| Author | Message | ||
     Rum_runner |
I gave a question bought my first house last year and i don't think my house is breathing right i have so much condensation on my window its causing mold to grow all over the window frames. Is it my house isn't breathing right or could it be something else. | ||
| Woody1911a1 |
not contractor , but cabinetmaker with some basic contractor type knowledge , first question ,what type of windows ? modern double pane insulating or single pane ? | ||
| Rum_runner |
double pane | ||
| Mkenn |
Not a contractor either. Do you have a humidifier on your furnace? The instructions for mine say that if you have condensation on the windows than it needs to be turned down. If you don't, than I would start looking for a leak somewhere... I am also curious, does your house have a basement, crawlspace, or is it on a slab? Could also be a source of moisture. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
If your house is tight, you need a dehumidifier and an outside air exchanger. In MN, you cannot build a new home without a fresh air exchanger. Also, make sure you use your bathroom fans when you shower or take a bath. Cooking can put a suprising amount of moisture in the air. Not only from the food but from the natural gas range. | ||
| Toe_cutter |
A roof vent could help. | ||
| Coolice |
Bluz has it right. I'm a hvac contractor, house needs ventilation. Fresh air intake or air to air heat exchanger. And you need to find the source of the excess moisture. Is the house on a crawl? Stone foundation? Block? Seepage in basement? Lots of questions, need more input to help.Attic ventilation is only for the attic unless you are venting your bath/kitchen fans in attic(bad idea). For sure you need to address high humidity, mold is nothing to mess with. | ||
| Ulywife |
Good thread - we're dealing with the same issue. First floor is fine, however, the second floor windows always have moisture. We are on a slab and the dryer has NO outside vent, hence our humidity issue I'm sure. The bathroom also has no vent system and the ceiling mildews by looking at it. Do you think a dehumidifier would help here? If so, should we place it in the foyer (1/2 way between the two floors or put it in the 2nd floor hallway? Thanks! | ||
| Bake |
Get that dryer vented..... it's delivering the moisture. Dehumidistasts on the bathroom fans may help a bit but not the amount the dryer is dumping in. | ||
| Bomber |
Recent piece in Fine Homebuilding (beggining to look at residing the house -- rip off the existing vinyl, and put up something else) that spoke compellingly on the dangers of mould growing in houses -- get this stuff fixed -- can present a serious health hazard | ||
| Rum_runner |
1 story house on basement, exit Fans in both bathrooms vents clear through the roof, Crawl space not attic, ridge vents on roof, Heat is hot water baseboard, any more info just ask. | ||
| Hughlysses |
RR, Newer houses tend to be built relatively air tight in the interest of energy conservation, which can lead the moisture problems like you're experiencing. Look for obvious things introducing moisture (unvented bathrooms or people not using the bathroom exhaust fans), leaks (plumbing or roof), unvented dryers, etc. Adding ventilation in your climate would no doubt help (down here in the southeast is a completely different story). You definitely want to get your moisture problem corrected, and mold is not a good thing, but the press, lawyers, and companies seeking to make lots of money off of it have blown the dangers out of proportion. I have been to several all-day seminars on the subject and have inspected quite a few buildings with severe mold problems. Mold is already literally everywhere. The problem is caused by spores it gives off. Some types of mold spores affect some people adversely. These effects are generally respiratory and eye irritation. It really bothers some people while other people aren't affected at all. Fix the problem, and clean up the visible mold, but don't start reading about "toxic mold" on the internet and convince yourself that your house is a death trap. | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
Vent the dryer and the bathroom out side the house. Mold nothing, dust mites. You need to get that humidity below 40%. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Ulywife, Definitely get that dryer vented and make sure you don't vent it with a ~40 foot run of plastic flex duct (that's a fire waiting to happen). Keep the length short as possible and use smooth, rigid metal duct and elbows if you can. I'd definitely recommend adding a bathroom exhaust fan if you can. They aren't that expensive especially if you can put it in. A dehumidifier would help in the meantime. I'd put it on the second floor since that's where you're having the problem. Moisture levels throughout the house will tend to even out so it'll help no matter where you put it. | ||
| Blake |
During the drying cycle, dishwashers also vent a lot of moisture into a house. If it is frigid cold outside and windy, even double pain windows will produce condensation inside a home. It can be unavoidable. If it's a consistent problem, then you may have a high humidity issue, but my experience is that in Wintertime, the issue is usually the opposite, air that is too dry. You might try installing the temporary plastic window liners available at most any home improvement store; in effect they make your double pane windows into a triple a pane configuration. | ||
