Topspin

Using a high quality anti-mould paint helps. Do you know what type of paint was used on that wall currently? If it is already using a good anti-mould paint and you still suffer from the issue, then it is likely related to excessive moisture. Solving the issue of moisture on wall is a litte more complex.

Every wash basin has a water trap in the piping below to keep out the sewage pipe smell. The stagnant water of the water trap can smell really bad over night. The first person to use the basin will flush the foul smelling water out into a bigger vertical drain pipe and the smell sometimes linger in the kitchen or bathroom. The only remedy is to close the floor drain. Most of the house already has that simple seal in the floor drain hole but if it is missing, just go buy one from NTUC or any hardware shop.

If you have a spare thick bedsheet, just roll it up and cover the base of the window should help a bit. May be unsightly though.

There is higher level of moisture in that ceiling of that room compared to other rooms. If the person staying above is the type who switches on their aircon in that bedroom at the coldest setting and the whole day, the coldness will be felt on the ceiling of your bedroom. Condensation can occur and the wetness will surely cause mold to grow. You need to remove the mold before you move in as they can be harmful if inhaled. You need to repaint it over with a good quality anti mold white paint made specially for bathroom ceilings. ICI Dulux has such a paint. To prevent recurrence, the only mitigation is to also switch on the aircon in your own room to equalise the temperature with the one above. If this is not a solution, then maybe a friendly feed back to the person above could be helpful.

Is it the same one that advertised their services quite aggresively in this forum?

Get rid of the mold and the bugs that feed on them will go.

Yes, 20 Mule is just one of the brands.

Never tried baking soda, actually never heard anyone using it to control mold. Vinegar, yes, including a commercial preparation called Voltrex which is vinegar based. They don't really work. The vinegar exaporates away therefore the mold comes back. Borax is a type of boron salt therefore, once the water evaporated, it still leaves behind some salt residue on the surface. That residue keeps mold from growing on that treated surface. Be careful with using vinegar though, one drop on your marble floor and it dissolves the surface leaving a horrible blur spot. (acid + calcium carbonate = carbon dioxide + salt solution) The marble is just calcium carbonate.

I have just ordered two more boxes of Twenty Mule Team borax from a US website. I got it from a website called www.Soap.com. I paid USD15 for it to be delivered to the Vpost clearing centre in Portland, Oregon. Vpost will then deliver it to my home once they receive the order from soap.com. I expect the transport charges from Oregon to Singapore to be about S$35 as they charge by the weight. In case you are not aware, Vpost is a courier service provided by Singpost. In the past I have bought it from a different vendor. Just select the cheapest I can find at the time of order. I also use Borax for my laundry. Use about 1 tablespoon in the last washing machine rinse, it keeps the laundry free from mold growth and any musty smells. At this quantity a box should last me a year. My previous order got through customs without any issue but I strongly advice not to order to many boxes in one go otherwise the authorities may withhold it thinking that you are an importer. It is not permited to sell borax in Singapore for fear of people using them as food additive.

About a year back I emailed ICI paint to ask them if I can dissolve some Borax crystal into the paint directly before I use the paint on my wall/ceiling. They replied (rather tentatively) that the pH of the paint will be affected and hence not recommended. I have not done any painting since I repainted my moldy ceiling 2 years back but I think I would like to add some borax into my paint to test it out during my next painting. For the time being, my walls and ceiling are kept mold free by just wet wiping it with borax regularly.

Those tiny bugs seem quite harmless to me although in large numbers, they are a disgusting sight to have on your walls and ceilings...BUT!!! the mold can be extremely harmful to humans. Depending on the type of mold and sensitivity of an individual, one can get various long term effects on the health by just inhaling the spores from the mold. Your priority is to remove the mold for your health sake, shortly the bugs will also dissapear when their food source is gone. Please refer to my earlier reply in this same thread. The key is to keep mold away long term. Just wiping with a wet cloth or vacuuming it away may give one the false sense that it is gone but it is actually not gone. They will continue to grow. You will need chemical warfare and the least toxic anti mold (to humans and environment) is Borax. The effect of borax is also the longest compared to other household mold cleaners such as bleach, vinegar, Ozone gas, Lysol spray. I have tried all them including some I did not list here, but found nothing beats borax and yet it is the cheapest of them all. This is for your info only.

That is a little too drastic especially if it is expensive or has sentimental value. My electronic organ wooden panels and its bench were attacked by mold. Can't imagine that I have to discard my $$$$ organ because of mold. It is now mold free. Wipe it down with borax solution, let it soak inside the surface a little and it should stay mold free for a few weeks or months. Just be careful with surfaces that uses thin plywood. It may warp the plywood if too wet. Test on a spot first before doing the entire surface. Many commercial timber treatment liquid are just borax (boron) based salts.

It is usually caused by kids not aiming properly. Just a few drips on to the floor can cause a very bad smell if left for a few hours. I usually just rinse the floor around the toilet bowl with water in between toilet washes or when I noticed drips of urine on the floor.

It is mold. Be very careful with it as it could damage your health very badly by just sleeping in that room. Without risk of sounding like a scripted reply, if you have read my other posts, I think you know what I will recommend already without further delay. If the mold is only appearing on your ceiling and not your walls, I suspect your neighbours above loves to swtich on the aircon the whole day/night until it cause your ceiling to be cold enough to create condensation. Very soon, you will find little wingless bugs crawing all over your ceiling feasting on the mold. It seems that mold is becoming a major problem EVERYWHERE in Singapore, dunno why. Even my 2 month old spanking new office with aircon switched on the whole day is having mold problem. Seldom heard of such problems indoor 5 years ago, never had it in all my previous homes as well. Maybe bad new apartment design. Too congested and lack natural wind flowing through the apartments.

I just used Vpost for my borax last year. No more issue about not delivering outside of USA or not accepting non USA credit cards. Nevertheless, I found some merchants who do delivery overseas. Compare the prices before deciding. Don't buy too many boxes otherwise custom may deem that you are an importer. Importing borax needs a permit but small quantity for personal use I suppose they close one eye.