Next, because the mold first grew ABOVE the floor, not inside the floor, I suspect the problem has more to do with inadequate ventillation and cheap building materials than moisture seeping up through the concrete subfloor. Your builder is lying if he says he never heard of mold problems with vinyl flooring on concrete because it is a common problem, but I doubt that is the problem because it first appeared on your baseboards, not in/under your floor. You also usually cannot see the mold when it festers under the floor, as well; you can just smell it.

The culprit is probably cheap-o cabinets and baseboards that use mold-friendly materials and glues. The solution is to bleach it down every few weeks as a part of your cleaning regimen. Use any cleaner with bleach in it or dilute bleach down with water, yourself, and use it.

Next, ventillate and dehumidify the room. Mold only grows in humid, unventillated environments. Even if you do not get an electric dehumidifier unit, many home improvement centers sell a chemical dehumidifier that absorbs water and drip-drains it into a bucket that you empty every once in a while. (It will only work in a small room, though). For ventillation, keep the door to the room open as much as possible. Even using a simple box fan in the room to circulate the air will help ventillate the room and prevent it from getting too humid, thereby preventing the mold from growing.

Finally, if it is a bathroom, most building codes require that new-construction bathrooms have ventillation fans for this very reason. If your's does not have one, get your builder to install one to get it up to Code. If it does have one, then use it.

[This message has been edited by Lawrence (edited January 09, 2001).]

I am planning another linoleum floor in the kitchen and would like to better understand the issues.

Thanks,
Oodi

However, water wicking up through the subfloor is a rare problem due to gravity. I have misdiagnosed it as the problem, only to find out that the problem and solutions were more obvious and simple than that. Ventiallation, Dehumidification, and bleach conquers most mold problems, especially on floors.

However, water wicking up through the subfloor is a rare problem due to gravity. I have misdiagnosed it as the problem, only to find out that the problem and solutions were more obvious and simple than that. Ventiallation, Dehumidification, and bleach conquers most mold problems, especially on floors.