Painting Basement ceiling

[loadmaster]

!8900 house, Last fall ripped out this old tongue groove wood which was starting to rot as my basement can get humid during the summer. So now all I have showing is the joists and underside of flooring. I want to paint the entire area with some type of mildew/mold resistance paint before it gets warm again and starts to get humid again. My BIG question can I spray with a latex based paint or do I have to worry about an explosion from all the mist from the sprayer. Only have two small windows. Furnace/Hot Water in basement. Also what paint has worked best for most

[CAMAN]

Google "mold abatement paint" or "mold remediation paint". Just an FYI, well trained home inspectors don't like seeing painted joists/studs/sheathing and will usually investigate further as to why it was painted. In case you decide to sell.

You also may want to look into getting some fresh air down there or even a very large dehumidifier. Installing some vents into the return and outgoing air on the furnace would help as well.

[loadmaster]

Winter m0nths no problem. Since I can not get a good answer local which is better, during summer, bringing in fresh and exhausting it or close everything up and run a large dehumidifier. For the paint on the joists, the house being over 100 years old, any inspector will not have any problems finding things wrong. Also being up in age probably will not care what happens when I leave the house. Thanks but what about painting in enclosed basement with latex

[CAMAN]

Latex being water based is (for the most part) safe in an enclosed area, oil based is what can be dangerous. But obviously any ventilation you can get won't hurt.

And either option will work, just the dehumidifier is the more expensive option and will probably pull more moisture from the air.

[jentz]

Painting is just going to seal in moisture,Paint will crack and peel off soon.Ventilate the area get that moisture moving outside.

[loadmaster]

Wood is not damp now. There must be some cut off point where fresh air VS De-Hum is better or vise verse..I always what happens when the outside air is humid.

[JeremyCampbell]

Since it is an old home, ppl arnt going to have super expectations for exposed ceiling joists in a basement.Get the air takin care of down there and if you feel you should kill the bacteria first then go ahead and clean it up with water and bleach mixture.

Next, spray it out.

I've sprayed black latex on exposed ceilings before in basements.Usually I dont spend a ton of money on paint for something like this.Something in the Behr line of paint should be fine.Its something you see sometimes and for what ever reason they have alot of folks go with black.It actually looks pretty good when its done.Now I'm not sure what your situation is but (I did this upon request) from my clients for hiding dead mildew and also have done this when someone had smoke damage at one time.Not saying you should use black but just throwing it out there.Paint has come a long way these days.I don't think you need to worry about it being flammable (if) you have some ventilation. Use wisdom around those flammable appliances you described.

[Surface Tension]

If you open it up and vent it in the Summer your still going to have high humidity levels but at least your moving the air out.

If you have leaks do what you can to stop it. Often the starts with proper slope to divert water away from the house.

I'd use a dehumidifier the majority of time.

Temp and humidity gauge in the basement and outside and keep an eye on them.

On the dry days shut off the dehumidifier and open up the basement.

Wash the basement with 1 part bleach to 8 parts water. Dry it out with dehumidifier and fans. Keep it dry and you shouldn't have a problem with mold, mildew, and their smells. After that if you decide to paint you should prime with a good stain killer. You can get a mold killer in primer and that would probably be a good idea. But you have to keep the humidity down or it'll mold again. Paint with whatever color you want and add a mildewcide to the paint. You know what I'll say next, you have to keep the humidity down or else it'll mold again. You can get the primer and paint in latex. If you have stuff on the floor thats a good place to mold. Oil can be volatile but only that the fumes going across the heat exchanger(hot surface) will make carbon monoxide and why you have to watch what it. If you use a fan to exhaust the fumes and moisture while you wash and paint be sure to open another window to pull the air from.

[Down Deep]

In one of the homes I owned I had a moist basement and associated mold. I cleaned the whole area and bought a good quality dehumidifier which solved the problem. In mid summer it could remove 2 gallons of water per day.

The net has lots of information and U Tube vids on mold abatement. Be sure to wear the appropriate personal protection equipment.