Sigh...mildew.

[Nepenthusiast]

Hi Terra forums,
My Nepenthes have been pretty much having the time of their lives thanks to the humidifier that I know most of you are tired of hearing me rave about.
Anyway, its Sunday night and I just noticed mildew on my wall, which must have happened due to the high humidity. Obviously, i can't let the walls of my room rot away, so I'll have to get rid of the humidifier.
Doesn't sound like much, but it effectively means that my Nepenthes will be growing suckily for the forseeable future. I might as well get rid of my Nepenthes.
OKAY I'm not going to be sulking for this entire post. What would happen if I had the humidifier in my room with a fan on? It sounds like a solution to me, but the combined cost of fan+2 grow lights+humidifier could not be to good for my family's electric bill. And besides I don't know if it would solve the problem.
Any advice? I could always just grow really easy Nepenthes, but my Eyemae, Lady Pauline, etc. have all really grown on me (pun intended!). What should I do?
Probably just time to empty out the old growshelf...I have to move soon anyway...I guess if I can't think of a solution soon you can expect to see me in the trade section! Not yet though. We'll see.

EDIT: Hmm...its 10 o'clock at night. I probably shouldn't be so worried about this but it really bugs me that I'm sitll having such trouble with my Nepenthes after 1.5 years of growing. I'll check to see if my parents are okay with the fan idea. Its probably a good thing that I'm conservative the $ eating aspects of this trade since its my parents who pay for everything and I am grateful for that. They probably won't mind but I feel so guilty.
But would a fan even work? I could always pay for it if I had to...but I really don't want to hehehe.
Good night everybody...I could ramble on all night but I hereby choose to end this post NOW.

 

[obregon562]

neps are tougher than you give them credit for. Have you seen www.nepenthesaroundthehouse.com? Joel has no problems growing some of the rarest neps around OUTSIDE. While that is probably impractical in MA, they should do fine on a windowsill/somewhere else that gets alot of light. You could even put them outside in spring/summer. OR you could just get a bigger growshelf with room for your humidifier, put a plastic sheet over the entire thing, and that'll keep the humidity out of your room and onto your plants. Hope this helps. Dont give them up!

 

[xvart]

I don't think the extra fan will make a noticeable difference in your electric bill. You can get one of those tester things that will measure how much energy is used, and then compare that to the cost of energy in your area. Regardless, your N. 'Lady Pauline' should be fine. Mine was pitchering over the winter with very unstable and very low humidity levels.

Additionally, the mildew and mold would be bad for you, too; you don't want to breath that in.

xvart.

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

Needed more air circulation in the room, but would just enclose your grow space to contain the humidity. Mold is bad and you need to take care of it NOW!!!

 

[Nepenthusiast]

Additionally, the mildew and mold would be bad for you, too; you don't want to breath that in.

xvart.

Yeah I forgot to mention that part. I've been sneasing more than usua andl now I know why. The plants certainly don't mind the mold, I do.

Xvart, you know more about electric bills then I do! In my mind, it seems that it must take a lot of energy to spin a rotar that fast but then again I know nothing about electricity or paying bills.
Also good to hear that Lady Pauline is easy! Its doing well now but I thought that the talangensis in it might make it a little more low-humidityphobic.
Obregon, I used to wíndowsill grow like that, but my Nepenthes always looked poor/no pitchers to average/diminuative pitchers. My alata and verntricosa would surely do just fine, but I killed a lot of intermediate difficulty species like Ramispina and Densiflora that are on par with plants like Eymae. I know windowsill growing is an option, but I really don't want to regress back to mediocraty after seeing my plants do as well as they have recently. I'm beggening to sound like some sleazy humidifier marketer! That last dialouge between me and Obregon could make a great commercial.
The bag idea is actually worth considering! I would have to think of something to keep it from heating up though.
Thanks everyone! And yes, iäm taking down that mold, tommorow!

 

[Knuckles]

Ever consider making a small grow chamber for the tougher plants? A small aquarium or just a pvc frame wrapped in plastic would be able to contain that humidity

 

[nightsky]

I just got some cheap, clear cellophane rolls from a local craft store and enclosed my growshelf in it. It works fantastic, allows me to control ventilation, temperature, humidity, and you cannot even tell it's there. Worked great for about $8.

 

[phissionkorps]

Build a chamber out of PVC pipe and 6 mil plastic sheeting like I did. It works as a vapor barrier.

but the combined cost of fan+2 grow lights+humidifier could not be to good for my family's electric bill.

Not going to be bad for it either. I run 7 fixtures, an aquarium hood, a fan, and a warm mist (uses more power), and my electric bills are still only like $50 a month.

 

[xvart]

By no means mature, this is what my N. 'Lady Pauline' did in 15% or less humidity coming out of winter:

(I still can't tell what the greyish fuzz is in the pictures. It isn't there (or noticeable) in real time, so I tried to adjust the light on my camera, which mottled out some of the beautiful redness).

xvart.

 

[Crissytal]

If you're concerned about humidity, perhaps you can try a pebble tray? The average humidity in my house is around 30%. Since I've added the pebble tray on my grow rack (it's enclosed on the sides and back; open on the front and between each rack except for the lights hanging down) it's averaging between 60-70% during the day. Before my lights come on in the morning, around 8:30 am, the humidity is around 80 some. Of course this method isn't as good as what some of the others have mentioned with constructing a grow chamber because the humidity will start to drop the higher you go above the pebbles, but it does seem to work pretty well. If you'd like, I can get some pictures in the morning.

Crystal

 

[MrFlyTrap2]

I honestly wouldn't worry about the mildew on the wall. You just need to clean it up ASAP before it gets bad.

I have tenants that let mildew grow onto the walls in bathrooms, if unchecked it causes a problem. But any normal household cleaner should be able to get rid of it. It's what I have to do when they can't take care of themselves.

I don't know much about your living space, renting / owning / parents / etc, but there's also specific mildew resistant paints you can buy. This is the stuff that I use to paint all my basement rafters with to protect them from moist nasty basements.

Nate

 

[Nepenthusiast]

Okay this thread has given me a lot of good ideas. Its day time now so my I can think clearly again and I think that if I keep the fan going for the day (which I'm almost sure is fine!) everything will probably be okay. I might try the pebble tray thing.
Nightsky,
your technique sounds great! Okay, mabye I'll take in hour two this week just to screw arund with my setup! Should be fun.
How about I just rap the area in cell phone rolls (with holes for ventalation), and stick the fan and humidifier in there? That migt just work, and it probably won't be to expensive, either.
So how does that setup sound?