Dust/ Soot accumulating on Concrete ceiling and walls

J

jojo2130

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I was hoping maybe someone has experienced this or knows what the cause could be?

I have been here in the same house for 13 years . We paint regularly but lately we have been seeing what we first thought was the paint fading away through out the house and that we needed to paint again but I went up this morning and rubbed my fingers across it it is like a black dust/soot accumulating on the paint . It has to have something to do with the humidity and prolonged rains? maybe? But we have had rainy periods before and never saw this. We have filtration in a few spots where the water comes through during heavy rains but this is different. I have another floor on top and even in places where or lower floor ceiling is not exposed to the elements , we are getting this build up of dust/ soot on the paint.

I am hesitant to paint over it , if it will just come through again.

I hope someone has ideas or advice?

thank you in advance
 
Cdn_Gringo

Cdn_Gringo

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It's possibly mold probably mildew, unless you cook over an open fire. :) Painting over it won't work as the paint will peel. You need to wash with a 5 Tbsp of bleach to a gallon of water solution. Kill the mold or mildew. If you just wipe it away it will come back and spread over time.

Increasing airflow with ceiling fans or oscillating fans will help prevent it coming back after you kill it. If you paint over mold it can work its way to surface again.
 
D

dv8

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are you using mosquito coils, by any chance? they are tiny little things but they do cause a buildup of yellowish soot on walls over time.
 
malko

malko

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Is it inside or outside ?

Inside, no idea.

Outside, I have the same problem.
And yes its the rain.
Specifically on porous (?) materials like concrete ( un-painted or not very well painted ), or, in my case roof tiles.
I know its the rain, as the same tiles with the same paint, that are not subjected to the rain, do not have this black " soot" on them.
It washes off rather easily, so i would recomend scrubbing with a broom dipped in a solution of cloro and ace, and then painting again.

P.S. also if you have a tree, or any other plant that " brushes" the spots, the problem is even worse.
 
J

jojo2130

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Cdn_Gringo said:
It's possibly mold probably mildew, unless you cook over an open fire. :) Painting over it won't work as the paint will peel. You need to wash with a 5 Tbsp of bleach to a gallon of water solution. Kill the mold or mildew. If you just wipe it away it will come back and spread over time.

Increasing airflow with ceiling fans or oscillating fans will help prevent it coming back after you kill it. If you paint over mold it can work its way to surface again.
Click to expand...

Hi CDN_Gringo, I have had a good look , its more like soot. May be mold, I will have to get it checked I think but it is Gritty like dust . I wilol take your advise and wash it however

I will have to repaint, no matter but seemed pointless as daily its getting darker
Ill see tonight about posting a photo

Thank you for taking the time to respond
 
J

jojo2130

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May 30, 2005
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malko said:
Is it inside or outside ?

Inside, no idea.

Outside, I have the same problem.
And yes its the rain.
Specifically on porous (?) materials like concrete ( un-painted or not very well painted ), or, in my case roof tiles.
I know its the rain, as the same tiles with the same paint, that are not subjected to the rain, do not have this black " soot" on them.
It washes off rather easily, so i would recomend scrubbing with a broom dipped in a solution of cloro and ace, and then painting again.

P.S. also if you have a tree, or any other plant that " brushes" the spots, the problem is even worse.
Click to expand...

Thanks Malko But its Inside . Pretty familiar with the outside doings . This is unique and its apearing in our Bathroom even which I painted about 2 months ago
 
Cdn_Gringo

Cdn_Gringo

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Only in the bathroom or elsewhere in the house as well. On the walls, ceilings? Only on painted surfaces or on appliances pictures and other object?
 
J

jojo2130

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Hi Cdn-Gringo . Its all through the house. Its baffling because different parts of the house were painted at different times. It has to have something to do with the weather as of late. This "cold" and rain has my Mahogany doors all misalignerd and one wont close at all . And We have had rain before , heavy rain but never had this reaction with the paint
 
J

jojo2130

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Hi Matilda

I saw your pics but were you getting the Soot/dust on the exterior? Sory if I missed it , I scanned the thread. I saw the pics and that looks like our walls and ceilings do. Mind you not all of the walls and ceiling are the same. My office where I am sitting now is as white as it should be.
 
Cdn_Gringo

Cdn_Gringo

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It has to be a fungus of some type unless you have voodoo fires burning in the living room. :) This hasn't been an ongoing problem so it must be related to recent environmental conditions.

I have heard of dust reacting with a bonding chemical in paint but normally only in really dry conditions, the opposite of what we have here. I guess all I can suggest is cleaning it up with a cloro solution and getting some fans to move the air around more than is happening now.

Check your propane stove and make sure the flames are mostly blue as opposed to yellow or orange in colour. If it's soot, that's the only thing I can think of except may burning lots of candles. If your stove needs adjustment, it may not help with this problem but is something you should consider doing anyway.

I'm having the same problem as you with my wooden doors but in this drafty house of mine, the electricity costs of running a dehumidifier is a losing proposition.
 
M

Matilda

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Sep 13, 2006
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jojo2130 said:
Hi Matilda

I saw your pics but were you getting the Soot/dust on the exterior? Sory if I missed it , I scanned the thread. I saw the pics and that looks like our walls and ceilings do. Mind you not all of the walls and ceiling are the same. My office where I am sitting now is as white as it should be.
Click to expand...

I must have got confused as it was on the interior as you can see from the pics. But I did as told and it worked!

Matilda
 
J

jojo2130

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Cdn_Gringo said:
It has to be a fungus of some type unless you have voodoo fires burning in the living room. :) This hasn't been an ongoing problem so it must be related to recent environmental conditions.

I have heard of dust reacting with a bonding chemical in paint but normally only in really dry conditions, the opposite of what we have here. I guess all I can suggest is cleaning it up with a cloro solution and getting some fans to move the air around more than is happening now.

Check your propane stove and make sure the flames are mostly blue as opposed to yellow or orange in colour. If it's soot, that's the only thing I can think of except may burning lots of candles. If your stove needs adjustment, it may not help with this problem but is something you should consider doing anyway.

I'm having the same problem as you with my wooden doors but in this drafty house of mine, the electricity costs of running a dehumidifier is a losing proposition.
Click to expand...


Thanks GDN_Gringo for the input and advise
I will be washing down as you suggest and Painting again
Hopefully that will resolve it
As yous aid its an anomaly. We have not had it happen before

regards
 
Cdn_Gringo

Cdn_Gringo

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Good luck. Wash & kill first then wait and see if it comes back. These are not the best of conditions in which to dry paint. Maybe the latter half of March will be drier. If it is mold, there will be spores all over the place and a freshly painted surface will be a great place for them to stick to.

I hate painting.
 
E

ExDR

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It's probably mold. Wash with a bleach solution, problem solved for a while. Only way to keep the mold away is to dehumidify your home during those months, which is use your AC if you have one. Kinda hard to cool the house with glass shutter windows as is common in the DR.
 
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