you use an abrasive cleaner on the surfaces you will soon develop micro scratches that eventually dull the surface, but more so make the surface more acceptable to holding the organic materials that allow mold to develop. So using comet to clean on a plastic surface although will work well, it is not the type of product you want to use.
On a tile surface the important concern here is the grout. This porous surface as well as some tiles used today, needs to be properly sealed to prevent the organic build up of soils and soap that allows for mold to develop. Sealing is not only about moisture to to help prevent soap and other materials from attaching themselves to the surface that allows the mold to develop.
What room(S) are you having this issue with. Just the bath? Or is is happening in other areas of the house as well? Is there some sort of crawl space or basement below these areas?
What ever the issue is its not going to be one of those quick fixes that normally is the case with a stick built home.
Also what type of heat do you have in your house? Hot air, radiators, wood stove? and do you have central AC?
So far all my questions from my group is only method they know of is sand. You can try bleaching the wood to lighten the stains, but there is not much more as of yet that I know of that can be done.
As a mold remedation company we have used dry ice in several homes. The only thing left to clean up is the surface dust that was removed. But for stains on a log and perhaps wanting to restore the beauty of the log home this may be a way of going without all the time sanding takes and the difficulty in doing it.