| Ulywife |
Thanks for the info. I wish venting our dryer was that easy. The wall behind the dryer goes directly into the utility room with the furnace sitting "back to back" with the dryer. The next wall is 2-3' away and 1/3 under ground, close to 1/2 with top cabinets. Doesn't leave much room for a vent for exit purposes. My concern then would be how close to the ground it would be. I guess every house has it's issues, new or old. Luckily the laundry room has an exhaust fan, but it's just not enough to keep up with the dryer. Don't know why I didn't think about a dehumidifier before. Thanks Rum_Runner for posting this thread, didn't mean to highjack it. | ||
| Rum_runner |
Not a problem Ulywife i just hope someone can figure out my problem. | ||
| Ulywife |
With BadWeb, anything is possible. One thread was about fixing a dryer. Lots of ideas/suggestions were posted. One answer nailed the problem and the dryer was fixed, and for very little $$ if I remember correctly! The power of BadWeb  | ||
| Mikexlr650 |
ulywife, if the laundry room has an exhaust fan try to see where it vents to(hopefully outside). if it does vent outside you may have just found an easy path to create a dedicated dryer vent. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Get a woodburning stove. We heat with wood and I think I need to install an indoor pool to get some humidity back in the air. | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
Rum.....Get yourself one of those gages that reads humidity and temperature. Target and wally world all sell them. If your humidity is below 40% I would not worry about it. Even with new Double pane windows it is normal to expect a little condensation on the window just a little up from the bottom, bout an inch. Mine do this. Just wipe them once a week or so and they are fine. My indoor humidity is 38% this morning after showers. The easy fix is to just open the windows and let the cold air in for a half hour or so. When the air warms back up you will have much lower humidity. I do this Saturday afternoons. | ||
| Old_bird |
Rum, You are getting good info and advice on getting reducing the moisture. I haven't seen anyone say how to treat the mold you already have. A mold removal contractor (how's that for a niche business?) told me he uses straight Chlorox on existing mold. He emphasized he used Chlorox rather than generic because the generics sometimes are diluted. Be aware that you can gas yourself with the bleach fumes. It shouldn't take much. Don't hesitate to open a window for fresh air. The contractor had some real horror stories. If the mold gets into a wall cavity or a crawl space, it can create its own moisture and heat as it decomposes wood. Your problem doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as his horror stories. Just eliminate the moisture source and kill the mold and you should be fine. Hope this helps. | ||
| Blake |
Kristi, Our dryer vents up through the ceiling. It works fine as the attic is very well vented and stays nice and dry, but it would be even better to run the vent clean through the roof as well. (Message edited by blake on January 25, 2007) | ||
| Ulywife |
We're in a two story house, the laundry room is on the main floor. Not sure how I could have it vented through to the attic or roof. We've talked about enclosing the carport by the laundry room and moving the washer and dryer back out into the utility room. Maybe that's my best option. Until then, I do think I'm going to try the dehumidifier, especially during the winter months. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I'm sure there are lots of things that will work, but just realize that venting a dryer anywhere other than outside your home is a violation of building codes. That may or may not be a problem for you. A couple of things to keep in mind- dryer manufacturers give a maximum equivalent length of duct that can be used on their dryers. (Equivalent length takes into account the additional restriction of elbows if used.) If you go longer, you restrict the airflow too much which can cause excess temperatures in the dryer and a fire risk. You can NOT put any kind of a screen on the end of the duct (only the little flapper valves are legal) because lint will eventually clog it resulting in another fire risk. If you vent it through the roof, you'll have to find some sort of rain cap that doesn't restrict the exhaust flow. The best material to use for your dryer vent is smooth, metal duct (4" stove pipe IIRC). If you have to make turns, use 90 degree elbows. Avoid using any kind of screws on the joints as they will serve as lint collectors inside the duct, eventually leading to clogs. Duct tape is a pretty poor fastening device too as the duct will get hot enough to soften the adhesive. The sticky backed aluminum HVAC tape works pretty well. Blake, your dryer vent arrangement is interesting. It has the added benefit of continually adding more insulation to your attic in the form of lint! | ||
| Hughlysses |
For some excellent, unbiased, factual articles on mold and dealing with it, read the papers on this page: http://www.buildingscience.com/resources/mold/defa ult.htm |
