Old and dirty Basement grow room need help with suggestions on how to finish!!!

Hi there I’m trying to take this room and cheaply, but efficiently turn it into a safe grow room where I won’t have to constantly worry about fungi, mold, mildew, or dust. I plan on using. Grow tent inside of this room but still would to like to basically refinish the room, anybody have some suggestions im stuck on what to do



Attached is pictures of the room

I'd bleach mist all the surfaces to kill mildew to start. Or an Ozone generator/ sulfur burner.
Spray the concrete and brick surfaces with muriatic acid to etch it, fill all the cracks with mortar and caulk, put on masonry sealer , then paint it.
That will keep the concrete and brick from absorbing gallons and gallons of humidity, seal all the bug entry points..
And a 70 pint dehumidifier, vapor barrier on the ceiling(plastic sheeting).

could look at some photos starting at this post i framed a new grow room in my basement last year i took photos of the whole build as it progressed

im assuming you meant the room itself and that youve got the gear and electrical covered

bleach the shit out of everything. clean it up as best you can
seal up that vent looking thing in the wall and patch any other holes while youre at it
throw a coat or two of killz on the walls, ceiling, and floor
1-2 coats drylok on the floor (epoxy or vinyl if youre feeling fancy)
caulk and/or spray foam where applicable/necessary
cut a few pieces of foam board to size and layer them in the window(s). panda film over it if you want to but the board by itself is fine. make sure its sealed up

Cant tell what floor is there, but a general clean, paint and having both a dehumidifier and a HEPA air cleaner (a good one) available as needed you got yourself a space. Exit point for airflow out the basement needs to be identified or created.

If what has already been suggested seems like a lot to do, the air purifier will help the most imo. It can deal with most of the issues the basement can create - mold, fungus, spores, smells. Dehuey depends upon location, may or may not need.

Thank you everyone this is all awesome information, saved me alot of time researching much appreciated!

ComfortCreator said:

Cant tell what floor is there, but a general clean, paint and having both a dehumidifier and a HEPA air cleaner (a good one) available as needed you got yourself a space. Exit point for airflow out the basement needs to be identified or created.

If what has already been suggested seems like a lot to do, the air purifier will help the most imo. It can deal with most of the issues the basement can create - mold, fungus, spores, smells. Dehuey depends upon location, may or may not need.

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Do you think i should have hepa filter on intake exhaust fan? or should i have intake coming from a vent that i have leading outside?

Mwb44110 said:

Do you think i should have hepa filter on intake exhaust fan? or should i have intake coming from a vent that i have leading outside?

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Intake is air with no restrictions. Exhaust you will want a carbon filter.

HEPA air cleaners, real ones, will keep the air in the space clean of most of the mold and other problems in the air. It is not going to be perfect, and you arent building a clean room. Just a filtration system that helps with airborne issues. Typically in a home use you buy a model capable of exchanging the air in the room 10x an hour if set to max. Mini fridge size is typical.

DCcan said:

I'd bleach mist all the surfaces to kill mildew to start. Or an Ozone generator/ sulfur burner.
Spray the concrete and brick surfaces with muriatic acid to etch it, fill all the cracks with mortar and caulk, put on masonry sealer , then paint it.
That will keep the concrete and brick from absorbing gallons and gallons of humidity, seal all the bug entry points..
And a 70 pint dehumidifier, vapor barrier on the ceiling(plastic sheeting).

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I know this is an old post now but I’m just getting around to doing this, and I was wondering if you meant muriatic acid as an alternative? I am nervous about spraying bleach to clean and using muriatic acid, how long would I wait to do that?

Mwb44110 said:

I know this is an old post now but I’m just getting around to doing this, and I was wondering if you meant muriatic acid as an alternative? I am nervous about spraying bleach to clean and using muriatic acid, how long would I wait to do that?

