Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with moisture

pinless moisture meters with drywall

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:18:54 -0800

How accurate are the pinless moisture meters when used on drywall? We are contemplating buying an older house (1900's) in the Pacific Northwest with a finished basement. We realize moisture could be a problem and would like to purchase a moisture meter to keep an eye on it.

The meters with pins seem to work really well, but if we want to test the moisture in the basement often, then we would end up with little holes all over the drywall.

From google, it seems the more common use of moisture meters is for wood, not drywall, so it wasn't clear (to me), if a pinless one would give accurate results with drywall.

Does anyone have any first-hand experience using the pin meters vs pinless meters? How accurate are they in general? With drywall? Why wouldn't you purchase a pinless one vs. one with pins if they were equivalent?

Any other information about monitoring moisture inside of a finished basement would be greatly appreciated!

What do I use to replace basement wall coating?

Swede78 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:39:48 -0800

My old house's basement walls are deteriorating and need attention. But, I'm just not sure how to prep them and what to use to re-coat them. Also, should I be worried about moisture problems? See pictures here My house was built in the 20's in the midwest. This is my first house, and I'm not much of a handyman. But, I do care about my home and want to keep it as well maintained as possible. My current project is my basement, which is in much need of attention. See pictures here. It appears to have some kind of coating over the bricks. There are several areas where the coating is crumbling and efflorescence (I believe) is present. The walls themselves are pretty straight, and are not bowing in any way. The bricks seem solid and don't appear to be crumbling.

When we moved in, there was some water leakage coming from one corner during heavy rains. Not enough to cover the floor, but enough to see it run to the drain. Luckily, that was an easy fix (a gutter that ran along that edge of the house needed replacement). Now, it is rare to see any water in the basement, even during flooding rains. But, should I still worry about moisture problems based on these pics? Should I hire a professional to inspect the walls?

I'm just clueless as to what I should use to re-coat the walls. I'm guessing that I need to scrape and remove the current coating that is falling apart. Then recoat with plaster maybe? I just want to use the right product to avoid water problems. From what I've read, it's possible that the wrong product could trap moisture and cause the bricks themselves to crumble. What should I use? Please advise.

BugFilter: Unbeknownst to us, water got under our kitchen flooring. The bad section has been pulled up and cleaned but I'm seeing some small bugs in that general area. Help!

pghjezebel — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:24:58 -0800

BugFilter: Unbeknownst to us, water got under our kitchen flooring. The bad section has been pulled up and cleaned but I'm seeing some small bugs in that general area. Help! Water got under our kitchen flooring and the floor buckled up. (Very old kitchen that has a layer of peel and stick tile, then old laminate flooring and then the sub flooring.)

I pulled up that area this morning because I smelled faint mildew and was worried about mold. I cleaned the area with a diluted bleach solution and have a fan blowing on the area to help it dry out.

What I'm really worried about is the small bugs that keep popping up around that area. I've only seen/killed about 10-12 of them since this morning. They are small and flea like. One or two flew when I disturbed them but for the most part they just see to jump to try and get away from me.

What are these? Are they fleas? Springtails? Something else that was just attracted to the moisture under the floor? (I haven't seen them anywhere else in the house, just specific to that area.) What should I do before they get any worse?

Breathable dress shoes for sweaty feet

thankyoumuchly — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:38:56 -0800

My feet sweat a lot, no matter if I'm sitting still or running around. I am in search of the perfect work/dress shoes (business casual) that will help me best deal with my sweaty feet! All shoe suggestions are welcomed! Sweaty feet run in my family (no pun intended). I sometimes sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, and sometimes I travel and am on my feet for 8 hours a day. Regardless of my activity, my feet sweat a consistent amount. I'm looking for dress shoes (for a business casual job) that help combat or deal with this situation.

