My bedroom closet and my parents’ bedroom closet are on outside walls. The past 2 years or so, the condensation from the cold walls coupled with the tightly-packed nature of the closets (we have a small house and small closets) has caused us to develop a mold problem.
This past summer, we cleaned out all the mold with bleach (and tossed half my clothes ) and painted the closets with mold-proof paint. We also put a rather large grate on the door to promote air flow.
That didn’t help. The walls stayed mold-free but alot of my clothes still got moldy (my parents’ closet seems to be doing well).
I moved the clothes away from one of the outside walls and we hung up one of thos especial water-attracting-crystal bags, which has helped some but now there is mold along the baseboard!
Anyway, we’re sick of this. We’ve looked into dehumidifiers but they’re quite large and expensive for this application, and not a permanent solution.
We think we need to have the walls in the closets re-insulated - if they’re insulated at all.
And now my question:
Who do you call for insulation? Painter, plumber, roofer? This is a very tiny space - would a contractor do it?
We could do it ourselves with help from the fine folks at Home Depot or whatever but my dad isn’t hip to that and would rather pay.
Bonus question:
Would homeowners insurance cover anything like this?
Speaking as a GC, I have some questions. What is the age of the dwelling? What is the interior finish of walls? What is the exterior finish of walls?
I’m seeking to learn whether the construction is balloon, or stick framed. Since the offending walls have been identified as exterior, knowing if they are clad with vinyl siding or some impervious finish such as brick helps to determine which route is less destructive for access.
Tear out of inside or outside finish is necessary to insulate the space using traditional methods. I’d suggest contacting an insulation contractor that uses icynene based foam systems, as they should be able to do the job with a minimum of destruction to building surfaces. In the case of vinyl siding, I’d unzip it for the insulation contractor, and reset the course or courses as needed once they’re finished.
We had the same problem in one of our houses. My parents bought a heating rod and installed it in the closet that had mold problems, and it worked fine. You would need to have a nearby outlet to plug it in, though.
danceswithcats - we are familiar with the foam insulation. The city of Cleveland recently installed this in my aunt’s home (long story). but we weren’t sure where you FIND the guys who’d come do it for you if the city isn’t sending them…
FTR it’s a ranch built in 1962. Vinyl siding (or maybe aluminum - we’ve had it re-sided but not sure on that corner…) Not sure on the frame, but according to the county’s tax appraisal records…
R - SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING, PLATTED
No basement…the walls are uhm…drywall not plaster.
Mallory thanks for the link. I had no theard of these! We will probably try those out to see how they work, and if not we’ll get a GC in here…
) and painted the closets with mold-proof paint. We also put a rather large grate on the door to promote air flow.