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Are you in the states? If so, use TSP AND bleach. Get yourself a 1gallon pump sprayer 3 quarts hot water to dissolve 1/2 cup TSP , 1 quart bleach and a drop or two of dawn dish soap and go to town. It's actually fun watching shit melt using this. Give a spray with clean water after the tsp/bleach mix, let it dry overnight then put the acid to it. Carefully. It will burn. The muriatic acid roughs up the crete so the sealer will adhere. Open your windows while doing this if there's any in the basement. You can also cut the acid with a little h20 if you find it's overpowering you. Gl

There is more than likely mold down there. On porous surfaces like that bleach only kills the surface mold. Vinegar is better at killing mold. Muriatic acid works as well.

After your done you're going to want to dry it out real good and then paint with something like Kilz. You can rent industrial strength dehumidifiers from Home Depot. They cost about $60 a day for a 23 gallon unit. 24 hours of running should dry things out pretty good.

Whatever you do make sure you have some good ventilation before starting.

Have fun.

xtsho said:

There is more than likely mold down there. On porous surfaces like that bleach only kills the surface mold. Vinegar is better at killing mold. Muriatic acid works as well.

After your done you're going to want to dry it out real good and then paint with something like Kilz. You can rent industrial strength dehumidifiers from Home Depot. They cost about $60 a day for a 23 gallon unit. 24 hours of running should dry things out pretty good.

Whatever you do make sure you have some good ventilation before starting.

Have fun.

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TSP kills mold.

And I would use a sealer specifically for concrete/basement/ damp locations. Oil base kilz is a great product, but not for this job.

speaking from exp here... I would frame up a room (if you own this) and hopefully you have SOME kind of way to vent outside? (I had to break out some of those huge glass cube windows and I am planning on breaking out the rest, to install a fan). Also invest in caulking, High humidity bathroom paint, a nice dehumidifier, wall mounted fans, BLEACH lol.... Kilz is going to cost you a fortune for the amount you need.... NEVER mount a wall over a concrete wall unless you know for sure how to install a professional vapor barrier or all you will do is create a perfect spot for mold and sht to grow that you CANNOT SEE!... PM me if you want more assist I have made two 5x5s in my basement doing this and then removed a wall and door and re installed it to make one of them a 10 x 5. I am not a pro contractor .. you tube can show you all of this really.

natureboygrower said:

And I would use a sealer specifically for concrete/basement/ damp locations. Oil base kilz is a great product, but not for this job.

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I wasn't aware that TSP would kill mold. I do know that vinegar does a better job than bleach. You are right about using a concrete sealer. Kilz makes a basement and masonry waterproofer.

xtsho said:

I wasn't aware that TSP would kill mold. I do know that vinegar does a better job than bleach. You are right about using a concrete sealer. Kilz makes a basement and masonry waterproofer.

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Bleach and TSP in combination will kill mold. Period. The problem is going to be is that it's a basement and every summer will likely sweat. A dehumidifier will be a must or the mold will grow back.

The original oil base kilz was used alot in heavily fire/smoke damaged interiors. And that product is great. I do not like all the little off shoot products some of these companies come up with to put on the depot shelves. I would find a sealer specifically made for basements and basements alone.

You're correct about tsp not killing mold, but used in combination with bleach, it works way more effectively than bleach alone. Here's a something i cleaned with tsp/bleach. Before/after. And the stuff is really cheap. It'd be what I'd use but wtf do i know lol

natureboygrower said:

You're correct about tsp not killing mold, but used in combination with bleach, it works way more effectively than bleach alone. Here's a something i cleaned with tsp/bleach. Before/after. And the stuff is really cheap. It'd be what I'd use but wtf do i know lol
View attachment 4969241View attachment 4969245

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TSP does a great job of cleaning. I don't use it anymore because of the phosphates that end up getting dumped down the drain.

xtsho said:

TSP does a great job of cleaning. I don't use it anymore because of the phosphates that end up getting dumped down the drain.

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Look for the green box. Phosphate free.

While at the hardware store, look for a uv flashlight, lights up mold like a christmas tree.