Location, Location, Location.

[MMJ Intern]

I have been planning on growing my own little garden for some time and need some advice from seasoned pros on what area of my townhouse I should convert to a full-time grow room. I have three different areas to choose from:

 

• 
   
  
• A: small office: 6.5' by 7' with drop ceiling and 3 windows. My mailbox is directly in front of two out of the three windows and my main concern is the smell escaping outside
  
• B: Basement: 12' by 20' with open wood (1st floor floor) ceiling. When I moved in, the basement was extremely humid and smelled musky. I have a dehumidifer running 24/7 into a floor drain and haven't noticed moisture accumulating. The musky smell still lingers and all efforts to remove the smell have been unsuccessful. Mold in wood possible.
  
• C: last resort, closet with stairs going to now sealed attic: 3' by 3' floor area with seven to nine 8" wide steps ranging from 1' from ceiling to 7'.
  

 

I would prefer the office or the basement since I would like to grow with soil inside tents ( 1 veg, 1 flower).

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Daddy Nothing]

I'll bite. I think the small office would be your best bet, although controlling smell will be a concern. The closet is definitely too small for BOTH veg and flower, but if you use the space right you could fit 4-6 small vegging plants in there, plus some seedlings/cuttings, etc.

But if you even suspect there is mold anywhere in the basement I wouldn't touch it.

Just make sure if you bloom in that office to have a good carbon filter and I would vent your exhaust into the townhouse rather than directly outside.

[MMJ Intern]

Thank you DN.

 

Perhaps I'll the closet for veg (minus the tent) and the office for flower.

 

If I vent the exhaust into the office, could I use a carbon filter and/or add an ionizer to the room? I am wondering if I could figure out a way the pump the exhaust into the attic or basement.

 

I think I might put window plastic across each window twice (on the window frame and the side of the window frame) and perhaps put smelly annual flowers in window boxes.

[trix]

 

I think I might put window plastic across each window twice (on the window frame and the side of the window frame) and perhaps put smelly annual flowers in window boxes.

 

 

I would put something big and full of thorns in front of the windows... free security. Just saying

 

I'm sure they have pretty ones w/ some kinda thorn or barbs.

 

Good luck,

 

Trix

[trix]

yeah I'd say basement, why not fix the mold? it's not good for your health as it sits, mold isn't hard to get rid of depending on the kind. Garden department #28 at any home depot will give you a how to class on removal of mold.. musky smell doesn't equal mold either, days/months/years of stagnate water and wet wood will make that smell.

 

The office seems a lacking on the security end, remember 3 windows means 3 ways to get in????? as well as right so close to the mailman, seems risky to me, being victim of a robbery of my 12 plants, Security is #1 you want the Grow room to be locked down like fort knocks brother, run you fans, buy a inline exhaust fan run your flex ducting to wherever you feel safest. run you air purifiers, dehumidifiers, w/e until you find the correct temps and humidity.. and run with it. DON'T TELL ANYONE YOUR GROWING POT!!! more people that know the more unsafe you are...

 

But yeah basement, but clean the mold... DON'T USE BLEACH!!! bleach just spreads the mold spores and then grows in larger unseen patches.. Just have to have a way to get fresh air into the basement to remove the hot air(inline fans), it will get warm in your GR especially with high humidity, bring fresh air in, get the hot air out with fans and ducting.

 

ok, sorry to ramble, medicated bout to do the doctor In a minute..

 

Good luck,

 

Trix

 

EDIT: If you do go with the 3 windows, in the office buy the window break alarms you can find them at your local hardware store, they beep like a freaking loud azz smoke alarm, if someone taps or moves the window in anyway.. $10 bucks..

[CedarSpringsCG]

I personally would use the basement. It would take a bit of work, first you would have to treat the wood with something like mold killer, then seal it with a good paint, then cover that. I guess it depends on how bad it really is. One thing I might do is get a hygrometer and test the humidity and see what it is really at. In full bloom, the humidity is going to shoot up, so if you already have humidity problems, it probably isn't a good idea to use that space.

 

If you use the office, you have to think about light escape as much as smell. When you do open your tent, is it going to look like poltergiest or close encounters of the third kind from outside? Black out the windows, not just blinds, but have something that you can really seal all light from. You want to be able to have your tent open, and yet not have someone standing outside your house be able to tell.

 

If you can work it out, plant smell cover, and as stated, a big thorny bush right in front like a big rose bush right under the windows. You can plant something like catnip and citronella around that. Don't do catnip by itself, or the cats will love you WAY too much, but citronella will help keep pests away as well as cover smell and keep the cats at bay. Heather and Lavendar work well also.

 

Get a really good carbon filter. I would put a small one inside the tent venting out into the room, and then I would put a larger one just recirculating inside the room. If temps are an issue, you can vent the large carbon filter in the room outside, but be careful as some might find it weird to have a vent blowing warm air out of your house in the winter. it could tip people off. I actually change my vent strategy in the winter, Summer I vent outside, winter, I vent into my basement which then heats up the whole basement and the upstairs as well. I saved probably $400 in heating this year. No where near what I spent on electricity for the lights, but it was nice to not have the heater running all the time.

 

Cedar

[Nix]

Basement every time. You want to be underground where no one will notice. People will wonder why you have a locked room upstairs. Just keep that dehumidifier going. I've never had a problem using bleach to get rid of mold. It works great.

[rockinlespaul]

Address the mold issue and use the basement. Perfect for growing. Good luck.

[MORE COWBELL]

10 feet underground in a shipping container or two

[thanks2]

Use a bleach water solution and spray the basement.

