Of course rain and dry spells have everything to do with moisture coming out of the wall. Why not run the dehum continuously? You set the humidistat where you want it, and it won't run unless it needs to. High RH can cause Powdery Mildew and Budrot. How much will that cost you compared to the cost of electricity to run the dehum? Plus the frustration. Good luck. -granger
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Salt/cristaline wall secretions... how to paint/handle this?
- Thread starter bigbadbiddy
- Start date
definatly get a hair hygrometer is you can afford the 50 bucks or so.
they are highly linear and readily re calibrated.
bigbadbiddy
Well-known member
Howdy folks,
just to update:
It has been a few weeks since I "washed off" the mold with chlorine and have been running the flower chamber for a bit now.
No mold has come back and the "wet spots" on the wall seem to dry out/get smaller.
Seems like it is working. I left the "special" wall uncovered. Sure loose some lumens this way but at least don't run the risk of mold sneaking up on me.
It has been raining quite a bit recently and it still looks good.
I also monitored RH more closely. Did not get a hair hygrometer yet but I have a "better" one.
According to it my RH is alternating between 45 and 60%.
Have not figured out yet what creates the swings (it goes up by up to 5% after watering for example, obviously. but me being in the room also changes the RH and sometimes I come back and it reads 49% and sometimes I come back and it reads 59%...).
From what I can tell the average RH seems to be in the 55-60% range, not often going below 50%.
Seems to be on the high side for me but alright for a basement and should be fine for the plants from what I remember.
Can confirm?
just to update:
It has been a few weeks since I "washed off" the mold with chlorine and have been running the flower chamber for a bit now.
No mold has come back and the "wet spots" on the wall seem to dry out/get smaller.
Seems like it is working. I left the "special" wall uncovered. Sure loose some lumens this way but at least don't run the risk of mold sneaking up on me.
It has been raining quite a bit recently and it still looks good.
I also monitored RH more closely. Did not get a hair hygrometer yet but I have a "better" one.
According to it my RH is alternating between 45 and 60%.
Have not figured out yet what creates the swings (it goes up by up to 5% after watering for example, obviously. but me being in the room also changes the RH and sometimes I come back and it reads 49% and sometimes I come back and it reads 59%...).
From what I can tell the average RH seems to be in the 55-60% range, not often going below 50%.
Seems to be on the high side for me but alright for a basement and should be fine for the plants from what I remember.
Can confirm?
nukklehead
Active member
Just an idea...
In the US perma-white paint makes a mold killing white paint.
Expensive. But cheaper then the alternative.
Used it on plaster in an old bathroom that had some mold and so far
it has done the job. Just a cheap suggestion..
Basements Love/Hate them.
In the US perma-white paint makes a mold killing white paint.
Expensive. But cheaper then the alternative.
Used it on plaster in an old bathroom that had some mold and so far
it has done the job. Just a cheap suggestion..
Basements Love/Hate them.
bigbadbiddy
Well-known member
Well currently the wall is covered with this special plaster that aids it in secreting the humidity out into the room.
The idea being that no mold can build up when the humidity is continuously secreted out of the wall.
Painting over it would seal the wall from the inside and trap all humidity inside the wall.
The result would be that at some point down the road (could be days, weeks, months), the mold or crystalline secretions would burst through the paint (as has been happening for many years).
The real confusing thing in all this was how the harmless crystalline secretions turned into a breakout of mold after applying the special coating/plaster which should, in theory, have aided it in getting rid of excess moisture trapped in the wall.
But instead it resulted in mold growing instead of crystalline secretions...
But since I washed the wall off with chlorine, no mold, nor crystalline secretions have come back whatsoever.
Only wet spots remained on the wall (that have been there since I moved in and used to previously be covered by crystalline secretions).
Now with the air flow boosted and the heat from the CMH, the wet spots seem to be drying off or at the very least, kept in check.
No new outbreaks of neither mold nor crystalline secretions have been spotted since.
Let's see how it handles the winter.
If the spots continue to dry off, I will hang some panda film over the wall and recover some lost lumens.
The idea being that no mold can build up when the humidity is continuously secreted out of the wall.
Painting over it would seal the wall from the inside and trap all humidity inside the wall.
The result would be that at some point down the road (could be days, weeks, months), the mold or crystalline secretions would burst through the paint (as has been happening for many years).
The real confusing thing in all this was how the harmless crystalline secretions turned into a breakout of mold after applying the special coating/plaster which should, in theory, have aided it in getting rid of excess moisture trapped in the wall.
But instead it resulted in mold growing instead of crystalline secretions...
But since I washed the wall off with chlorine, no mold, nor crystalline secretions have come back whatsoever.
Only wet spots remained on the wall (that have been there since I moved in and used to previously be covered by crystalline secretions).
Now with the air flow boosted and the heat from the CMH, the wet spots seem to be drying off or at the very least, kept in check.
No new outbreaks of neither mold nor crystalline secretions have been spotted since.
Let's see how it handles the winter.
If the spots continue to dry off, I will hang some panda film over the wall and recover some lost lumens.
Howdy folks,
just to update:
It has been a few weeks since I "washed off" the mold with chlorine and have been running the flower chamber for a bit now.
No mold has come back and the "wet spots" on the wall seem to dry out/get smaller.
Seems like it is working. I left the "special" wall uncovered. Sure loose some lumens this way but at least don't run the risk of mold sneaking up on me.
It has been raining quite a bit recently and it still looks good.
I also monitored RH more closely. Did not get a hair hygrometer yet but I have a "better" one.
According to it my RH is alternating between 45 and 60%.
Have not figured out yet what creates the swings (it goes up by up to 5% after watering for example, obviously. but me being in the room also changes the RH and sometimes I come back and it reads 49% and sometimes I come back and it reads 59%...).
From what I can tell the average RH seems to be in the 55-60% range, not often going below 50%.
Seems to be on the high side for me but alright for a basement and should be fine for the plants from what I remember.
Can confirm?
60% for a basement is nothing at all.
i cannot comment on your humidity fluctuations since ive no clue what equipment is running etc.
regular fluctuation are not really what i suggested you track anyway.
i was suggesting you track the trends in humidity... say after it rains, and after your plants start getting larger etc.
if you wall is really agressivly wicking in moisture, id think you would see some overall trend in humidity and condensate removal volumes.
again let me extol the virtues of the hair hygrometer lol... i have one next to a shitty digital one.
the digital one NEVER gets above 52% humidity. the hair hygrometer reads 61% humidity.
when the digital reads 49% humidity, the hair hygrometer reads like 50% humidity lol...
these things are just shitty. they wouldnt be so bad if you clould clean and re calibrate them... but they are just not serviceable what so ever.
my hair hygrometer responds to my breath from 12 inches away, within just a second or two. there is a brass screw for calibration, and you can open it up to dust.
i really really really like them. i just wish there were more than like 5 people making them.
bigbadbiddy
Well-known member
Brb, checking for a hair hygrometer as I have a few minutes free time
it actually might be easier to get one in the UK?
or atleast mine was made in germany.
https://www.amazon.com/Ambient-Weather-122-01-Instruments-Hygrometer/dp/B00NEZNF1O
thats amazon us though...
or atleast mine was made in germany.
https://www.amazon.com/Ambient-Weather-122-01-Instruments-Hygrometer/dp/B00NEZNF1O
thats amazon us though...
