Mildew in seasonal cabin

[timberland]

I opened up my season, off grid cabin and noticed mildew on the loft ceiling and walls. I am sure it was plenty dry and cold during the winter months, but the temp cycles and humidity this spring was uncontrolled, hence the mildew.

After I open up the cabin, I leave the loft window open and don't have any issues, but if I leave it open throughout the winter I am afraid I will get snow blowing in. This is in Norther WI.

Any good, out of the box ideas for mildew prevention?

 

[johnnycake]

Damp Rid. Stuff is magic

 

[Weldor]

Mildew or mold. Or are they the same?

 

[Djacker]

I use Damp rid in my cabin and outhouse all year. Definitely makes a difference.

 

[Beendare]

A couple options that might help;

There are mildew resistant additives you can add to paint that makes it resist mold/mildew and there are stand alone dehumidifier units.

 

[timberland]

A couple options that might help;

There are mildew resistant additives you can add to paint that makes it resist mold/mildew and there are stand alone dehumidifier units.

that use electricity? I have now power when I'm not there.

 

[Speaks]

Very interested as well for my NW WI cabin. I mainly get it on tile not walls but also around the windows at times.

Damp Rid. Stuff is magic

How much / many of them would you use in a cabin?

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Are you able to add a house style attic vent of sorts to the roof? Not sure what you're doing for heat/cool so might not work if you have to much ventilation but they obviously don't leak if installed properly.

 

[timberland]

There's no attic, just a loft

 

[HairyScandinavian]

There's no attic, just a loft

Right, but I'm thinking an attic vent would be able to vent the whole place safely 24/7 while you're away.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Right, but I'm thinking an attic vent would be able to vent the whole place safely 24/7 while you're away.

I believe you can buy an attic vent that runs on solar power. Or depending on the roof structure you have, you could possibly mount a wind turbine on the roof, powered by the wind. They are very efficient here in South La where attic temps can easily get to over 120 degrees in the summertime.

 

[RDF1]

Sounds like a good excuse to get up there more often.

 

[Nooksack]

Install one of the many styles of fresh air intake vents available at your local home improvement store on opposite ends of the cabin. Some can be manually operated to be closed when your trying to heat the cabin.
Install them as high as possible.

I also crack a window down low, the heat leaving will pull cool fresh air in down low.
I have shutters to try and keep the bears out. And don’t crack the window enough for voles to chew through the screen.

This was a trappers cabin built on the ground and lived in year round before I got it. It had a massive moisture problem as that patch of ground was the last to freeze. One 6” vent and windows cracked solved the problem.

 

[Cady Creek]

Another vote for Damp Rid. Get a few of the ice cream bucket size ones and place around cabin. Like others have said, works well!

 

[MallardSX2]

A dozen damp-rids IS the answer.

 

[Mtndawger]

I’m wondering where the moisture is coming from. Mold indicates trapped excess moisture over and above humidity. I’m guessing it’s coming from the ground through leaks in the floor envelope and condensing up high in/on the ceiling. All buildings create a stack effect of airflow, like a chimney, from the floor system up through the roof system. You may very well have the same condition inside the walls. It’s important to treat the source for the long term well being of your structure. What kind of foundation/floor system is it built on ? If it has a crawl space you could cover the ground with a vapor barrier. Or consider a vapor barrier on the subfloor under the finish flooring. You could also consider some sort of passive venting on the gable ends near the top plates to get that moisture flowing through. That could be a screened register of some sort that you can open/close as needed.

 

[BuckRut]

Some of these with a damper to shut when you are heating would probably work well also.

LOMANCO 12 in. Galvanized Steel Internally Braced Whirlybird Wind Turbine GT12 - The Home Depot

Lomanco - 12 in. Galvanized Steel Internally Braced Wind Turbine - Roof-mounted turbine helps ventilate your home for a comfortable living environment. Galvanized steel construction. Vari-pitch adjusts

www.homedepot.com

 

[taskswap]

Mildew or mold. Or are they the same?

It's an important question, and they are not the same. They are both broad terms that apply to a range of organisms in the fungus kingdom. (There is more than one fungus that produces "mildew" and many types of "mold" as well.) Most (but not all) mildews produce very thin surface layers, while most (but not all) molds produce more fuzzy, raised textures.

The spores of both are always in the air, so we're actually exposed to both all the time. Neither is good for us, but what we call "black mold" (stachybotrys chartarum) is particularly bad so it's much more urgent to treat/prevent it than mildew.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Very interested as well for my NW WI cabin. I mainly get it on tile not walls but also around the windows at times.



How much / many of them would you use in a cabin?

I like the hanging bags better, as they don't take up flat space in cabin, they are good for 150 sq ft, there are 4# buckets, IIRC will do up to 1000sq.

 

[doc holiday13]

Any way to have a more permanent solution? Maybe a battery bank that runs a 12 volt circulation and/or 12V dehumidifier?