DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

"Frost" appearing on wall in basement

7K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  yummy mummy 
#1 ·
I would describe this as a sub-basment as it is two levels below the street. It has been dormant for 15 years w/o dehumidifiers, etc. There is a brick wall set apart from the actual wall (angled and waved for effect...recording studio) that we bleached and power washed. Before doing so there was a snow/frost like substance on the wall in a small patches. We washed, it disappeared and then tonight it appears to have reformed. My step-mom thinks it might be condensation depositing minerals (though it would have moved quite quickly back into place) but outside of that we're stumped. Mold? Micro-organism? Has anyone else encountered this "basement snow" and do they know how to get rid of it? I wanna record but things are a little too "science lab" to bring musicians into.
 
#5 ·
the last i heard, there were over 10,000 different strains of mold - this is from mole remediation ' experts ' ( in-house salesmen ) so temper that fact w/your own skepticism,,, clorox/wtr rinses worked for us &, if they didn't, light muriatic/wtr did,,, ' efflorescence ' forms as a salt ( calcium carbonate ) & can be brushed to the floor & swept up.

both need moisture to reoccur,,, never heard of ' hydrostatic paint ' but did google this - http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4219157.html ,,, suspect the poster may've been thinking drylok etc instead,,, my 10yrs experience isn't good w/that family of products negative side below-grade.
 
#6 ·
the last i heard, there were over 10,000 different strains of mold - this is from mold remediation ' experts ' ( in-house salesmen ) so temper that fact w/your own skepticism,,, clorox/wtr rinses worked for us &, if they didn't, light muriatic/wtr did,,, ' efflorescence ' forms as a salt ( calcium carbonate ) & can be brushed to the floor & swept up.

both need moisture to reoccur,,, never heard of ' hydrostatic paint ' but did google this - http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4219157.html ,,, suspect the poster may've been thinking drylok etc instead,,, my 10yrs experience isn't good w/that family of products negative side below-grade.
 
#8 ·
if it's fuzzy it's mold

If it's fuzzy, it's mold. If it looks like white chalk, it's efflorescence. Either way, you can clean it and apply some of that drylock paint to hold it back. If it's mold though, it will probably grow on top of the paint too. So I'd look into dehumidifying after you paint.
 
#9 ·
If it's fuzzy, it's mold. If it looks like white chalk, it's efflorescence. Either way, you can clean it and apply some of that drylock paint to hold it back. If it's mold though, it will probably grow on top of the paint too. So I'd look into dehumidifying after you paint.
Not all fuzziness is mold. :laughing:
You can test to see if it mold by putting it in water. If it disappears its not mold, if it hangs in the water and you can see it, its mold.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top