Efflorescence. As in: "The white, fluffy stuff on the basement floor was not mold, but in fact was efflorescence." Yes folks, I had mixed emotions on Monday. Happy because the Iowa State Extention office guided me in the direction of efflorescence (a good reference website - http://www.aldonchem.com/popup-ab-efflorescence.htm ) and it tuns out that is exactly what is on my basement floor! Ha woo! So all this time I was actually feeding it by watering it with whatever I had plus water, because - what efflorescence is, is when water has travelled through concrete, in this case, and has carried with it salts. The water evaporates, but leaves behind the salt which is the white fluffy stuff that I have mistaken for mold. So cleaning it is not quite as easy as you'd think, but I have used Dan's handy dandy brush to brush off the efflorescence, and - who knew?! - it hasn't come back. All this time...yi. Anyway - different websites recommend different cleaning and removing tips, most of which call for very strong acid not reccommended for use in enclosed basements such as mine. So - I might try a vinegar solution, or just clean water to rinse off the residue and keep an eye on it.
You may ask what the mixed emotions were that I was talking about earlier...well...my hopes and dreams of A)being a mold farmer and B) being involved in a very high tech and rare scientific discovery leading to a life of wealth and dry basements for everyone is no longer a reality for me. Sad day. :-(
Well, I'm off to bed, very happy that I have a new big word to throw around at work. We needed a new one...we were getting tired of our other big words - like thorax, affluent, and magenta.
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5 comments:
good news, but should you have a mold problem in the future there is a product called Microban QGC. you can buy it online (but not through the microban website). A good carpet cleaner will probably sell a gallon for around twenty five dollars. It's expensive, but it goes a long way. (a few capfulls in a couple gallons of water)
Magenta is a big word? Iowa-sheesh! Next big word you can bring into your office is...rock. Next big word bathe. Now don't try these two at once. Let them soak in at least a year between servings. :) (because putting a smiley face makes everything okay not matter what insults or sarcasm you leave behind-bless his heart)
Jason - You're such a smarty-pants, bless your heart. Just today we had the word "ambiguous". That's a good one!
Andrew - thanks for the tip. I do think I'm gonna get everything out of my basement and clean the cement floors real well, so that might come in handy then! Dan owns a carpet cleaning business, so I'll ask him about that Microban stuff.
George, are you on Facebook? I don't have you as a friend. I mean your are my friend, but not a facebook kind of friend. Unless you have a profile, and we can unwind this mess.
Katifer - no, I have no facebook...I tried signing up for it once, but it gave me some error, so I gave up...I'll try again sometime. :-)
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