Straightening up the new place, Round 2

[Eireann]

Oh, am I pissed off.

Some of you may recall that I moved recently, and that the new place was cold. It still is (the bedroom, which used to be the garage).

Now, there's a new development: Mildew.

I can't open the windows all the way, because, like most Czech windows, they have no screens. I can't run the risk of my cat getting out, so I only open them partially, and only when I'm here. Which means, air doesn't circulate the way it really needs to, given that the garage bedroom has no other means of ventilation. The place gets humid when I take a shower, so I leave the fan on for some time, but that's about all I can do.

My landlord is having his son make a screen for the bedroom window, and I saw the guy out there holding up said screen to the window, but that was last week, and no progress has been made that I can see.

In the meantime, I have bought two small (non-electric) dehumidifiers. One is the kind where you put a tablet of something in it, and then when the table is gone, you put in a new tablet. The other is the "egg" kind that you dry in the microwave when it's saturated.

Today, I found mildew on the wall near the floor, and in wiping it off, I found a fuck of a lot more on the wall behind my clothes hamper. The hamper itself is moldy in that area. As I was cleaning it up, I knocked over the bigger dehumidifier, and the liquid inside spilled on the floor. And whatever is in that liquid, it's all oily and VERY hard to clean up. I picked up the dehumidifier and threw it out the window, then mopped up the liquid with huge wads of toilet paper, which I also threw out the window. Then I went outside, picked it all up, and threw it in the outside trash can.

I'm pissed off for several reasons. I'm pissed off because the owners should have known that this place needed better ventilation, and they didn't make the necessary modifications, nor did they invest in an electric dehumidifier. I'm pissed off because I don't know when it'll be safe to allow my cat back in the bedroom, because she might get some of that toxic substance from the dehumidifier on her, and lick it off. I'm pissed off because of the damage that might be done to my clothing and other items. I'm pissed off because I invested so much in those rugs, and now they're at risk of mildewing. I'm pissed off because I may now have to buy an electric dehumidifier and run it often.

And I'm pissed off because every single place I have lived has had something wrong with it. Not something minor, like unattractive wallpaper or old appliances, but major things - a neighbor who blasted his stereo at nightclub volume, those two sisters with their smoking and body odor, neighbors who threw loud parties that went far into the night, and (for the third time now) excessive moisture.

I do not know what to do.

[Bright_Star]

You can buy screens for windows at a lot of places. Wal-Mart & Target come to mind. They're not too expensive.

[Eireann]

I'm in the Czech Republic, and you can buy screens here, but they're far from common. Since I don't have the tools to make one (they're only sold as kits, not as completed screens), I'm dependent on my landlord and his son to get things done on that front. I've just discovered that my gorgeous new rug also has an area on it that's mildewed, and since my spray bottle doesn't work, I couldn't spray vinegar on it. I dipped some toilet paper in vinegar and dabbed it on, top and bottom. I'll have to buy another spray bottle tomorrow.

So since this afternoon, I have scrubbed mildew off the walls, thrown away the spilled dehumidifier, scrubbed the liquid off the floor and windowsill, put the laundry basket outside and poured vinegar on it, taken the cloth bag from the laundry basket and thrown it in the washing machine (highest temperature, vinegar in the rinse compartment), taken the silk clothing from the laundry basket and put it in a large bowl of vinegar and water, and worked on the rug.

And I'm still pissed off.

[wolfie]

Regarding the non-electric dehumidifiers, the chemical one probably uses calcium chloride (one of the cheapest "dissolve self by absorbing water from the air" chemicals). Assuming it does, it's pretty much non-toxic (the oily liquid would be concentrated calcium chloride solution). It may be fairly readily available in a cheaper form than "magic dehumidifier pills" - a couple common uses are keeping dust down on dirt roads (by absorbing moisture, it keeps the road surface VERY slightly damp), and as a de-icer.

The egg wouldn't be doing you any good. This type is generally used to absorb moisture in a small enclosed space, and when you "regenerate" it the moisture is released into the room. Using it to dehumidify an apartment is like trying to air-condition the kitchen by leaving the fridge door open.

[Mikkel]

You might try this place. I buy cat-food from them (the Danish url), but they have windows screens too.
Found it, http://www.zoohit.cz/shop/kocky/site_dvirka .
They ship from Germany, but I have never had problems.

[Eireann]

The screen's not an issue. In fact, it's already been made, though not yet installed in the window. While I'm waiting, I only open the window wide when I can be sure I know where my kitty is.

