Humidifier mold

[soaps]

Hi !
I use a vicks humidifier warm steam every night . Helps heaps couldn't sleep without it.

However mold is becoming an issue. I flare up with exercise/fatigue so can't clean every day. ceiling and walls r not looking good

How do u guys who use humidfiers daily manage this ?
Its a hard choice between chest imfection and corneal erosion.

Thankyou for any advice.

[poppy]

Normal ceiling paint is not suitable for areas like bathrooms and laundry and so your bedroom ceiling will get mouldy more easily and eventually peel if you use a humidifier regularly. Plus, ceiling paint is almost impossible to clean anyway. Repaint your ceiling with a paint suitable for wet areas ASAP before the paint starts to peel and creates even more work for you. Generally the higher gloss the paint, the easier it is to clean. Also cheap and/or low gloss wall paints are much harder to clean too so you may need to repaint walls as well.

Other suggestion that might help is to install a window lock that allows you to lock bedroom window open a few inches to allow things to dry out whilst you are at work.

[Guest]

However mold is becoming an issue. I flare up with exercise/fatigue so can't clean every day. ceiling and walls r not looking good

So you are getting mildew on your walls and ceiling then?

We don't have that problem here luckily - indoor humidity is usually around 50-60% in summer, and with my humidifier, it is usually between 35-45% all winter. In winter, I'll get mold growing on my window sills if I don't wipe them down every day and clean them with a bleach solution regularly though - this is only an issue due to my use of the humidifier.

What is your indoor humidity usually?

For now, maybe scrub off the mildew/mold from your walls and ceilings - bleach solutions work well - the sooner you do this, the easier it will be.

After than, you can prime the walls with a mold-killing primer, then paint with a mold/mildew-resistant paint (here those paints are often marketed for use in bathrooms) - do you have similar products available where you live? (If you just paint over the mold without cleaning it first, it will likely just grow through the new paint and your efforts will have been wasted.)

The next issue you'll need to address is ventilation - solutions to this issue largely depend on the climate where you live - from what I understand, there is a large variation in climate in Australia depending on where you live - what is the climate like for you? Do you have mildew/mold problems all year? or only certain parts of the year?

[soaps]

Thanks guys for advice will try. the window sills r the worst despite daily wiping. i have tried mold kill product with no success. will hunt for more or try bleach.

Not sure about hummidity in room. i have been using it even in summer but problem starting now in winter. weather here is now 19 degrees usually but gets colder and drier at night. i don't really look at absolute / relative humidity as i wonder if this would just play mind games on how my eyes feel. Im too scared to try sleeping without humidifier but perhaps i should ...
Wish i had a timer on my humidifier to magically turn off after a few hours at night then gradually wean off.

[Aussierose]

Hi Soaps,

The humidifier doesn't need to have a timer. Just buy a timer like you would use for table lamps etc if you were away and wished to deter burglars, plug in the humidifier through that and you can set it to turn off any time you like ( as well as turn on automatically if you wished)

[Guest]

Thanks guys for advice will try. the window sills r the worst despite daily wiping. i have tried mold kill product with no success. will hunt for more or try bleach.

Do you have wood window sills? or PVC ones? Just asking since people may have different advice depending on your answer

Not sure about humidity in room. i have been using it even in summer but problem starting now in winter. weather here is now 19 degrees usually but gets colder and drier at night.

When you say the weather is 19 degrees, is that celcius or fahrenheit? That will make a difference too hehe

i don't really look at absolute / relative humidity as i wonder if this would just play mind games on how my eyes feel.

Well, I think the trick is to try to keep all other factors as much the same as possible (amount of TV watching, amount of computer time, and everything else that is a known factor in how your eyes feel)... (do you have central heating and air-conditioning so you can keep the indoor temp relatively constant? Makes it easier to evaluate the effect of humidity since some people notice the temperature affects the way their eyes feel also) If all that is changing is the humidity, you'll get an idea of how low you can go without losing comfort and eye functionality... pay close attention over a few months and you'll be an expert on how humidity makes your eyes feel. And, keep in mind that if your eyes improve, you may find you'll be able to stay comfortable in lower humidity levels than you could previously when your eyes were worse. (And of course, the reverse is also true.)

re: mind games with how your eyes feel - I think the best defense against that is to be aware of the possibility and try to control for it by evaluating only objective factors. And have some trust in yourself too... I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of people are NOT imagining things and our symptoms are NOT "all in our heads." You know better than anyone else can how your eyes feel in different scenarios... trust that and have faith in yourself.

[magoo]

I solved this mold problem by running a fan to circulate the air in the room all day while I was gone. I lived right on the ocean and am very allergic to mold. I also ran a smaller fan in the bathroom as it would get mold even without running the humidifier. This worked for me...although it did run up my electric bill, it was well worth it.

[soaps]

Wow guys really appreciate all ur help. all other forums said get rid of humidifier

so excited about timer aussie rose will send my trusty shopper to bunnings.

Yep i usually run fan in room but mold is stubborn .
Opps celcious i meant. Nope no heating or ac . so even in 35 degree celcious heat i had humidifier. but feeling better so maybe i can wean off.

Wood sills and horrid wooden skirting walls. renting so limited choice.

Weather is so variable crazy in Sydney even in same day . Symptoms often delayed and i try new meds / combinations / foods every week so hard to just have one changing variable each week. but i will try and hunt for a hygrometer .
I agree Im not imagining pain. but sort of like a negative placebo ie. it might make u worse but it doesn't but all the subcounsious stress results in u being worse and then u associate that one factor as having a negative effect. not sure if that makes sense
Once this was brought to my attention i try new things positively and this helps.

But i have had best four days in months with only lubricant drops so perhaps things r looking up

[Guest]

Weather is so variable crazy in Sydney even in same day . Symptoms often delayed and i try new meds / combinations / foods every week so hard to just have one changing variable each week. but i will try and hunt for a hygrometer .

Well, maybe now isn't the right time then... but once you're done with making so many changes to your diet/meds etc., you'll find a time will come when it seems doable to only change a single thing at a time... you'll see

I agree Im not imagining pain. but sort of like a negative placebo ie. it might make u worse but it doesn't but all the subcounsious stress results in u being worse and then u associate that one factor as having a negative effect. not sure if that makes sense

"negative placebo" sums it up perfectly! I agree that this could happen, but I think if you are very aware of that fact, it will lessen the impact of such a thing, and perhaps eliminate it entirely.

But i have had best four days in months with only lubricant drops so perhaps things r looking up

That's a good sign... although you may have set-backs, you'll hopefully see these good spells happen more and more frequently as time goes on!

[wagnermid]

Hi Soaps,

In Bunnings today I saw at the checkout "indoor mould treatment" and thought of you, no idea how good it is

[soaps]

Hi Soaps,

In Bunnings today I saw at the checkout "indoor mould treatment" and thought of you, no idea how good it is

Thanks ! Lol u thought of me wen u saw mould product
Gonna try a new product but warning labels r a bit scary otherwise will look at bunnings one.
The gadgets discussed above r making huge difference.