LESLIE: John in Missouri, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?
JOHN: I’ve heard you address this problem, I’m sure, before but we’ve got mold on the outside. We’ve got vinyl siding and it’s on the north side of the house and it’s on the siding.
LESLIE: OK.
JOHN: Then we’ve noticed it on – we’ve got a bedroom that’s on the north side of the house and we’ve noticed it on the ceiling in there.
TOM: OK.
JOHN: And the kitchen is on the north side of the house and we’ve noticed it on some of the kitchen cabinets, on the outside. So …
LESLIE: OK.
TOM: Is this a single-story house or is there a ceiling – is there another floor above where the mold is forming?
JOHN: It’s a single story.
LESLIE: Do the kitchen and the bedroom share a wall?
JOHN: No, they don’t. One is kind of at the one end of the house and one is at the other.
TOM: It sounds to me like there’s a couple of things going on here. First of all, mold forming on the north side of the house is not the least bit unusual because that’s the cold side and …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm, it’s the shady side.
TOM: Yeah. You can use a siding wash to clean that; you can also trim back trees and anything that’s providing an excessive amount of shade on that side. Let a little more sun in; that will have a natural effect of keeping it clean.
As far as the ceilings are concerned, I would take a look at the attic and make sure you have proper ventilation because what it sounds like is you that you have a cold section of the ceiling near the exterior wall and, as a result, you’re getting more condensation there and the moisture and the condensation is causing mold to grow. In terms of attic ventilation, always important. Continuous ridge and soffit vents are best but a combination of all of those three things I think is going to straighten this problem out.
JOHN: OK. That sounds good. That sounds easy.
TOM: Alright, well good luck with that project.
JOHN: Well, thank you.
TOM: Yeah, typically the only place you find mold in your kitchen is in the refrigerator. (Leslie chuckles) When it gets to the cabinets, it’s not so good.
LESLIE: On the cheese.
TOM: Exactly. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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