What I Am Asking of You:
Please provide me with successful/applicable dress shoe brands/models, sock brands, etc. that you have tried (or your family/friend/co-worker) that either help my feet breath (so my feet/socks/shoes aren't damp/wet at the end of the day and subsequently smell), help wick away the moisture or otherwise cut down on/reduce/better address the sweating.

What I am Not Asking:
I'm not looking for over-the-counter non-shoe or non-sock "apply to your feet/shoe" solutions (gold bond, dr. Scholl's inserts, desenex, tinactin, etc.). I've tried every over-the-counter powder, insert/insole, cream, etc. on the shelves of the drug store. So have my family members that also have this problem. It just seems to be that our feet like to sweat. I'm ready to accept that I have a problem and attempt to deal with it! As a result, I am turning to you, Hive Mind! TIA.

Vapor barrier for a building

mach — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:12:12 -0800

What's solution for the vapor barrier on my pre-existing building: caulk, housewrap, other? I have a building in the backyard (about 250 sq. feet) that has been there since the 30s. It is well constructed, but the shiplap siding (redwood) is nailed directly over the studs. Inside is bare studs.

I want to finish off the interior, with electrical, insulation, and sheetrock. I'm just concerned about moisture getting into the space between the sheetrock and the siding.

I figure either I can caulk all the horizontal seams from the inside to make sure moisture does not get in, but apparently you're not supposed to do this with shiplap siding. I've also considered using a vapor barrier like roofing felt or Tyvek, and just wrap it around the inside, around each of the studs and then up against the inside of the siding. Or is the actual answer that I don't need to worry about this?

We're planning on this being the "Rumpus Room" for the kids, not a living space, although we will put a space heater in. This is the SF bay area, so its a moderate climate, with rain for 4-5 months of the year and pretty dry the rest of the year.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Foodsafe after mildew damage?

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:26:12 -0800

Can I adequately clean a mildewed bookshelf for food storage? So, I'm moving house, and my current house has a moisture problem, such that over five years, there's been slowly encroaching mildew on the inside of the shadiest wall of the house, which is cinderblock and partially underground (the house is built into a hillside). I've had a large oak bookcase against this wall all this time, but have cleaned it periodically of thin greenish dusty film I've taken to be mildew. The back of the shelf was the worst hit; most of the books in have no noticeable damage whatsoever.

Now, measurements indicate that the small alcove off our new kitchen which we'd like to use as a pantry would be the best home for this shelf. The shelf actually also has some ironic sentimental value, such that I'd like to either keep it or burn it, because it was the big-deal fancy pants bookshelf with the leather bound books my stepdad bought for all his phony prestige before he wound up in jail for embezzlement and blah blah blah. My heirlooms are hollow and crappy, in other words. Also, I'm a cookies-off-the-floor eater and cheap, to boot. I'd rather not waste furniture if it's useful.

Is a thorough bleach cleaner treatment and a move to a drier climate enough to make a mildewy oak shelf safe for food storage? Is this likely to be mildew, or some other more dangerous substance?

How to fix an ailing sump pump?

Xazeru — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 07:35:55 -0800

SumpPumpFilter: Is my sump pump incorrectly installed? The pump runs periodically when it's wet in the basement, and the water seems to run back in the sump pump bucket immediately after the pump runs. I have a dehumidifier in my basement which drains into my sump pump. When it's wet, the sump pump bucket fills up, the pump turns on, and evacuates water into a tube which flows into an outdoor drainage system.

The tube goes up about eight feet, and the problem seems to be that the water doesn't ever get out of the tube into the outdoor system. So, the water just falls back into the pump and after a minute the process repeats.

I've tried to reposition the pump on the theory that it's a little too high or low in the bucket, but this didn't help. Other thoughts are that the diameter of the outlet pipe is too large or that the outdoor system is clogged. Any ideas, hive mind?

