WE are planning to move to an older home that my husband inherited from his Dad. There is mould in basement and I want it cleared up before we move. The basement is a half basement. The floor is cement and three walls are cement, while a fourth wall is made of sand. The mould is covering the wall made of sand. Please could you tell us how to rid ourselves of this mould.
Answer:
This is one tall order! You have to dehumidify the area in order to do away with the mould and the easiest way to do that, at least on a temporary basis, is to cover the sand wall with an impermeable sheet (6mmm poly) until you get around to doing a more lasting job on it. Right off the bat, you might try this: Humidity in there could (and should) be better controlled. As air cools, it falls and keeps falling until it reaches the lowest level in the house. It cannot fall beyond the basement floor and that is where it has to be collected and pumped outside before that moisture gets a chance to condense in order to get rid of the moldy, musty odour and/or avoid it in the first place. A booster fan (250 CFM +) is available as a ‘pop in’ unit to fit 4”, 5” or 6” round heating duct. This can be installed in a totally separate duct line that is at least six feet from the nearest heat source. A timer on it will ensure that it operates only during the night (9pm to 9am) so cold, moist air it pumps out is not replaced by air that brings in even more humidity from outside. All joints and seams in the duct are taped and sealed for maximum efficiency and rather than a heating-type grill it should be a return air-type grill. To avoid having to core another hole in the foundation wall, this system can be vented, via a “TY” through the clothes dryer vent. Because none of the doors in the house go all the way to the floor, cold, moist air should find its way to that grill.
