LorLee

Wow. You guys are philosophers, too! [] I will definitely keep you informed. I agree, I'm taking everything in and filtering and weighing... my husband is a bit out of the loop due to work right now, but I hope to help steer us in the right direction. Feel like I need a pithy quote for my signature... You guys have some great ones. L

Holy smokes. Did I ignite a debate here? Hopefully something to be learned here ... I truly appreciate your impassioned thoughts. However, gentlemen, it seems some of you may have made an assumption (and you know what that means, etc etc)... Yes, the house is ca. 1850 but it was re-done in some fashion in the late '80s (well before we came along). I believe my husband was told that they did not do insulation and wished they had... and when we purchased, ten years ago, it might be something to consider. They put a new roof on, painted, made some cosmetic changes inside, added a little deck, that sort of thing, but the main structure was not really messed with. No replacement windows, either. Old houses often have insulation added later, no? That sort of seems natural. I am pestering my husband to try to confirm the insulation story. In the meantime, I find it super helpful to suggest we take down a piece of clapboard or two and see what is behind. I have also called a local green builder, who does energy and insulation and building, he seems to be highly regarded. He may be able to give us more info. I don't know of a lab around here, but he might. I am going to post here about our adventure. Now, let's all be nice to each other! Life is too short! peace, LorLee

Well, if that is the case, don't look any further. You need an envelope specialist. Umm... what does that mean? Do you mean insulation specialist? Does that seem crazy? Our house is surprisingly cozy, we use less oil than many people, but we know the walls don't have insulation. Not any more than the bare minimum needed, i guess. Will double check w/husband on that. Do you think that's it? Are you saying that if there is no insulation, this kind of mildew is common? Feeling like such an ignoramus... Appreciating the feedback!

I've got it on the southwest facing sides of my home, that happen to be facing a large pond. Spray sodium hypochlorite to kill it and scrub with TSP to clean it but, it will come back again. Is your black in color? Interesting we both face bodies of water ...

A casual conversation with a 'house guy' also made us wonder about condensation. We have zero insulation in the walls. Perhaps no vapor barrier. So IF that's it, the answer is to ... pull off the boards, insulate and put them back on, 'treat' them and paint them? (By 'treat' I mean, kill with a solution I guess?) If that's the issue and we don't do the insulation, and pay for an expensive painting job, it will just keep coming back, right? I wonder how much we would pay someone to spot clean each year... ? Hmm. Should an insulation specialist be able to tell us if this is the problem? Thank you all for the awesome help!

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I read elsewhere on this site about the importance of good paint,and the brands you like. We do have a Sherwin Wms store nearby... We'll make sure whoever we hire does it right this time. Have a great weekend, and thanks again!

Wow, thanks! We painted about ... 4-5 years ago. Then noticed the mildew coming back each year, in different places (patches).... the painter INSISTED he put mildewcide in the paint. Maybe he forgot? He was... not the most um... top of the line painter around here, we think. We cleaned last year and the year before, with JoMax ... and the places where it's coming back are both in some of those spots and in new spots. We are in need of paint in some places and thought maybe we'd hire a top notch painter, to scrape all the way down, "treat" the wood (and I have no idea what that means but it sounds good), apply primer and paint with mildewcide mixed in. Is it possible that could take care of the problem? We hate to pay for paint where we only need cleaning, and was thinking of asking the painter if he'd do that, once they're up on scaffold or ladders. ?

Ok, will try again: Click to Enlarge 47.82 KB Click to Enlarge 12.71 KB

Having trouble uploading photo... says i must be logged in. !

Thank you! Here are two photos, and the close-up photo shows clearly where we stopped cleaning one wall last year... over the winter/early spring, the clapboards we didn't bleach clean got pretty dark in this particular spot. We need to pay somebody to get up high on these ladders and clean... I really don't want my husband doing it year after year. It's driving us crazy. ! (NO mildew or mold issues inside the house.) Thanks for any ideas....

We have a recurring problem, after treatment (JoMax, bleach) and even fresh paint, with a black mildew that shows up on the side of our house every year (some years better/worse than others).Oddly, the sunniest side gets the most... it IS the side that faces a river, about three blocks away. Cleaning it every year is crazy, and almost has us thinking about siding (Hardi Plank maybe?). It's a 3 story house, 1800s, wood... New England. We don't notice it so much on other houses but many of them are vinyl sided. Any suggestions? Is this just something that happens? Thanks!