Serious mould issue

[Yurt_Francais]

Hi all

My yurt is seriously mouldy and I need some major advice on how to demould it, if its even possible!

I have been full time living in my 6m diameter yurt with my daughter for the last 5 years (she has grown up in it!). I bought it 2nd / nth hand, with original framework, woodwork, and wool felt

insulation

. I think the

dome

cover had been replaced, and is a heavy duty plastic

dome

cover. I had plastic tarps covering the outer walls (yes I know this is a sin), until a year ago when I replaced it with the kind of high tech tarp used for boat coverings. I added a layer of blankets between the frame and the felt (another no no, I know). The yurt is heated with a 4kw wood stove, and an additional 1000w oil filled radiator (my bad again).

I'm located in eastern France, and it's a pretty / really damp place to be. The actual location of the yurt is also - in retrospect - way too sheltered by trees and undergrowth.

With all this in mind, guess what? My yurt now stinks so bad of mould, we cant live in it any more!

First thing is, I'm not sure which bit is actually mouldy. I'm assuming its the felt? If it is, is wool felt (is this yak felt? The yurt came from Mongolia) impregnated with mould treatable? If so, how?

Thanks for any help and advice!


Nico

[Jafo]

Yurts MUST be able to breathe. It sounds like you over-insulated it and made it too airtight. Not sure which fabrics you are using, but you are going to have to kill the mould off of them. Most likely this will require you remove your

insulation

.

A yurt is a giant tent. It MUST have fresh air. Most stick built homes have insulation in their attics, but ALSO have ventilation in the eaves or via other forms of venting.

[Yurt_Francais]

Thanks for your reply.

So I have an internal layer against the frame which is made of cotton bedsheets, followed by a thick wool felt layer, and then an acrylic canvas on the outside.

The inside layer I'm just gonna replace.


Is it actually possible to get rid of the mould from the wool layer? If so, how?

[Jafo]

The only way I know of is to wash it in a vinegar based cleaner, like 80% vinegar to 20% water, but I think you would want to rinse that out of the material otherwise the odor would probably be pretty strong. That's the only way I know how to get rid of mold in fabrics and generally, that is for partial areas of a fabric, not the entire thing.

[Yurt_Francais]

So any kind of steam treatment would not be recommended?

[Jafo]

Originally Posted by Yurt_Francais

So any kind of steam treatment would not be recommended?

I would think steam would not hurt the mold at all..

[Bob Rowlands]

I'd strip the yurt to it's frame. Pressure wash the frame, floor, and deck. Spray the entire yurt frame, floor and platform with 100% straight bleach. Use one of those hand pumped sprayers with the wand. The repaint everything.

Recover and insulate with thin inorganic materials that absorb/trap NO

moisture

. Regularly fire a wood stove. Keep the dome and a window cracked. In your climate you really need to keep that tent ventilated.

That's all I got. You definitely have my sympathy. Real mold totally sucks. Good luck.

[Yurt_Francais]

Wow. Intense.



Thanks for the reply. Blunt but clear.


Wish me luck!!

[Bob Rowlands]

It's gonna take a full frontal assault to win a war with entrenched mold.

My wife and I got married in Stockton California in Sept. 1982. Our friends parents had a vacation cabin in the temperate rainforest on the coast of California, about ~150 miles north of San Francisco. A few miles inland from Mendocino. These nice parentsy offered us to stay in their cabin for free for a few days while we checked out Mendocino country. "Wow! Really? Thanks!"

We got to the cabin late one night. I was pitch black in the forest. We got our flaslight and found the hidden key. I struggled getting the lock open. When I got it unlocked I couldn't get the door open. I body slammed the door to get the door to open.

We walked in and immediatelystarted smelling mold stank. That cabin was totally shot through with mold. The 2X frame was exposed on the inside-no wall covering- and was punky soft from mold. It as growing everywhere. OMFG.

The bed, the bedclothes, the nightstand, books, periodicals. Kitchen. Bathroom. The place was rotten with mold. I doubt anyone had stayed there in years. This is no joke.

Worst night ever. We got no rest. I slammed the door closed at dawn and we were outta there.

If it's at all moldy like that, you got areal fight on your hands friend. Good luck.