mold

[Jeff08171972]

There is a moldy, musty smell coming from our great room in the past
week. We cannot find any outward signs of mold, either in the room
itself or in the crwal/storage space that the room sits on. The room
is insulated, but we kept the heat off for most of the winter to avoid
heating costs (this was our first winter in the house, the previous
owners kept it heated all year as far as we know). We've seen no
signs of water or dampness (again, either in the room or underneath),
the only source of moisture I can think of is from the washer/dryer in
the hallway adjacent to the room -- but presumably there would be mold
close by?

Is it possible that mold is underneath the carpet? If so, does this
mean the carpet must be replaced? Does it also mean was must keep the
room heated in future winters?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Sis]

A hygrometer,(small and inexpensive), available at Radio Shack,etc., to
measure the humidity in the room might help. It shouldn't be much over 40%.
That may help somewhat in at least determining if moisture due to high
humidity is a problem. You would want to correct the cause of the problem
before replacing the carpet. Would you be able to lift the carpet to see if
there is any mold under it? Is the dryer vented out to the roof? S

[Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr.]

Hi Jeff

Are you sure your smelling a mold smell, or is it more like a damp
earth smell?

Because I worked in greenhouses for a good portion of my life and come
from an area that is predominantly full basements and recently moved
to an area where most of the homes have dirt crawl spaces underneath,
perhaps I noticed the difference more easily than most.
Almost every home in this new area I live, if the room is not
ventilated (heated or cooled), to me, it has that definate damp earth
smell, that people who live here don't easily recognize and think its
mold.

If you have access to an ozone generator, perhaps you could put that
in the room (unoccupied) for a few days set on high.

TTUL
Gary