Every Fact About Mold Removal

Mold is a major problem that many people come across in basements and older homes.  More often than not, a mold problem comes from excess moisture and water leaks.  It is highly advisable that you check the house completely for any sign of a mold problem. If you have a mold problem and it is not taken care of properly you or your family could become very sick. This is not a problem that you can afford to post-phone dealing with.

What to Do if You Encounter a Mold Problem

If by chance, you do encounter a mold problem, the first thing that should be done is to eliminate the source of the moisture or water.  Then you should dry the area out by using a dehumidifier.  To further eliminate the mold problem, you need to scrub the surfaces that have mold with mold removal products. You can use normal household cleaners to minor mold infestation. The next step to solve the mold problem is to bleach the affected areas and to do a weekly vinegar rinse. Then it is highly advisable to paint with oil-based paint if possible.  This eliminates any future mold problem by trapping any remaining mold spores.  It is also recommended to use an air purifier to eliminate airborne spores from the area.  This is what you should do if you encounter a mold problem in your home.

In my previous post, where I discussed about mold removal products, I mentioned about using bleach to kill mold. Today I will talk about the effectiveness of bleach as a mold removal product, its usage and limitations in killing mold. To learn about other mold removal products, you may refer to my previous posts.

Bleach is the product we have known for years to be good at killing bacteria and viruses. Some believe bleach can kill mold as well. Yes, bleach is a mold killer, but that’s limited to molds grow on non-porous materials such as counter-tops, tiles, bathroom, shower glass, tubs, etc. When dealing with mold infection on non-porous surfaces, you can use a mixture of less than a cup of bleach to one gallon of water to effectively disinfect and kill molds.

However, the use of bleach to kill molds on porous materials is not recommended for the fact that bleach contains 99% of water. When bleach is used to clean and disinfect porous materials like wood and drywall, the Iodin structure of bleach prevents Chlorine from soaking into the materials to kill the roots of molds. While the water element of bleach penetrates through the surfaces and feed the roots. Therefore remediating porous materials with bleach is said to accelerate mold growth rather than stopping and killing it.

Bleach is corrosive. It releases harmful fumes that can cause serious health problems. When bleach is used as mold removal product, make sure you follow proper safety measures to protect yourself from inhaling the toxic fumes.

In conclusion, bleach can be used as mold removal product for non-porous surfaces like glass, tiles, tubs, counter-top and etc. Do not ever use bleach to kill mold on porous materials like wood and drywall. It expedites mold infestation due to the water content of bleach. Remember to put on protective gears whenever dealing with any mold removal product such as bleach. Do not mix bleach with ammonia, as this will create toxic fumes. Bleach is not registered with EPA as a mold removal product. Thus the effectiveness of killing mold with bleach is not proven.

When mold, mildew grows on fabric or clothing, you will want to clean it right away. Mold becomes difficult to remove when it inhibits longer on fabric and the moldy smell gets more intense.

To get rid of mold on clothes, you need laundry stain remover and vinegar or bleach.

First step in fabric mold removal involves spraying of stain remover over the moldy spot and let it soak for at least 15 minutes before you throw it into your washing machine.

Alternatively, you can use a mixture of vinegar and water to pre-treat the moldy clothes. Vinegar is a good disinfectant and it removes stains well.

After that, put the clothing into your washing machine with 1 cup of vinegar and let it filled with water. Soak the laundry for a couple of hours before adding any laundry detergent.

When washing fabrics with mold and mildew, use the hottest possible water as high temperature can kill mold. For white clothes, you may replace vinegar with bleach for the same procedure.

When mold removal is done, allow the clothing to dry thoroughly under the sun to destroy any possible trace of mold on the fabric.

Watch the video below to learn how to remove mold from clothing / fabric.