I talked to my landlady today; she invited me to sit on the balcony and gave me green tea with fresh mint and melissa. I told her about the mildew problem, and she looked very surprised. With a wary look on her face, she said, "You don't want the apartment?"

"I need a dehumidifier," I told her.

She agreed. She told me that when my landlord comes home (in about an hour, now), she'll ask him to install the screen, and to buy a dehumidifier. So, wow... it's a VERY good thing that I kept my temper and approached her in a friendly way. I told her about all of the places that had mildew on them, and she was surprised.

She also told me - and I could use an expert opinion, here - that the garage was only converted into a bedroom two years ago, so the concrete is still drying, which accounts for the dampness. Is this true? It would explain a lot, but I don't know much about these things. The only way to bring more light into the room would be to cut down the trees outside or to install a skylight. Both would cause huge headaches, and I, for one, don't want to see the trees go (and I doubt that anyone else does, either).

So, things are better, fortunately. I'm getting the kind of dehumidifier I really need. I made sure to tell her that I had bought a small one, and that it didn't work - I was concerned that they might just go for the kind I bought, which doesn't circulate air in the room. But I think she knows that this is the kind I need.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

The date the garage was converted isn't that important, but if the garage has concrete walls going partway or all the way up, and the conversion didn't include a decent amount of insulation that could certainly account for the dampness.

Quickie version: Warm materials and air hold more moisture than cold. Concrete takes longer to heat up and cool down than other materials, including air. When it starts getting warm in the morning, and the warm air contacts the cold concrete it cools down and drops atmospheric moisture onto the concrete, causing damp concrete. When it gets colder in the evening, and the cold air touches the warm concrete, the concrete surface cools and can't hold as much moisture, so it 'bleeds' out. Every time you get a temperature change the concrete will get damp, or even run with moisture. This will slow with age, as the moisture present in the concrete is slowly dispelled, but will never stop.

The same thing can happen with concrete floors but (around here) any concrete floor not meant to be covered, including garage, will be sealed, and there will be no way for the moisture in the concrete to come out, just the moist air dispelling water onto the concrete surface.

Constant airflow (fans) combined with dehumidifiers will help, but not stop, the problem, if that is what causes it.

I would also be concerned to know for sure if it is mildew or mold. Mold can keep returning if the hidden spores behind the porous surface (like drywall) are not cleaned out properly, even if the original cause is repaired.

[Eireann]

Well, let's see.

The house was built in the 1930s, and it's made of brick. The bedroom (garage) is always cold. The floor is freezing, which is why I invested in rugs, which have padding underneath. There's just ground underneath the garage, no basement. However, the living room/kitchenette has a room beneath it, which is part of another apartment. The floor in there, though cold, is far more bearable than the bedroom floor.

There is no warming up in the morning. The room is in the shade of three mature coniferous trees, which may account for some of it, but I think the fact that it sits on the ground accounts for more. I'd love to have underfloor heating, but I doubt that this will happen.

My landlord installed the window screen yesterday, and agreed to buy a dehumidifier.

[MoonCat]

Be sure that screen is installed correctly and it's not loose. I've had cats who were able to push a screen off of its tracks because it didn't fit as securely as it should have.

[wolfie]

The bedroom (garage) is always cold. The floor is freezing, which is why I invested in rugs, which have padding underneath. There's just ground underneath the garage, no basement.

From your description, it sounds like the bedroom floor is concrete. Whatever you do, you DON'T want something porous in contact with concrete - room air will travel through it, the cold concrete will condense the moisture, which will then soak into the porous thing and get it wet - prime living conditions for mold.

Which way does your bedroom door swing (in or out)? The reason I ask is that there is special subfloor designed for use over concrete - it's OSB with a "dimpled" plastic attached to the bottom. This creates a NON-POROUS (i.e. won't harbour mold) air space (i.e. thermal isolation) under the floor. The downside is that the whole "package" is around 3/4" thick, plus whatever you put over it (e.g. carpet). If your door swings outward, you might want to try this. If it swings inward, discuss it with your landlord (door would need to be trimmed to accommodate it). You might be able to arrange to split the cost (since a warm bedroom floor makes the place more valuable).

Another option would be 2x2 foam "jigsaw" tiles. They're around 3/8" thick, and a pack of 6 is around $16 at Wally World. They're closed-cell foam (i.e. won't absorb moisture, unlike the normal padding under rugs), and you can leave a gap to accommodate the door swing. The downside is that they're compressible - you'd probably want to put weight-spreaders under furniture legs.

How long are you planning on staying there? Naturally, the longer you plan on staying, the more it would be worth spending.