Mold in the ceiling...What should I do?

[lifeinthesnaill]

I have just repaired a leak in my roof. Water intruded from the hole in the roof for the black water tank vent located in the closet. This hole has become unsealed in the past and caused a small portion of the ceiling (maybe 4" X 4") to rot. It was painted over (before I owned it). I decided to tear out the small portion of visibly rotted wood. After removing the section with the saw on my leatherman, I saw what appears to be mold on the insulation foam and the rafter. So, I got a little carried away and ripped out all of the ceiling wood above the closet. The whole thing has mold. I am thinking that it's probably spread to the entire rv. But I'm not sure. Ignorance was bliss. I sprayed the the moldy areas with Concrobium. scrubbed with a scotch pad, but I cant get it off. Can you folks tell me how dangerous this mold is? Have you seen this before? It's not like any mold I've ever seen. I started to think maybe it was an adhesive to connect the thin ceiling wood to the insulation and rafter. But that wouldn't explain why it's covering the only unpainted wall in the closet. Must be mold. Also pictured are tiny black "pebbles" mixed in with the mold. They are hard little granules. What are these things? What do you think I should do? I don't want to tear out the entire ceiling. Maybe I have to. But I'm on the road right now. No time for that. I was thinking I should just try my best clean it and then paint a new piece of particle board with anti-mold something or other to replace the wood I removed. Pics are here

[westend]

I'm not seeing active mold in your pictures, sorry. Those black spots may be mildew in a small spot. They certainly aren't mold spores. A mold spore can't be seen with the naked eye.

Sure, if you have rotted wood, rip it out and replace it. For the mold abatement, use the materials I mentioned above or use Concrobium.

I do some mold abatement and restorations for a living, been doing it for some 40 odd years. I have encountered less than a handful of people that stated sickness from mold and some of those are the same that get sick from latex paint odor. You try to figure it out.

Disclaimer: There are certain fungi (mold) that are very injurious to health. They are very rare and need certain specific conditions to grow, usually outside of the environment of an RV.

[lifeinthesnaill]

westend wrote:
And here we have it, run-way paranoia from a single event in Texas that happened many years ago. The back story: There was a family in Texas that built a custom home, said home had mold infiltration. For whatever reason, the family couldn't live with the house and sued all involved. Since the insurance company paid off the full price plus more for the plaintiff's emotional damages, a rash of mold claims began. This snowballed to the point that now all homeowners get a mold disclaimer clause from their insurance company. Anyone that sees mildew in their living space or even a mild discoloration from water is sure they are bound to die.

FRom the pictures posted, I see no evidence of mold in the OP's situation. Thew fact that they keep gnawing into their camper even after treating with mildicides just because of discoloration reinforces my belief they isn't a problem.

About mold: it needs an adequate surface, the correct temperature and humidity, and a food source. Remove any of these three and mold will not exist. Not all mold is toxic, in fact, very few.

To remove or abate mold: Scrub surface with a soap and mildicide. Ventilate and insure the excessive humidity can't reappear. You're done. I'm old school so I use bleach, or cleaners that have Phenol (carbolic acid) in them. Original Lysol is one. For ticklish situations like fabrics and such where bleach would ruin things, original Listerine also has Phenol. Spray it on and wipe.

One thing you shouldn't do is live in a state of constant anxiety about a little mold. The anxiety is worse for your health than the mold. The other thing unique to this situation is quit demolishing your ceiling because you see some discoloration.

Hope this helps.

Uh..thanks I guess. You said that you see no signs of mold in the pictures. Maybe it's not easy to see due to the light brown color but look again, it covers the foam board insulation and the wood I tore out of the ceiling in the closet. It's definitely mold. Surely you can understand why someone would find it disconcerting to have a fungus growing in their camper. Discoloration had nothing to do to with my "anxiety". I had splintering, rotted wood in a section of the closet ceiling. I removed it because it's rotten, worthless wood. When I did, I noticed mold. Knowing that that this part of the rv is not visible unless I poke my head in the closet and look up, I think it's ok to tear out the wood to investigate the mold further. I have since replaced the 2x2 section of wood I removed.

[rockdog57]

Hydrogen peroxide is what you should use. That is what professional cleanup companies use. Full strength. Just buy it at the grocery store. I clean for a living.This is a secret they don't want you to know. 🙂

[westend]

And here we have it, run-way paranoia from a single event in Texas that happened many years ago. The back story: There was a family in Texas that built a custom home, said home had mold infiltration. For whatever reason, the family couldn't live with the house and sued all involved. Since the insurance company paid off the full price plus more for the plaintiff's emotional damages, a rash of mold claims began. This snowballed to the point that now all homeowners get a mold disclaimer clause from their insurance company. Anyone that sees mildew in their living space or even a mild discoloration from water is sure they are bound to die.

