Guest guest Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 (of course I'm not Carl, but..he will probably ask the same question.. ) I have a question.. do you have fans over the stoves in your kitchens, and fans in your bathrooms to vent moisture thats created by people bathing? If so, do the fans in your kitchen and bathroom work and do people use them? (when they cook, take showers, etc.) (You can see what I'm getting at, can't you - if you don't have them, they NEED to install them, and if they don't work, they need to fix them.) Also, what kind of insulation do the walls ceilings, etc. have? (do you know?) Some buildings have such inadequate insulation and ventilation that they are completely mold prone.. Even if they don't leak.. Another big problem is that sometimes, poor people can't afford to use air conditioning or heating in the way some buildings were designed to use them. Often older buildings, built when energy was a lot cheaper, leak so much heat that the tenants keep windows closed in winter and don't use fans and open in summer and don't use AC, and this is because they can't afford to use them BECAUSE THE WALLS ARE PAPER THIN.. On 6/11/07, Darlene <darlenesb2000@...> wrote: > > Carl, I live in a complex is full of mold and my apartment has a high > humidity level before they turned the air conditioning on and after. I > blocked off the incoming vents so I would not have mold coming in, and > bought a stand up air conditioner and dehumidifier. This is a very small two > room disabled apartment, and I have the unit in the living room and it seems > cool, and the dehumidifier is filling up and humidity levels in bedroom are > between 60 -75 %, and between 40 - 53 % in living room. Now the bathroom is > directly across from the bedroom. The building is known for alot of water > intrusion.Can you explain why I would have these high humidity levels and > why the bedroom would be higher than living room. But take in mind, I live > on the 6th floor. Darlene > > --------------------------------- > Shape in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Darlene, I'm sorry, reading through your post again, I realized that my question was probably semi-irrelevant... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Darlene, I'll take a crack at this question also. All my problems are coming from the attic right now so I've had to learn something about air currents that might be appropriate depending on your building. Is humidity in your part of the country high right now? You said you live on 6th floor. Any apartments above you? Maybe humidity is coming down from above you. This is new thing I learned this year. People from other group are going to get bored with me on this one: Most recent explanation from an indoor air quality person to me: " Keep in mind that energy, and that includes the energy contained in air and moisture, follows the rules of the second law of thermodynamics: ie; hot moves to cold and wet moves to dry, and high pressure moves to low pressure. So attic air is more likely to have more moisture and be hotter than the conditioned air in the occupied space of your dwellings in the summertime, so air will move downward from attic IF IT CAN find a way. Also as the air moves so moves the moisture and odors. " >> What this means is that in summertime air flows from top of building down through lower floors (the reverse of flow it has in winter), so if attic is hot and humid and you are anywhere near attic or top of building, heat and humidity could be coming down from attic above it. Solution: See if there are any 'holes' in top of apartment such as ceiling lights that are recessed, i.e. ceiling had to be perforated in order to install them. Caulk around those. Have landlord check attic for you, or go along with him. Make sure there isn't a current moisture problem up there that is doing his roof some damage. If the windows are old style and loose fitting caulk around those. Seal and caulk around wall outlets, light switches. If there are any cracks in walls or ceiling, those should be caulked or otherwise fixed. Humidity is definately too high!!! Can you purchase another dehumidifier for bedroom?? If at all possible you need to bring humidity down in all room to 40-45% or below 50%. If you can, you will feel alot more comfortable with less air conditioning expense, just fan. If there is mold problem, you **absolutely** MUST bring humidity level down! --- In , Darlene <darlenesb2000@...> wrote: > > Carl, I live in a complex is full of mold and my apartment has a high humidity level before they turned the air conditioning on and after. I blocked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Darlene, People handle mold like it is nothing, re: moldy wallpaper hanging out in hall. I came to see this apt I'm in due to fact it had hardwood floors and advertised new a/c. New a/c was not put in yet due to fact it was fall but I asked them to take old a/c out of window for me before I moved in. Then I noticed in basement had an odor and found landlord had not thrown out old moldy air conditioner but was storing it in basement, for what reason I don't know, but on top of new one he bought to replace it!! I got some plastic and wrapped it up. People think nothing of mold. Maybe since room that is damp is next to bathroom, perhaps plumbing problems and moisture is being carried through holes in walls that the plumbing fixtures go through. I don't know. --- In , Darlene <darlenesb2000@...> wrote: > > Barb and Live: Like I stated that I was on the 6th floor, well there are 3 more floors of apartments above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Here is an humidity gauge I use: http://www.natlallergy.com/prod/1526/acu-rite-humidity-monitor- thermometer.html --- In , " Carl E. Grimes " <grimes@...> wrote: > > Darlene, > > Sorry for my late response but I've been rather occupied lately. A > few thoughts to begin. High humidity from window leaks would occur > only during and immediately Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Oh my, I don't think the place is really fixable or if so, not going to be, or will take too long. You will hear this alot here, but moving out is best option in this case. --- In , Darlene <darlenesb2000@...> wrote: > > Barb, the entire building notorious for water intrusion. Let me give you another example of what happened here on one occasion a few months back: We had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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