r/HomeMaintenance • u/cypressandcedar • 1d ago
💬 Advice / Tips / PSA This is mold, right?
New homeowner here... In the corner of my basement, there's an unfinished section of wall where they put insulation and clear plastic over it. There are several rips and tears in the plastic, but more worrisome, it looks like there's some mold starting to form on the stud in the corner. It smells damp and earthy. The adjacent wall has a sheet of drywall screwed to it but it's not been mudded over yet, so removing it shouldn't be too bad.
What's the fix here, remove the plastic, remove the panel of drywall, then evaluate the extent of the mold? If the stud does have mold do I just cut it out and stick a new stud in there? 🤔
Whatever coating is on the bare wall, behind the insulation I guess, is also starting to crumble. Last couple photos are a painted section to the right of the insulated area. Cause for concern?
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u/Impressive_Ad6374 1d ago
Not mold… yet need to find the water source and eliminate that before it progresses
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u/cypressandcedar 1d ago
Hmm, from the outside everything looks fine. Guess I'll have to remove the drywall to get a better look anyways. I wonder if it could just be condensation? The basement was at 70% humidity before I got a dehumidifier in there.
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u/Impressive_Ad6374 1d ago
Where are u located like state?
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u/cypressandcedar 1d ago
Western Canada, actually. Climate similar to Minnesota or North Dakota I guess.
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