Hello there,

I grow a large number of orchids in the house - maybe 70 - plus many other plants. I have humidity trays under all my orchids.
Lately we have noticed some mould developing on the walls.
It seems to have coincided with the increased in my plant collection ( maybe) and my husband is convinced it's the plants' fault. The problem is mostly in the kitchen, where the greatest concentration of plants is.
Has anyone else encountered this and, if so, what do you do to combat it?
Thanks.

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Rachel

Coming increasingly to the opinion that the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about.

Check out my YouTube channel, Gardening at Douentza : https://www.youtube.com/c/gardeningatdouentza

We have the same problem, and whilst the jury is still out, at the moment I think that the plants will be found innocent. My wife insists the plants are guilty and certainly the areas where they live are amongst the worst affected, but.....

Sorry no solution, other than increase the ventilation and try a dehumidifier. I have been amazed at just how much water they extract.

And compared to the amount of steam that I make when cooking, the plants' impact must be minimal.
That's my logic and I am sticking with it

Rachel, I take over a spare bedroom in the winter for my warm loving plants. They are under a 400w light that also produces a fair amount of heat. Very little ventilation in this room as I don't want to introduce cold draughts but I do have a large fan going 12 hours a day.

By the Spring I have black mould specs all around the window and walls.

My guess is that the plants are the cause of your problems. Are you sure the humidity trays are necessary in the Winter? They will be more of a problem than the plants themselves and I rarely use them for the plants I grow.

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Terry

Think I have found a solution, positive ventilation system! Think I will invest in one for my house. The idea is the the fan draws air in the loft through the filters, push this air in to the house(landing)which is positive pressure, so like a filled balloon! This positive pressure finds gaps, or vents to outside, this process pushes stale air out of your home whilst introducing the fresh air from the loft. This lowers the humidity so the home apparently is easier to heat.
I have heard at first hand the success of one of these, the house went from black mold and wet condensation to hardly anything in a matter of weeks. They could tell the difference within days.
The only downside is you can get a cooler fresh air feel on the landing where the air enters but you can get a system with a 500w heater which warms this air if the temp drops to a certain temperature.
Look it up in Google, you will get images and info instantly.

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I grow all orchids inside(windowsill), too.
If my oscillating fan is running almost daily(even about 30-60minutes/day seem to be enough) and/or if I open the window a little bit from time to time, there is no mold.
I would suggest to buy a small oscillating fan and mount it above the orchids.
Hope this helps

I use a bit of kitchen paper and some lemon bleach. It clears the mould in no time and inhibits its return.
It probably needs doing about once a month in our kitchen during the winter.
Just watch you don't get it on your clothes.
There is no problem the rest of the year.
It happens most in areas where there is least air flow like in the corners of the room,
David

Okay, thank you all for your replies and comments.
The main problem is two corners in the kitchen. I cleaned them with bleach before but the mould has come back.
I think the problems stemmed from when I stopped airing the kitchen from fear of bud blast.
I'm going to stop using the humidity trays in the kitchen in winter, air daily (temporarily moving plants in bud), clean and redecorate.
I'd better get a move on before seed sowing starts at the end of January.

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Rachel

Coming increasingly to the opinion that the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about.

Check out my YouTube channel, Gardening at Douentza : https://www.youtube.com/c/gardeningatdouentza

Big thumbs up for the positive ventilation system. We had a big problem with black mould - nothing to do with plants. We installed the pvs fan in the attic for about £350 and the problem is totally cured. A lot of new houses have these installed as standard and for us it was money well spent. The air in the house is much fresher too.

Dave

Agreed the positive ventilation system works very well, I installed one this spring and we have much less condensation and the mould is no more, despite 3 teenagers who do their best to humidify the house by spending ages in the shower

Possibly placing a small dehumidifier in the likes you can get in Poundland can be very helpful. Especially if you position it in the affected corner.

Rob

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

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"In light there is warmth, there is hope and there is joy of life and creation itself."

http://orchidmanuk.blogspot.com