FRom the pictures posted, I see no evidence of mold in the OP's situation. Thew fact that they keep gnawing into their camper even after treating with mildicides just because of discoloration reinforces my belief they isn't a problem.

About mold: it needs an adequate surface, the correct temperature and humidity, and a food source. Remove any of these three and mold will not exist. Not all mold is toxic, in fact, very few.

To remove or abate mold: Scrub surface with a soap and mildicide. Ventilate and insure the excessive humidity can't reappear. You're done. I'm old school so I use bleach, or cleaners that have Phenol (carbolic acid) in them. Original Lysol is one. For ticklish situations like fabrics and such where bleach would ruin things, original Listerine also has Phenol. Spray it on and wipe.

One thing you shouldn't do is live in a state of constant anxiety about a little mold. The anxiety is worse for your health than the mold. The other thing unique to this situation is quit demolishing your ceiling because you see some discoloration.

Hope this helps.

[charley542]

I think ozone machines kill mold. Sorry I guess I should have read all of the post, I see now it was already recommended. A friend of mine used one in his cottage, it killed the mold and got rid of the musty smell.

[bdpreece]

Buy or rent an ozone generator. Ozone will kill mold and gets rid of odors. Hotel/motels use them. Read the directions as you do not want to breath the ozone and need to let the coach air out before entering.

[phillyg]

Black mold can be serious and some people are more prone to health issues resulting from it than others. I think your best bet is to have it evaluated by a professional.

[myredracer]

If you happen to have "black mold" (Stachybotrys Chartarum), it is highly toxic and you should not go near it. There are many types of mold that can be found in a house or RV as discussed here for example. I would phone a mold professional and at least get some advice and better, get a pro to inspect it. It is not impossible that it has spread from the originating localized area and I wouldn't just treat the small area and ignore the rest.

[Dick_B]

Spraying with Concrobium, once dry, will encapsulate the mold and render it harmless. No need to remove it.
The jury is still out as to whether bleach will kill the mold. Some say yes on non-porous surfaces but not on wood. (Google search) Ammonia will kill it.

[lifeinthesnaill]

homestudiomusician wrote:
Hello LifeInTheSnailLane,

I saw your post and wanted to respond as I could tell you are very concerned about the mold problem and I'm getting ready to investigate this, myself, on a 96 Fleetwood Bounder coach that I just purchased and am getting ready to rehab.

What you should do to investigate the "unknown" about whether you have to take off the whole roof area is simply remove the trim panel pieces to ANY roof vents (from inside the coach, easy and underneath the roof vents) and see if the exposed wood has the same mold spores in the wood.

That would be my first step of investigation.

My second step would be to see if you can open any cabinets and find mold spores inside the kitchen cabinets etc?

Then, third, in terms of how to kill the mold you can do so by just using simple kitchen bleach mixed with water to more than a 50/50 ratio and that will kill anything.

Give those items a shot and let me know how it goes!

You were right. I unscrewed the trim surrounding the roof vent. I found black sediment just like in the closet ceiling.

[lifeinthesnaill]

homestudiomusician wrote:
Hello LifeInTheSnailLane,

I saw your post and wanted to respond as I could tell you are very concerned about the mold problem and I'm getting ready to investigate this, myself, on a 96 Fleetwood Bounder coach that I just purchased and am getting ready to rehab.

What you should do to investigate the "unknown" about whether you have to take off the whole roof area is simply remove the trim panel pieces to ANY roof vents (from inside the coach, easy and underneath the roof vents) and see if the exposed wood has the same mold spores in the wood.

That would be my first step of investigation.

My second step would be to see if you can open any cabinets and find mold spores inside the kitchen cabinets etc?

Then, third, in terms of how to kill the mold you can do so by just using simple kitchen bleach mixed with water to more than a 50/50 ratio and that will kill anything.

Give those items a shot and let me know how it goes!

Hey, thanks for your response. So the little black granules are mold spores? I see those in the seams of the rv in many places. I see some right now by the stove below the hood vent/fan. I've noticed these since I first started my trip 7 months ago. I just thought it was deteriorated I don't know what because the rv is old 1984. Well, I don't seem to have any health problems so I guess it's not too bad.

[homestudiomusic]

Hello LifeInTheSnailLane,

I saw your post and wanted to respond as I could tell you are very concerned about the mold problem and I'm getting ready to investigate this, myself, on a 96 Fleetwood Bounder coach that I just purchased and am getting ready to rehab.

What you should do to investigate the "unknown" about whether you have to take off the whole roof area is simply remove the trim panel pieces to ANY roof vents (from inside the coach, easy and underneath the roof vents) and see if the exposed wood has the same mold spores in the wood.

That would be my first step of investigation.

My second step would be to see if you can open any cabinets and find mold spores inside the kitchen cabinets etc?

Then, third, in terms of how to kill the mold you can do so by just using simple kitchen bleach mixed with water to more than a 50/50 ratio and that will kill anything.

Give those items a shot and let me know how it goes!