Q: I have a lot of mold on some of my baseboards and I think itβs because I have a lot of rain water seeping into the house due to a crack in a felt expansion joint on the edge of the house. Water tends to puddle up in the area just outside the house at that point. I plan to fill the crack, but how should I get rid of the mold?
A:Β There are several steps you need to take for this project before you think about cleaning up the mold. You need to stop the puddling outside near the foundation of your house by putting in gutters on your roof on that side of the house. That way, you can divert the water to a new location. Installing gutters is always a great benefit for a house in Arizona.
Then you can also make a small saw-cut in the concrete sidewalk next to the house to provide more nearby drainage for water in storms.
Next, dig out and remove all the old black expansion felt on your foundations. Then brush waterproof coating material on the foundation below the stucco in the area of the leak. Paint over the coating so the area will match the color of your house. Finally, you insert caulk in the area of the old expansion joint.
Only then can you start removing the old moldy baseboards and dry wall and clean up the inside of the house. Thatβs because you have to take all those other steps first to stop the leak or youβll never get rid of the mold. As long as that mold is being fed with water, it will keep on coming back again.
For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8-11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.
