Every Fact About Mold Removal

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.

For minor home mold infestation, you can consider using normal household cleaners for the mold removal task. These are the various cleaning solutions that can be used as effective mold removal products:

• Ammonia

• Hydrogen peroxide

• Detergent and water

• Tea tree oil

• Baking soda

4. Use Ammonia for mold removal
Ammonia, similar to bleach kills mold growing on non-porous materials like bathtubs, tiles, countertops, and glass. However ammonia is not an effective killer for mold growing in porous materials like drywalls and woods. Ammonia is a harsh chemical, it emits toxic fumes when mixed with bleach. Use ammonia with care.

Removing mold with ammonia
- Make an ammonia solution using a ratio of 1 part of ammonia to 1 part of water.
- Fill a spray bottle with ammonia solution and spray it onto the moldy surfaces.
- Leave the solution to sit for several hours before rinsing with water.
- After rinsing or wiping with water, allow the areas to dry completely.

5. Use hydrogen Peroxide as mold removal product

Hydrogen peroxide is effective at killing molds as it has the elements of anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. It is a much safer mold cleaner as compared to bleach because it does not produce toxic residue or toxic fumes that harm the environment. Hydrogen peroxide is good at cleaning mold on almost any materials including clothes, walls, bathroom fixtures and other kitchen appliances.

Kill mold with hydrogen peroxide
- Get a bottle of hydrogen peroxide with 3% concentration from your local drug stores.
- Transfer the hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle and spray it onto the mold infected surface
- Leave it for at least 15 minutes for hydrogen peroxide to take action and kill the molds.
- After that, scour the area to remove all the mold and mold stains.
- Lastly, wipe clean the areas to remove the remaining mold dusts.

Note: Keep the spray bottle of remaining hydrogen peroxide in dark place as light reduces the effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide. For more effective mold removal, you may consider using hydrogen peroxide with vinegar during the cleaning process.

6. Cleaning mold with detergent and water
You can use a solution of detergent and water to clean off surface mold from non-porous material such as glass and tiles. Detergent is not a mold killer, the solution is meant for scrubbing off the visible mold from the surfaces. When mold grows on non-porous material, it is good enough to have all the surface molds cleaned thoroughly. It is not necessary to kill the mold.

7. Other natural mold removal alternatives:
- Tea Tree Oil
- Baking soda

For minor home mold infestation, you can consider using normal household cleaners for the mold removal task. These are the various cleaning solutions that can be used as effective mold removal products:

• Borax

• Bleach

• Vinegar

1. Borax as mold removal product
Borax is natural household cleaning product that is commonly used for cleaning toilets and drains. Borax is a non-toxic cleaner as it does not release dangerous chemicals or harmful fumes. Borax is a natural mold inhibitor, when mixed with water it can be used to kill mold.

Cleaning Mold with Borax solution
- Use 1 cup of Borax to 1 gallon of water to create a cleaning solution.
- Before you begin the mold removal process with Borax solution, vacuum all the loose mold to prevent mold spores from becoming airborne during the cleaning process.
- Apply the Borax solution onto the mold infected areas and scrub hard with a sturdy brush to remove all the surface mold. You may repeat this process 2 – 3 times for stubborn mold.
- Wipe off the excess moisture and the residual mold dust. This is to prevent the mold particles from spreading into the air when the surface has dried up..
- Do not rinse the treated areas with water, the Borax solution that left behind will prevent molds from growing on the areas again.
- Allow the cleaned areas to dry entirely.

2. Use bleach for mold removal

Bleach is an effective mold killer for surface mold. It is good at killing mold species that is growing on non-porous materials like glass, tiles, countertops, and bathtubs. Bleach kills mold that it comes into contact with. However, for molds growing within the surface like drywalls and woods; bleach cannot reach into the porous materials. Thus using bleach as mold removal product on these materials is not effective for bleach can only kill the surface mold and leaving the roots untreated.

Killing mold with bleach solution
- Make sure the area to be treated with bleach solution is well ventilated as bleach produces abrasive fumes. Put on long rubber gloves to protect your hands during the mold removal process.
- Create a mild solution that made up of one cup of bleach to one gallon of water.
- Apply the bleach solution onto the mold infected surfaces.
- Leave the solution to set in. Do not rinse with water as bleach will prevent mold growth in the future.

Using bleach as mold removal product: The Cons
i. When bleach solution is used on porous materials, the chlorine in bleach cannot break into the surface, it is left on the surface while the water component is being absorbed into the porous material. This provides further moisture for the mold to thrive on. While the surface mold may be killed but the roots of mold growth are left untreated, which implies the return of mold and this may result in repeated bleaching.

ii. Another downside of using bleach to kill mold is that bleach can cause damages to the materials being treated as bleach is an abrasive chemical. Besides that, bleach produces toxic fumes when mixed with ammonia.

3. Vinegar as mold removal product
Vinegar is a natural and safe mold cleaner. With its mild acidic element, vinegar is able to kill about 80% of the mold species.

Removing mold with vinegar
- Use the white distilled vinegar to remove indoor mold.
- Transfer the undiluted vinegar into a spray bottle and spray onto the mold infected areas.
- Leave the vineger to sit for at least an hour.
- Wipe up the area with water and leave it to dry thoroughly.
- To prevent mold growth on surfaces, you can spray the vinegar on the surfaces and leave it without wiping clean with water. In order to ensure the surfaces stay mold-free, you may need to repeat this every other day.