carpet solution for sweating tile

[glpeppa]

i have a friend who has a tile floor over a concrete slab. it sweats in the winter time. they are about to have a baby and want to put some sort of soft surface carpet down but afraid it will mold. any solutions, ideas? is there any soft carpet out there that won't mold?

[Tandy Reeves]

It is not the carpet that molds. It is the stuff that gets into the carpet that molds. Nylon, Olefins, polyesters, and polyproplene are not food sources for mold. Also we need to explore why the floor sweats. The relative humidity and temperature are crossing the dew point, why? Is there a crawl space and is it open? Is the heat turned off during the night? Lets correct the problem and not cover it up.

[Daris Mulkin]

Will the tile continue sweating with carpet on top of it. You no longer have hot hitting cold to form the moisture. Am I right or wrong?

Daris

[Tandy Reeves]

Whatever is causing the temperature changes is still there. It is possible if the temperature changes are from withing the residence, the carpet and cushion would possibly insulate the tile and do away with the sweating. However, if it is from the bottom up, it would not. You just would not be able to see it.

[Bill Vincent]

One possibility would be to remove the moisture from the air. What about using a dehumidifier? The moisture's GOT to be coming from the air.

[Nick Arrera]

Water will seek its own level , could be coming up from under the concrete ..

[Jerry Thomas]

I'm betting they have a non-vented gas fireplace running. They can produce an enormous amount of moisture. If they have a storm door, does moisture condense on the inside glass surface if the main entry door is left open for awhile?

Covering it with carpet is not going to solve anything, there is something occurring inside to make this happen. They need to pick up an hygrometer to check the RH level.

[Daris Mulkin]

Do a moisture or mat test. That should tell you if coming from the floor. Check humidity in the room. All these can be done reasonably quickly.

Daris

[Floorguy]

The tiles are at a temperature, below dew point for the ambient conditions where the tiles are installed.

Humidity!!!!

[Tandy Reeves]

Humidity!!!!

I agree 100% now lets determine where it is coming from and correct that.
1. What is the type of heat in the home?
2. If there are thermostats? What are their settings for 24 hours?
3. Like Jerry said is there a non-vented stove or fireplace?
4. Is there a hot tub in the home?
5. Does the tiles sweat only in the winter or year around?
6. What is the climate like where this home is located? Humid, cold, dry, etc.