Summertime in the City. [in a few months]

fionab — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:58:47 -0800

Am I crazy for thinking of living in Durham, NC without air conditioning? Considerations: I get really really hot, have a somewhat crazy internal thermometer, I have lots of books, and I don't want to be miserable. Problem: we found a super cute house and it doesn't have AC. What to do? I'm from way up north living in (for me) a hot and humid climate in the Triangle area. I've had central AC down here for 4 years, and I definitely keep my entire place air conditioned in the summer and fall - it's hot here all through September. I can likely escape out of here during July and August this summer.

Questions: Do window units actually work? I could put one in my bedroom, so that I could at least sleep in relative coolness.

What about my books? I have lots and lots of books, most of which won't fit in my bedroom. Will they suffer for being in the kind of humidity that settles in here, or am I being paranoid? What about photographs or art?

If I don't live with AC, will I actually become better adapted to the humidity? What are tips on dealing with it? This seems weird to be asking when it's gorgeous outside, but this house is a good opportunity and I need to weigh options here. I know that I'm being a bit of a baby about this but my heat issues are just one of those things that I've never been very good at adapting to down here. Help me, hive mind!

My clothes are moldy.

gnutron — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 12:54:29 -0800

All my clothing that is stored in my closets or drawers ends up smelling moldy or actually growing mold. How can I prevent this? (more inside) I live in an apartment in San Francisco. There is a signifcant amount of moisture in my bedroom and closet, which I assume comes from the daily condensation on the windows. I have a pot of damp-rid in the closet which helps, but the moldering of my clothes and stored items continues unabated. AND the mold sets off my allergies, so it's a double-whammy. Any ideas?

Adibiatic moisture transport blamed on pets

mk1gti — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 21:20:16 -0800

My landlord says my cats urinate near the front door. I don't think this is true because this is what I think is happening: The weather seal under the front door is missing, there was an old carpet remnant over a tile floor with no moisture barrier underneath and this combination of moist, cool air going under the door, condensing under the carpet and then rising through evaporation where it collected at the opposite end of the remnant and seeped through the carpet causing moisture damage to the wood floor underneath is the culprit (adiabatic moisture transport). This has happened over a period of years, by the way. Is this plausible? Calling all science and physics Ex Perts out there (persons in the construction trade welcome too.) So how about it? Plausible cause or nonsense?
Just as an FYI, I live in a shared house and no one has ever mentioned the cats urinating anywhere in the house or any pet urine odors. Most of the time they are in fairly close proximity to me and are religious about using the litter box.

I was over at a house next door a few months back that was being restored and one of the construction guys blamed a couple of wet spots on an old wood floor on pet urination damage. What he wasn't aware of until I told him this is that where the moisture damage occured there were two large potted plants that were frequently overwatered causing the wood stains (I used to live there when this was going on).

Please help my wounded Civic.

nitsuj — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 06:32:44 -0800

I have a 1991 Honda Civic DX hatchback with ~125k miles on it. It runs like a champ, except when it doesn't start.... Please forgive me, as I don't know too much about cars.

Two weeks before I bought it, the owner rear-ended someone. The hood is a bit smashed at the nose, which in turn caused the top of the hood (closest to the windshield) to pop up and not latch properly. There's a small crack-opening on both sides of the hood, as well as near the windshield. The point is: there's not a good seal protecting the elements from entering my engine compartment.

Every once in a while I'll try to start her up and the engine cranks, but doesn't turn over. Everything sounds completely normal when trying to start it, except I don't get the satisfying roar of the engine followed by the quiet idle.

The odd thing is, just about every time it hasn't started, it's usually just after we've had a big rain. I can go out in the morning, try to start it up and get nothing. If I wait a few non-raining hours, it seems to start up just fine (as if something has since dried off.)

Forgive my ignorance, but could water be getting under my hood and "flooding" my engine, or making some belts wet that cause my car not to start?

Here are a few pictures of the car and said damage, if it helps: 1, 2 (warning: obvious self-link, small JPGs)

Im trying to obtain as much free information/advice without taking it to a mechanic, as I've only paid $900 for the entire car itself.