My bedroom has had moisture problems only going back about 7 years. Before then no issue, ever. Now, I am regularly swapping out old, full moisture absorbers, one for each section of closet space. What more can be done or what happened specific to MY room? No other rooms are affected.
The bedroom has a moisture/dampness problem that became clear with the growth of mold on my wall and on clothing in the closet and closet wall. What's going on? Moisture absorbers collect closet moisture all year long. So much water and California was in a drought for a portion of these years.
Why my room only and what could have caused this weird change in hunidity levels and only specifically in my bedroom? The other closets and bedrooms in our 1-story San Francisco bay area house aren't damp. My leather jacket, a prized piece in my wardrobe, has mold all over it, as it was stored just on a hanger with other coats in one closet section that did not at the time have a moisture absorber in it (I didnt know it needed one). Help! Cups and cups of water come out of my closet every few months, even when it's totally dry or summer.
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It sounds to me as if you have a leak somewhere. Maybe moisture is seeping into the walls from outside, or from a pipe in the wall.
Do you have a crawl space underneath the house where there could be a pipe leak?
There could also be a roof leak that is dripping into the walls in your room.
Leaks are hard to find. I would hire someone. Mold is a danger to your health as well as your possessions.
You should definitely check for a pipe leak, especially if that closet is anywhere near a bathroom or kitchen area, whether above or below. Also check, if there's a dwelling above you that is suffering from a pipe leak.
It is most guaranteed a water pipe that has a leak. If it were rain it would be periodic. If it were the sewer line or some animal living there, there would be a bad smell.
This will not get better, but instead wore, if left alone. 7 years is already too much time.
I live in a single story house. My closet is not near or beneath any water pipes nor have i ever seen evidence of actual water damage one might see with an actual roof leak. I agree that this problem is not going away, given its been 7 years and counting...but since the problm is only noticeable by me and no one else in our household, the homeowner thinks I'm making a mountain out of a molehill and am exaggerating-plus money is very tight so this problem goes ignored and well, is not thought of as a problem at all. I'm a girl, so i couldn't possibly know what i'm talking about and am overreacting-as all women do with stuff like this! At least that's how i'm made to feel anytime i mention the dampness and how much water is constantly being collected in disposable moisture collectors.
That is a lot of moisture for any house.
It sounds like you have had this same bedroom for a long time. Since this has been a problem for many years you may not remember if anything "happened" shortly before this began and may not have discovered anything wrong for a long time after it began.
First question would be - do you own, lease/rent, or?
If you lease/rent then your first stop should be your landlord as this is a very serious health issue and needs to be reported to your local health agency:
homeguides.sfgate.com/
If you are the owner then you probably need to start by removing as much of your clothing/items out of the closets and find an unused area to store them until the mold/moisture is fixed/gone. Maybe invest in 2 very good dehumidifiers (one for each closet) until you find and fix the problem. I hope you have someplace else to sleep for the time being as you are probably having health problems right now that you have not attributed to this problem.
Hopefully you can find the problem (other posters have given very good suggestions) and fix it yourself or hire someone as soon as possible.
Check where your pipes are. If the roof is above this room, get into the attic and look around to see if you can track a leak. I leak could be in the roof elsewhere, but running along a beam or board and then dropping over the area of your room.
Exterior wall. / ceiling leak.????..we generally hve the opposite problem in Wyoming. We try to put moisture in the air...so dru its painful.
Well I can thoroughly understand your frustration.
Does your closet face an outside wall?
I did find some information that you might read before calling for professional help (which I believe would be a contractor):
What may be happening is that you're getting such a difference in temperature from that exterior wall of your closet that the closet on that side is cold and then on the inside, where the room is, is warm from being heated; so now you're getting this sort of moisture situation because you've got the hot and cold mixing and you're getting condensation.
You can report this to a government environment agency as it is a health issue. Think about this - but if no one will help you then you may have to consider buying a dehumidifier or even moving because this is not a good/safe environment for you to live in.
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