Mold in my closet

[Michelle]

I have 1998 Redman and in our master bedroom clost, I have noticed it gets quite warm in there. I have also noticed several mold spots forming above the inside door frame of the closet and on the roof as well as on the sides of the closet wall.
It seems to be a dusty type mold, pale green, at time we see condensation on it. We wiped it all down and painted it with StainZ which was suppoised to kill it, but it is not coming back. What can we do?

[Tom]

If your positive you have no roof leak, one thing to try is to either cut a couple of inches off the bottom of the door to allow the heat to leak out or install a vent somewhere on the door. Or even just leave it cracked open. If this closet is next to the bathroom you might make sure you run the power vents when taking showers or baths. The steam could be leaking over to the closet. Tom

[Tracy]

Michelle,

You said "We wiped it all down and painted it with StainZ which was suppoised to kill it, but it is not coming back. What can we do?" What do you mean when you say NOT COMING BACK?

[michelle]

I'm sorry, I meant it is coming back! We are positive we have no roof leak too. The bottom of most doors in mobile homes have an inch or two of room underneath anyways, so there is no need to cut more off. We have been leaving the doors cracked open, because there is a lot of condensation that builds up in the closet itself as well as the top of the doorframe inside the closet.
The mold has gotten worse, it is blackish now. Our largest area in the closet is a foot wide by a foot long. Both top door frames inside the closet are covered. Several new spots have started. We have ares in the closet that are streaked with mold. Now that it is cooling off a bit it, I might be able to treat it again. But hey this is Florida.
I'll have to get a contracter to come in to see if he can find a problem. Anyone else have any suggestions? We are trying to get refinanced right now, specifically to rebuild our whole soft-spotted kitchen floor and solve our mystery moldy closet!

[Tom]

My best guess would be more insulation in the ceiling and walls. Is it possible your AC is not reaching the closet thus not removing the humidity? I have to believe that since your bedroom is not seeing the probem, the issue is the door is not open enough to reduce the humidity. IE, the cooler air is not reaching the closet. Tom

[Michelle]

How in the world would I get more insulation in the walls and the attic? I am new at this......It is possible the air is not reaching in the closet, but I must say then in the summer, the heat in the closet smacks you in the face, it's THAT hot and Humid in there. My husband and I thought maybe we should seal all around the inside of the closet from top to bottom with a silicone based caulk. Then wipe the walls down with bleach and water. Then apply Another paint type mold killer inside the whole closet. We would then place a wireless dehumidifier in the closet and see how that handles the problem, before calling in a contractor. We would also place a regular dehumidifier in our home to cover the rest of the house just to be sure!

[Tom]

You sort of hit the nail on the head. When you open the door the heat hits you in the face. So now we know why its happening. The key here is how to rid youself of the buildup of heat. I would thing that the simplest way is to leave the door completely open. If you find that the heat still builds up and you can feel a temp difference when you walk in even with the door open then a dehumidifier would help. My suspicion is you dont have roof vents or not enough roof vents or insulation in the crawl space installed to allow the heat build up in the crawl space to escape. You wont notice it as much in other areas because they are open. Try leaving the door open and run a dehumidifier. But a more permanent solution would be the roof vents or more insulation. Tom