Newly painted basement floor pealing; white cottony mold(?) spreading

[mscarman]

I scraped and painted my basement floor this past fall. The paint was UGL Basement and Garage Paint. shortly after painting, in the back of the basement I kept finding a large ring outlining what appeared to be a water stain. There was never any water on the floor, but the ring made it look as though there had been and that it had evaporated. I duct-taped a 4x4 sheet of clear plastic to the floor in that area, and it took about 3 or 4 days to evidence any moisture under the plastic at all. Closer inspection of this persistent water stain was that it looked like a white, cottony substance.

The problem unsolved, in recent weeks, the basement floor has begun pealing in several areas, most notably at the base of the second floor support columns. The floor today looks as though I never did the work last year.

The pealing appears to be spreading across the whole floor. Most importantly, in every spot where the paint has bubbled up and pealed, I see that same cottony substance, as if it is this that has burst forth from beneath the floor. Is this substance perhaps a type of mold? I am greatly concerned that it is, and that it could be detrimental to my family's health. Is this substance responsible for all of the pealing and spreading? How can I best identify and resolve this issue so that I can protect my family and eventually finish the basement? I have very illustrative pictures that I can email, but they are too large to attach.

[craig@pioneer]

What you are experiencing is vapor transmission through the floor. This is a natural occurance in most all basements. The UGL product is "supposed" to block the pours in the floor and stop the vapor from coming through. You may want to see the article in Consumer Reports June 2002 "The Dry Basement". It discusses these issues. Either way, you can see how well UGL works from your own experiences.

The white "fuzzy" stuff is most likely NOT mold. I would need to see it to be 100% sure, but from what you describe in your post, I am 99.9% sure that what you see is called "efflorescence".
Efflorescence is the depositing of lime and calcium from the Portland mix in the concrete (from the floor and walls) in a basement. It occurs when water vapor transmitts through the wall and condensates on the concrete. It is not harmful, just a problem to paint over.

If you want to finish the basement, you should consider vapor barrier on the walls as well as the floor and even a Sani-Dry Air System to remove the humidity.

If you call the office (1.800.649.6140) we would be happy to send you out some information on these systems or set up an appointment to have a Certified Waterproofing Professional come out and inspect the property for you.

If you would like to send the pics, you can send them to me at either Craig@pioneerbasement.com. I'll be happy to look at them and post my thoughts.

Regards,
Craig

[mscarman]

I sent you an email with a couple of pictures of the problem as you suggested. The email subject is "Newly painted basement floor pealing; white cottony mold(?) spreading", just like the original post. Please let me know if you have any further input or opinion as to what I'm seeing in my basement. Thank you in advance.

[stevea]

Please call our office at 1-800-649-6140 for a free written estimate. We cannot evaluated the problem effectively by looking at pictures. Thanks SteveA