Can Mold Grow Under Laminate Flooring on a Concrete Foundation?

I have a mildew smell in the small garage apartment next to our house. It is overpowering after being closed up. This apartment was constructed inside a new metal barn/garage over concrete floor. It has laminate flooring, dry wall, a kitchenette, shower, and bathroom. Garage opening was closed up and large window placed in new wall with metal siding on exterior.

I have had the heating unit and plumbing checked. Now looking for leak between outside wall and siding. I had a water leak under ground at water line connection to apartment last year.

My question: Anyone ever heard of mold growing under a laminate floor or up through concrete floor? We are exasperated.

By Katherine from Jamestown, TN

Answers: Can Mold Grow Under Laminate Flooring on a Concrete Foundation?

Read answers for this question below.

By 01/25/2010

Yes, I just tore up flooring over a concrete slab. It was installed without a vapor barrier and had a musty smell. The joints on the laminate were starting to peak and buckle slightly. I was about 15 months old. There was white mold on the joints, which you could not see without removal.

By 11/23/2009

Mold will grow where ever there is moisture. We have a concrete slab with a vinyl floor. We decided to tear it up and go with ceramic tiles. We did find mold. The installer painted the floor with some red suff to prevent any mold. The smell is gone and so is the mold. The only way to get rid of the mold and smell is to find it and clean it up otherwise it will grow and grow.

By 11/21/2009

Concrete is porous by nature. If it isn't plasticrete, or sealed really well in some way, it will grow mold. Being porous it absorbs moisture & it has air, all you need is to add is mold spores & there you have it.

By 11/21/2009

We had vinyl flooring over a concrete slab, a slab which cracked all the time because it wasn't poured as thick as code required; so moisture came up through the cracks in the slab and caused the vinyl flooring to mildew. So it does happen. (We replaced the vinyl with ceramic tile since tile is supposed to "breathe" so the moisture will evaporate and not cause problems; so far seems to be working.)

By 11/20/2009

We had laminate flooring in our basement bathroom. The floor underneath it is concrete. We had a leaky toilet and the smell was awful! We tore up the laminate to discover the whole underside was moldy. Bleached the concrete, replaced the laminate with ceramic tile, and put in a new toilet; no more smell. So yes, it can grow mold!

By 11/19/2009

Damp areas can cause mold growth. Do a search on Google and see what you can come up with.