I bought a house built in 1935, sided in painted white cedar shingles. Every year there is a slow build up of black mold and I wind up hand washing the house 2x a year to keep it back. We seem to be the only house on the block that has this problem. Can anyone guess why this house is blighted? Also, what is the best way to wash it off, and perhaps erradicate the problem all together?
Thanks.
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I would guess that you have some type of moisture build up problem. Does this happen in the transition from winter to spring or summer to fall? The mold issue is a serious one. You may need to tear down a section and investigate the problem. Maybe you need a new weather barrier or some type of air space behind the siding so it can breathe. The spores from the mold can get into your lungs and cause health problems for you and your family.
You didn't say where you live or if the moldy section is on a nort facing wall that gets little sunlight. Here in New Orleans, perhaps the mold capital of the U.S., mold is a fact of life. I can look at a solid porch column on the second floor of my house in a place that gets direct sunlight all afternoon, and see mold on the northfacing side. I have Hardy Plank on the end of a roof section that is completely exposed on the inside to the attic so that it is not possible that there is condensation on the other side that developed mold over the course of about 3 years, also on the north side. My point is that in some cases there will be mold and there is nothing you can do abou it. That said, there are some things that you can do to minimize it. Use only water based paints. The mold can actually eat the oil in oil based paint. Put additive in it to prevent mold. Remove or cut back plants that may limit sun exposure and increase the humidity in that area. Of course the problem could be an section of wall that is missing insulation and therefore allowing condensation in the wall. I do all my own work and am extremely careful when installing insulation to assure that there are no holes and I still see problems. I am becoming very isillusioned with fiberglass insulation and do not think that I will ever use it again. I am moving toward using spray on foam from http://WWW.FOMO.com. They offer refillable tanks of two part foam that insulates as well as creates a vapor barrier with no holes. Hope this helps.