On 23 Mar 2006 07:49:55 -0800, wrote:



Recent rain got our indoor/outdoor floor covering wet and June/July/Aug
are predicted for 4" per month. Moved in Jan 2006 and don't know how
to handle potential mold problems. Don't want to block external
surface as that would negate the screened porch attributes. Pull up
existing covering every rainy season which might be very frequent
around here.

What is beneath the floor covering? That can make a big difference in how
long the floor covering remains wet after a rain.

Does the sun hit the covering for a significant portion of the day (south
side of house, or even west)? The sun will do a lot toward keeping mold at
bay.

Does the porch allow the wind to pass freely across it or does it have one
(other than the one that has the door to the porch) or more walls blocking
the air flow?

End of rainy season will be here soon enough - then you'll be wasting
precious water to keep your grass green and won't have to worry about mold on
the porch. Have to admit though, last summer was wetter than usual - depends
mostly on whether hurricanes/tropical systems come through...

If mold does turn up, bleach and water will kill it, but might also work a
number on your floor covering. I'm sure there are other, more toxic,
solutions that you could pour on your porch to kill mold if you're into that
sort of thing...

Personally, if the floor covering got moldy, I'd toss it and live with what's
underneath or do one of the following:

If what's underneath is something like plywood, I'd replace it with 5/4
decking (or maybe the synthetic boards) - plywood will be a problem sooner or
later anyway.

If it's concrete, maybe put tile on it if you don't like the look of
concrete. You can also stain concrete.

Bred and born in Georgia and never have had a problem with anything growing
on *covered* porches. Where we're living now (9 years), front porch faces
north, with tile floor - nothing growing on it. Back (screened) porch faces
south, 5/4 decking floor - nothing growing on it. Concrete patio (not
screened) beneath back porch doesn't have anything growing on it either.

I did have problems with discoloration on a *non-covered* patio on the north
side of the last house we lived in. Pressure washing would fix it for a
while, but then whatever it was would grow again...