 

When using the basement it is out of the main house, easy to control temps, easier to control odor, does not leave a heat signature for those prying eyes, and the basement door can be locked.

[Nix]

Use a bleach water solution and spray the basement.

 

When using the basement it is out of the main house, easy to control temps, easier to control odor, does not leave a heat signature for those prying eyes, and the basement door can be locked.

 

Just avoid one mistake I made when prepping my basement. I got to liberal with the bleach water. I sprayed up the walls and left it. The water collected between the drywall and the floor edging (the stick-on kind) and created more mold! So I ended up having to remove about three inches of drywall all around the room. Of course if you don't have drywall then don't worry about it. When I finished the rest of the basement I used the green mold resistant drywall and always nail it up at least one inch from the floor.

[trix]

http://moldremovalfa...of-mold-part-1/

 

For minor home mold infestation, you can consider using normal household cleaners for the mold removal task. These are the various cleaning solutions that can be used as effective mold removal products:

 

• Borax

• Bleach

• Vinegar

1. Borax as mold removal product

Borax is natural household cleaning product that is commonly used for cleaning toilets and drains. Borax is a non-toxic cleaner as it does not release dangerous chemicals or harmful fumes. Borax is a natural mold inhibitor, when mixed with water it can be used to kill mold.

 

Cleaning Mold with Borax solution

- Use 1 cup of Borax to 1 gallon of water to create a cleaning solution.

- Before you begin the mold removal process with Borax solution, vacuum all the loose mold to prevent mold spores from becoming airborne during the cleaning process.

- Apply the Borax solution onto the mold infected areas and scrub hard with a sturdy brush to remove all the surface mold. You may repeat this process 2 – 3 times for stubborn mold.

- Wipe off the excess moisture and the residual mold dust. This is to prevent the mold particles from spreading into the air when the surface has dried up..

- Do not rinse the treated areas with water, the Borax solution that left behind will prevent molds from growing on the areas again.

- Allow the cleaned areas to dry entirely.

 

2. Use bleach for mold removal

 

Bleach is an effective mold killer for surface mold. It is good at killing mold species that is growing on non-porous materials like glass, tiles, countertops, and bathtubs. Bleach kills mold that it comes into contact with. However, for molds growing within the surface like drywalls and woods; bleach cannot reach into the porous materials. Thus using bleach as mold removal product on these materials is not effective for bleach can only kill the surface mold and leaving the roots untreated.

 

Killing mold with bleach solution

- Make sure the area to be treated with bleach solution is well ventilated as bleach produces abrasive fumes. Put on long rubber gloves to protect your hands during the mold removal process.

- Create a mild solution that made up of one cup of bleach to one gallon of water.

- Apply the bleach solution onto the mold infected surfaces.

- Leave the solution to set in. Do not rinse with water as bleach will prevent mold growth in the future.

 

Using bleach as mold removal product: The Cons

i. When bleach solution is used on porous materials, the chlorine in bleach cannot break into the surface, it is left on the surface while the water component is being absorbed into the porous material. This provides further moisture for the mold to thrive on. While the surface mold may be killed but the roots of mold growth are left untreated, which implies the return of mold and this may result in repeated bleaching.

 

ii. Another downside of using bleach to kill mold is that bleach can cause damages to the materials being treated as bleach is an abrasive chemical. Besides that, bleach produces toxic fumes when mixed with ammonia.

 

3. Vinegar as mold removal product

Vinegar is a natural and safe mold cleaner. With its mild acidic element, vinegar is able to kill about 80% of the mold species.

 

Removing mold with vinegar

- Use the white distilled vinegar to remove indoor mold.

- Transfer the undiluted vinegar into a spray bottle and spray onto the mold infected areas.

- Leave the vineger to sit for at least an hour.

- Wipe up the area with water and leave it to dry thoroughly.

- To prevent mold growth on surfaces, you can spray the vinegar on the surfaces and leave it without wiping clean with water. In order to ensure the surfaces stay mold-free, you may need to repeat this every other day.

 

This is a five gallon bucket of 'completely green" mold removal product, the choice of most contractors. a bit on the high end of the price scale but they sell 1gallon bottles as well. good bye mold, no odor, non toxic...

 

http://www.homedepot.com/Paint-Cleaners-Thinners-Removers/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbobg/R-100654127/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

Trix

 

[Nix]

Good post, trix. And of course never mix bleach and ammonia!

[trix]

MMJ INTERN,

 

Do have water issues, leaks cracks that cause water to build up on the floor or around your walls?

 

Quick simple way to stop that problem, and getting rid of the water will help the humidity issues also..

 

http://www.homedepot...SkuId=202889294

 

Clean your walls steps from above post, and try to apply on a hot day when there is no moisture on the wall/floor, spread 3 ft up the wall 2ft out from the floor, fill in cracks on the floor/wall with http://www.homedepot...catalogId=10053 then after it drys 24 hours, apply the dry lock product (water sealer)

 

Shoot do all that get rid of the mold issues (shouldn't be hard) and you are ready to get your low key grow going!!

 

Hope this info helps, good luck

 

Trix

 

Sorry its just this was my source of living for the past 10 years, PM me if you have ?'s or need any help w/ the prep work.

[MMJ Intern]

Thank you everyone for the excellent information especially Trix!

 

I was poking around the basement this weekend looking for mold and the only place that I found it was on the cloth chair cover that my dehumidifier had sat on for the last six months. I didn't see mold anywhere else so the basement it is.

 

Thank you again for all the advice and tips.

 

It's 6:15 am and I'm off to prep my future grow space

 

If I have any questions, I'll PM you Trix