Originally Posted By: HeidiKM This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I’m writing about a mysterious condition on the interior walls of a split level house outside Chicago.
On the inward-facing surfaces of nearly every wall which surrounds the central staircase, there is significant evidence of seepage (looks like a jagged water line that extends about two feet from the ceiling) coming down from the top. The bottom edge of some of these areas are "tacky" -- not wet, but slightly sticky, like whatever is making its way through the wall has an oily or sticky component.
There is no staining on the ceiling, nor is there any staining on the reverse sides of the walls in question (those that face away from the staircase into the rooms that surround it.)
There is no evidence in the overhead crawlspace of water infiltration from the roof and no a/c or plumbing lines that would give off condensation. The only equipment above the ceiling is an old whole-house fan, which (a) has not been used in at least two years and (b) is not central to the affected area.
Any ideas at all about what might be causing this?? Any suggestions would be very welcome and greatly appreciated.
Originally Posted By: HeidiKM This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
The house is 38 years old with only seasonal moisture issues (i.e., when it is very hot and humid outside, the lower level gets a bit muggy.)
As for other moisture, there is a bathroom directly off the staircase in question and the door is normally left open during showers. However, this bathroom is only used for one short shower daily and has been used in this way for the past two years.
I find it hard to imagine so little moisture could cause so much staining, but I suppose anything is possible. Have you seen this kind of thing before?
Originally Posted By: dvalley This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Heidi,
Sounds to me like someone was removing old wallpaper from the staircase area with a hot steamer and the leftover paste from the wallpaper remained and dripped down from the top half of the wall.
Originally Posted By: HeidiKM This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
My answers, in order of inquiry?
1) There's no indication that I can see of there having been wallpaper in that stairwell before, but anything's possible. In any event, there definitely hasn't been any activity of that kind in the past two years.
2) The majority of the area involved does not correspond with any roofing valleys, areas where siding meets house, etc.
3) We first noticed it on one wall (the one closest to the bathroom) several weeks ago. This past weekend, we noticed that it was actually ringing the stairwell area -- on virtually every surface, including stains that continue to both sides of interior doorways. As for how long any of it has been there, I honestly couldn't say, because it's not an area that draws attention.
We had a few days of very hot/humid weather about a week ago, but the summer has been quite mild overall. There was a huge rainstorm right before we first noticed the problem, but my husband went into the crawlspace above the affected area during and after the rain and everything was bone dry, including the insulation.
We have "forget me nots" in the roof for attic ventilation.
We've lived in the house for almost exactly two years -- we moved in at the end of August 2002.
I hope my replies have been useful in making sense of this. Thanks to you all for your responses and questions.
Originally Posted By: HeidiKM This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
The bathroom has a mechanical vent (which I never use unless I am showering with the door closed) and a large casement window (which I leave open as weather permits.)
Originally Posted By: jbehling This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Without seeing it, it sounds like moisture marks from the bathroom/ humid weather. As for the staining… are you a smoker or have past owners been smokers?
Originally Posted By: ekartal This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Heidi,
Are you near Schaumburg? I can take a quick look if you are interested. No charge, just referrals. 
Originally Posted By: HeidiKM This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Erol Kartal came out this morning and was incredibly prompt, very pleasant and eager to help. In addition to trying to determine a definitive cause for the marks (which unfortunately remain somewhat of a mystery despite his best efforts), he gave the house a once-over from top to bottom and pointed out other things that needed attention.
He did rule out some of the possible sources of the moisture, and it looks like an appointment with a roofing contractor is the next step.
Thanks to everyone for their input and special thanks to Erol for going the extra mile (or 12!) to come from Schaumburg and take a look at the problem in person.
Originally Posted By: kbowles This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Good job Erol!!
As far as the stains go....I saw this in a movie once, where stains were showing up in the staircase....what was that movie called?????? OH yea, The Shining.
Sometimes moisture can come from strange places and be hard to locate the source, good luck in your search.
Good job Erol!!