mold on walls in block house (insulating, paint, installing, insulation)

[Bethsor]

I have a block house with no insulation in the walls and the north side has mold growing on the wet walls. We will work on drainage outside as soon as the weather allows, but we also want to insulate the walls. we plan to tear off the drywall and put in fiberglass insulation and replace the walls. Do we need to paint on a vapor barrier paint, and if so, what if we can't get between the studs and the block wall? is insulation enough to keep the moisture out?
thanks!

[jasony]

Anytime you start to paint in a wall cavity you have to make sure that you don't seal areas that are meant to breath. Improper application of paints (even anti-microbial paints) can cause problems in the way the home is suppose to function in relation to the outdoor air - for example: in warm dry climate you don't want a vapor barrier on the exterior side of the wall. If you put a vapor barrier on the exteriror side of the wall moisture from inside the house (inside being more moist than outside) will travel through the drywall and become trapped in the wall cavity which could cause mold problems (at minimum). Talk to a local professional about your situation whether that be an Indoor Environmental Consultant or Microbial Remediator. You can find a list of these professionals at www.iaqcouncil.org.

[mrpeatie]

I would use a dehumidifyer for a while to get rid of the moisture before sealing in the walls. Is it an issue of water or humidity. If its water be sure to check all possible paths not just the mst obvious.

[katzenfreund]

We lived in an area that had a lot of block homes that had the same issues. What people did to remedy the situation was installing siding and insulating in between the siding and the block, it helped a lot.

[I'm a Michigander]

I'm seeing that there are solutions for the problem now... Now if only my lanlord would get his act together and fix the problem. Been dealing with mold for several months now, health dept didn't do a thing.