Dealing with mold

With cooler temperatures a common issue with homes in Italy is muffa, or mold, the growth of which sometimes seems to defy all logic.

There are hundreds of types of mold but they all require moisture to survive. If you have a problem with mold the first thing to do is to eliminate any ongoing moisture source whether it be a plumbing leak, roof leak, leak around a window, leaky gutter or even ground water. If those are eliminated but you still have a problem then you are probably dealing with an interior humidity issue.

The masonry buildings (stone, brick, concrete) that are the norm here do cause condensation on walls if excessive moisture is allowed to build-up inside. It is common for locals to open their windows every morning for about an hour, even when it is only 3 or 4 degrees Celsius. This allows the air humidity inside the house to equalize with the air outside.

Another factor that will increase the humidity inside is how warm you keep the house, locals are used to wearing sweaters using the many wool garments and blankets readily available here. The warmer the air inside your house the more moisture it can hold. Air movement is what is required to dry an area, so opening windows and doors to bathrooms and other inside rooms is necessary. Outside walls will be the coldest and it is important that any furniture you place along these walls has sufficient space behind it to allow proper air movement. Dehumidifiers are available in brico or electronic stores for reasonable prices with minimal power use and can be helpful in humidity control.

If you are cleaning the mold there are some products that claim to clean the mold, however the best product, which is what professionals still use, is diluted candeggina, or bleach. You should wear rubber gloves and a mask as this process may cause the mold to become airborne. Different people react differently to mold and those with allergies and respiratory issues are most acceptable to agitation from the mold.

Once you have cleaned the area you should cover the residue with a stain sealer, you can use an anti umidita or anti muffa that are available at paint or brico stores. The aniti umidita will block out moisture while the anti muffa has inhibitors to resist mold. If you just paint over the area with a regular paint it will bleed through leaving a “shadow” in the paint. There are several brands available and some claim to have minimal odor and can easily be painted with a color topcoat. There are also mold inhibiting additives that you can add to a topcoat of paint.