Too cheap to work

[JohnRoberts]

For a few decades I have wrestled with black mold inside my house. The high relative humidity and copious mold in local soil makes this too easy to get established. I had a leaking bathroom toilet water fitting that was left un-repaired for years. The bathroom humidity allowed mold to do what mold does. I won't bore you with the details but the long term solution that has been successful for years is to maintain indoor relative humidity at levels low enough to suppress mold survival and spread. Coincidentally when established mold is first deprived of moisture its first reaction is to blow out huge numbers of spores. This involved lots of cleaning indoor surfaces for years.

Running indoor dehumidifiers during winter months generates excess heat that is relatively easy to live with. During summer months extra indoor heat is obviously undesirable. My research suggests that indoor humidity can be as high as 60-70% RH and still suppress mold growth. I have a few cheap indoor temperature/humidity sensors that indicate "too high" humidity for levels >55% RH. I mentally understand that I should disregard the too high humidity warnings but they serve as a subliminal "nudge" for me to dehumidify more than is necessary.

I checked and modern versions of these same gadgets have raised the "too high" thresholds to 60%RH and 70%RH.... I just ordered a pair of 70%RH threshold devices. Hopefully this will save some energy and help save the planet.

JR

 

[cyrano]

Maybe it would be wise to figure out the exact species of black mold. Stachybotrys chartarum, Aspergillus niger, Claviceps spp or Fusarium spp. These are the four ones listed in my compendium as black mold. All of these produce a mycotoxin.

I kinda doubt it's Aspergillus, since that's more commonly found on fruit or nuts (pistache and peanut). It produces a deadly mycotoxin.

Stachybotrys chartarum is more likely, as it "eats" cellulose. It also produces a mycotoxin, but it's not as dangerous.

I don't know about the other two as it's an entire family. Claviceps purpurea, fi is the one that killed thousands in medieval times. Is it "mother of corn" in English? Or "ergot fungus"? Despite it's name, it's usually black. Fusarium is possible. Ever had toe nail fungus that's black? That would indicate a Fusarium species.

Over here, you can ask one of our universities to check it for you. Also, some water treatment companies do a free analysis, but they'll try to sell you something. And some, if not most fungal treatments are less than scientifically justified.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Maybe it would be wise to figure out the exact species of black mold. Stachybotrys chartarum, Aspergillus niger, Claviceps spp or Fusarium spp. These are the four ones listed in my compendium as black mold. All of these produce a mycotoxin.

I kinda doubt it's Aspergillus, since that's more commonly found on fruit or nuts (pistache and peanut). It produces a deadly mycotoxin.

Stachybotrys chartarum is more likely, as it "eats" cellulose. It also produces a mycotoxin, but it's not as dangerous.

I don't know about the other two as it's an entire family. Claviceps purpurea, fi is the one that killed thousands in medieval times. Is it "mother of corn" in English? Or "ergot fungus"? Despite it's name, it's usually black. Fusarium is possible. Ever had toe nail fungus that's black? That would indicate a Fusarium species.

Over here, you can ask one of our universities to check it for you. Also, some water treatment companies do a free analysis, but they'll try to sell you something. And some, if not most fungal treatments are less than scientifically justified.

Thanx but sorry if I wasn't clear... I do not currently have a mold problem. I did decades ago but by keeping my indoor humidity low (<60%RH) prevents the mold, whatever type it is, from reproducing. I kicked mold's a__ years ago.

My problem today is old humidity/temperature sensors that overstate the threat from humidity.


This sensor is probably 20 years old and suggests that humidity in the 50s is too wet.

The new ones (already on order) suggest that high 50s%RH is in the green comfort zone, so not too wet.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

This is before picture of back wall of my house. Rain dripping down from the roof, splashes up on the wall and supports mold growth. The after picture shows what my pressure washer did to black (?) mold on brick. Since these old pictures were taken, I added gutters to my roof that prevent feeding the mold so much moisture. The mold did not return without the water dripping from the roof.

JR

 

[fallout]

The Govee temp/humidity sensors are great and fairly inexpensive. Work great with a smartphone for alerts and whatnot. I use them in basement to alert me if my dehumidifier hasn’t kicked on for some reason.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I have a remote temp/humidity sensor out in my (small) green house. Now that the outdoor garden is planted, the green house is empty and unheated, but humidity is 79%RH. Actually lower humidity than out in my yard 90%RH.
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Speaking of "Too cheap to work", I recently purchased some new fangled Cheap liquid free laundry detergent sheets. I have long been averse to carrying water home from the supermarket. This new type of detergent is in small dry sheets, that you throw in with the clothes. 1 to 4 sheets depending on size and how dirty the clothes are. I have been using these for a few weeks now and they seem to work well. 160 sheets for $10 seems like a good deal. The liquid laundry detergent makers are starting to make their soap more concentrated but still heavy and packaged in big plastic jug.

I like these because I am cheap, and they are small and light weight. I doubt these will be commercially successful because they don't neatly match consumer's preconceived expectations of what laundry detergent looks like.

For now I am declaring these as "cheap and works"....

JR

 

[cyrano]

OK, you've got it covered.

The temp/humidity sensor I have (ALDI, 12€) allows to set the alarm for humidity. Strangely enough, besides the humidity warning, it also has a "flu risk" warning that can't be set. No detail in the manual. I wonder how that works?

 

[JohnRoberts]

I like these because I am cheap, and they are small and light weight. I doubt these will be commercially successful because they don't neatly match consumer's preconceived expectations of what laundry detergent looks like.

I have been thinking about how the established liquid detergent brands might react if the small detergent sheets gain traction in the marketplace. They could make the liquid detergent more concentrated than it is. Instead of a bottle cap full, pour a thimble full into the washer.

I still think this packaging is awkward but I like the low price, and reduced waste.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

OK, you've got it covered.

The temp/humidity sensor I have (ALDI, 12€) allows to set the alarm for humidity. Strangely enough, besides the humidity warning, it also has a "flu risk" warning that can't be set. No detail in the manual. I wonder how that works?

You might not immediately associate moist air with clean air, but a large body of evidence suggests that more humid air—in the range of about 40 to 60 percent humidity—can help cut down on airborne virus transmission.

https://www.consumerreports.org/health/flu/use-a-humidifier-to-prevent-flu-a6503801917/

The rationale is a little odd... Apparently virus droplets in saliva or respiratory particles when moist are heavier and drop out of circulation faster than the same droplets and respiratory particles allowed to dry out. So they are suggesting to add humidity to keep virus bits moist and heavier. BUT don't increase humidity too much or you could promote mold.

Is the "flu risk" warning in your sensor correlated with low humidity?

JR

 

[Youngwhisk]

Hopefully there isn't some form of residue in those detergent sheets that will eventually clog a drain. I switched away from the shiny dishwasher pods because they left a film in the filter.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Hopefully there isn't some form of residue that will eventually clog a dRain. I switched away from the shiny dishwasher pods because they left a film in the filter.

Have I mentioned that I'm cheap..? I bought a package of cheap Amazon Basics dishwasher soap just to try it out, and it works every bit as good as the more expensive premium brands. I don't care what the detergent looks like, its about the dishes getting clean.

JR

 

[cyrano]

Is the "flu risk" warning in your sensor correlated with low humidity?

Sorry, John, I have no idea what it's correlated with. There are no settings for it IIRC.

And I can't have a look as it's still in one of the many boxes that haven't been unpacked yet after we moved. Most of these boxes contain gear I've collected over the years. A few contain my better half's collection of inks, paints and pigments.

I'm still painting the storage rooms. After that, I will be putting in shelves. Once that's done, the boxes will be unpacked.