Leaking insulation

7/7/2016 at 4:10:08 AM

You must remove the vapour barrier (plastic covering insulation) remove the insulation and dispose of into a bag on the spot. Don't walk it through the house non contained. Bag it in the room wear gloves and throw the gloves in before tieing the bag off. Buy some distilled water enough to fill a spray bottle and add a couple tablespoons of bleach and lightly must anything that was moist, as well as areas about 1 foot past where the mold or moisture is visible.

Let it dry out as best as possible and you should be able to trace the water to its origin. Usually this is foundation leaks ( big job excavating foundation, applying water barrier and proper drainage then backfilling and tamping) but can sometimes be a leak elsewhere (damaged pipe etc.)

Do what you can yourself and save some money with removal and disposal. If it's a lot of mold (black) please use a professional removal, as by the time you see the mold it's been present for a lot longer than your eyes can see. Let the pros deal with that.

If it's just water and moisture visible use the distilled water and bleach or a true "mold killing" product.

Be ready for the back side of what looks pink or normal insulation colour, to be slimy and black. Have a box of contractor bags ready to throw it out immediately, wear a dust mask and try to disturb it as little as possible. Be ready for the worst case scenario as once you pull that vapour barrier and insulation it's game on.

7/7/2016 at 1:35:50 PM

Hello there,

My name is Chantal & i'm the administrative assistant here at Dream touch Renovations. To answer your question, first & foremost you need to to find out where the water is coming in from the outside & repair it.

It could be an exterior problem or condensation from a pipe.

Sincerely,

Chantal Regimbald

7/7/2016 at 3:02:39 PM

Agree completely with Shaun. Without knowing how long it has been this wet its hard to say whats behind that layer of insulation. You do have to bag and remove everything that has gotten wet. If no mould is present I would start drying the area dehumidifiers and fans make this pretty quick. If it is black with mould there is companies that specialize in its removal and can find out why this happened. Air quality is not something to mess around with especially if young children or elderly are living in the home.

I recommend opening it up see whats happened and if its black and mould just tape it right back up and call in professionals.

7/7/2016 at 6:21:53 PM

Condensation is what you have on (probably Blanket insulation) Where the Rolls of insulation overlaps you have condensation building up and its trapped behind the poly. Mould needs a paper source to grow most people and inexperienced contractors have no idea about mould how it grows or is created the Fact is it is IMPOSSIBLE for mould to grow on insulation it's made from GLASS.

You need to close your air conditioning vents in your basement in the summer time so the cold air is not trying to cool off Warm. Hot foundation walls covered without a Moisture barrier ( Typar/ Tyvek ) breathable so it allows moisture to decipate. You can cut the poly which is more then likely where the Metal band is in the middle off the wall remove wet areas wait for it to completely dry out 4-7 Days the tape it up.