Models and mold

 

Well....where do you live....what is the climate? If you took a model upstairs would the same thing happen?

You can get advice with some more info.

Been there too. I have found that if you store your models so that they have an air space around them to allow for air circulation you lessen the chance for mold to form. When the boxes are in close proximity to an exterior wall they will absorb moisture and the mold spores will take root on the box and eventually creep into the contents.

If your basement is humid you need to address that issue by using a dehumidifier to lower the humidity. I have seen and recommend that if your basement is unfinished, you can make a "room" using sheet plastic to enclose an area of the basement that you use for storage or workshop area. Hanging plastic from floor to ceiling, you can make an area for the dehumidifier to do what it does best...dry the air.

In many cases, and I do this even in my current workshop stash area I routinely run a fan to circulate air in the room. My shelves that are on the exterior unfinished walls are several inches away from the wall. This allows the breeze to flow between the wall and the stash stacks.

Also keep your kits well off the floor...two to three feet above. Moist cool air tends to settle and form on objects in that zone...just like the dew forms on the lawn and stuff in the yard.

Kits that have been...infected with mold...I have taken those and washed the plastic sprues, then placed them into an appropriate sized Ziploc bag. The decals, well those were either left as is and placed into a separate bag or trashed. Instruction sheets were scanned or copied and also trashed. Reintroducing them into the stash only reseeds the mold spores to the stash.

For built kits...clean them the best way you can with a mild detergent. Once mold grabs on it is tough to kill. Some professionals use a gas bag to kill the mold...not sure what they use but it appears to work. I have seen the results of their efforts on fine collectibles.

You are right, I need to provide more info. I live in the SE.  My basement is finished, but there has always been a problem with dampness after a rain. Over the years, the mold has only gotten worse. With extremes in heat followed by rain storms the mold is a definite by-product. Another responder to my inquiry passed along info about how to clean unbuilt kits.  I appreciate the info.  Any suggestions on how to clean up already built models.  Thanks for any and all information.

The best way to kill the mold is to wash them in a solution of liquid Lysol. It would not be a bad idea to wash down the entire basement with such a solution to prevent reinfection.

That and follow Jerry's advice about a dehumidifier. 

If you have moderate to severe mold problems you need to remove it all...including what you cannot see inside the finished walls. Mold is nothing to mess with...it can be lethal. They had to rip the whole duct work for the HVAC system of a building I once worked in...we all seemed to be getting respiratory infections constantly...they came and inspected and inside week the ductwork was removed. A small water leak was allowing water to enter the system and the mold grew and grew. One of our employee ended up in the hospital and we had to reassign her to another job in another building.

 

Once mold raises it's blossoms...it is nearly impossible to kill off for good without extreme measures. 

the other thing to concider is the type/color of the mold  green,black,brown etc

some mold IS very toxic

Check out this link:

http://www.sanitred.com/basementmyth.htm

I sealed my basement walls just to make sure I don't have a problem in the future.  Like Durr said don't mess around with mold if you have any concerns wear a mask, better safe than sorry.

most hardware stores sale a sealer that will go a long way to help with your problem. In Wyoming most newer basements have a large fresh air intake in the basements (high end gas furnace)  don't know if that would work for you.

Any coating applied to a basement wall and floor is only effective as long as the coating integrity remains intact. One shift induced crack and the coating is compromised. Water will use this compromise to seek its way through the breech.

You can NEVER win against water...it will succeed in time. To curb the formation of moisture under a basement slab and moisture inside is to properly facilitate drainage...downspout, drain tile, air circulation and sump pump discharge. Another method/contributor to ease the chance of moisture build up...a active Radon Mitigation System. The fan that draws the radon gas out from under the foundation also takes with it any of the moisture vapor, discharging it above the roof of the house. My basement walls and floor are dry, never weap. Any moisture is airborne inside, cool moisture laden air that has settled down from the living spaces upstairs...down the stair case and HVAC vents.

Ensure if you have central air you pull some of your return air from the basement, this will draw out some of the moisture. I also run a dehumidifier. In the winter time I have to reverse the process...injecting moisture into the air, otherwise my humidity is less than 20%. Static! Painting becomes really interesting when there is abundant static in the air.

Again air circulation is critical to combating mold. Mold loves damp stagnant air. A simple fan even at low speed is usually sufficient enough to move air around a large space. Also keep an air gap between items being stored and the outside walls of a basement. This assures airflow between the wall and the stored items.

 

 

HawkeyeHobbies wrote:

Any coating applied to a basement wall and floor is only effective as long as the coating integrity remains intact. One shift induced crack and the coating is compromised. Water will use this compromise to seek its way through the breech. You can NEVER win against water...it will succeed in time. To curb the formation of moisture under a basement slab and moisture inside is to properly facilitate drainage...downspout, drain tile, air circulation and sump pump discharge. Another method/contributor to ease the chance of moisture build up...a active Radon Mitigation System. The fan that draws the radon gas out from under the foundation also takes with it any of the moisture vapor, discharging it above the roof of the house. My basement walls and floor are dry, never weap. Any moisture is airborne inside, cool moisture laden air that has settled down from the living spaces upstairs...down the stair case and HVAC vents. Ensure if you have central air you pull some of your return air from the basement, this will draw out some of the moisture. I also run a dehumidifier. In the winter time I have to reverse the process...injecting moisture into the air, otherwise my humidity is less than 20%. Static! Painting becomes really interesting when there is abundant static in the air. Again air circulation is critical to combating mold. Mold loves damp stagnant air. A simple fan even at low speed is usually sufficient enough to move air around a large space. Also keep an air gap between items being stored and the outside walls of a basement. This assures airflow between the wall and the stored items.

 

When I did my basement I was of the mind set that one could water proof the walls.  After doing some research I discovered like you said in your post that's an impossible task.  I also attached longer drain spouts to move the water away from the edge of the house.  As for radon, which can be a problem here in Wyoming, I have had my basement checked and there is no detectable amounts.  As for cracks forming, I would like to think that my house has finished it's settling (built in 1979) but you never know.

Wyoming is a much drier state than Wisconsin...we have relativly high humidity. Also our soils vary greatly...I am on solid bedrock...go a little ways and it is sand or in other spots clay. Sand disperses water rather quickly. Clay holds it, sucking it deep under the surface. Rock, well when you blast a hole for your basement, that breeches the membrane that normally would carry the water away...now it settles into the hole around the foundation and goes no where fast.

Hydralogists if that is the correct name, study waters flow thru the ground. Here it is measured in inches per year. Other areas around us it is measured in feet per day. When we have a lot of rain or snow the water uses the buried utility trenches as canals, following it along until it reaches the lowest point...in some cases that might be someones basement. Again we're on rock, so the breech of the trench becomes the underground river. This is one reasons water mains break...that moisture pools and freezes heaving and or constricting the pipe. The pipe snaps and the water (which we are paying for) flows freely rising to the surface.

most hydrogeologists are actually physicists, but that's beside the point.

There is one way that I know of to reduce water infiltration into basements. It is expensive, has to be done correctly or it creates much worse problems than it solves, and is still not always 100% effective. You can have a bentonite clay placed around your foundation. Bentonite is a swelling clay. When it gets wet it expands. When that expansion is confined, it creates a waterproof seal. When it dries, it shrinks.

The obvious drawback is that if not done properly you can have cracked, bulging, and even collapsed basement walls. Caveat emptor!

Triarius wrote:

bentonite clay

 

It is also used as a lubricant in transmissions. Tecumseh uses it in theirs. Nasty stuff. 

Now you know.