Mold/mildew fix...

[Fuddy1952]

Couple of things worked for me.
One is there are two adjacent rooms in garage, a bath/shower and laundry.
The laundry we were using to store tack and it was getting mildew, as well as garage. Garage I bought a large dehumidifier with pump, garden hose to outside. "Tack" room has a good door sealing off from bath but I got this $35 dehumidifier ordered through walmart.
It has a 2L container you empty, but I drilled and tapped a pipe fitting, JB welded in and clear 1/2" tubing goes into washer drain I taped off so no moisture.
Two weeks, so far so good.
Other is neighbor's Cadillac white vinyl top he tried everything to remove mold spots, but this Starbrite spray worked.
Hope this helps someone...

 

[raptorterry]

Good job!
I live in the South where we can get up to 70 inches of rain a year. I always have at least 1 dehumidifier somewhere in my place. If I'm on a slab, I drill a 3/4 hole and put a PVC pipe calked in place. When I move I just mix up cement or JB Weld for the hole. The little bit of water that drains from the dehumidifier, drains under the slab in the foundation rock isn't enough to do anything other than to go away.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Let the next buyer and their loan institution know about that under slab drain and you will likely learn that its not a good idea.

 

[raptorterry]

Let the next buyer and their loan institution know about that under slab drain and you will likely learn that its not a good idea.

It's got be to all of a few gallons a year. (Eyes rolled) The dehumidifier runs June thru September. I guess over the past 40 years of me doing this I should tear my house down? Since I'm on an 1847 family homestead this place wont be for sale for a while. Phew!

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Drying is only the beginning of your fix. Those mold spores are still there waiting for the next round of moisture, You have to kill the spores which is the hard part. Here in the PNW this is an ongoing battle. There are companies that make a good living on fixes after the first guy did it wrong. Mold never stops growing and lives on moisture. Proper remediation is worth the $ to prevent recurrence.

In this area I would never buy a new house allowed to sit open to the rain during construction. A lot of them never get dried out well before starting the interior wall board. It is an expansive process and cannot be done with open flame heaters, they just bring in more moisture with the combustion air.

Ron