How can you clean and kill mold?
Question:A bedroom in our basement became wet after a long period of rain. We opened the window, plugged in some fans, and turned on a dehumidifier. Within days, it seemed dry, so we moved the furniture back into the room. A couple weeks passed, and soon we noticed that black spots were appearing near the baseboards. A couple weeks later, the entire carpeting and lower walls were covered in thick, black mold.
Should we even try to tackle this ourselves? And if so, how do we do it? I'm worried about the potential health hazards of cleaning it. I want to make sure that whatever we do does not make the spores become airborne. I also want to make sure that all the mold is killed. Please help.
Answers:
Gut it. Go in and remove all the finishes (Drywall, carpet, etc). If you see a great deal of particulate in the air while you work wet it down till the dust is trapped - if it's a paste you won't be breathing it and you will be scrubbing every surface anyway. Muck everything out and dispose of it in trash bags. Then use a bleach solution and paint with Killz (trade name for anti fungal agent) . Then replace the drywall and floor coverings. Pitch the furniture or if it is high quality have it stripped and recovered.
HERE ARE 2 DEFINITE DON'TS:
1. Clorox Cleanup
2. any bathroom cleaner
We rent a mobile home and in the shower closet there is mold all around the trim work. Well my hubby used multiple products and it keeps coming back worse and worse!!
I know this probably did not help but I just din't want you to waste ur time with somethiung that is not going to work!
try the following bleach, comet, or a steam cleaner that eliminates mold.
If you are saying that the entire carpeting is covered in thick mold, then you definitely need to call a professional on this one. I would not tackle this myself. Mold can be a very dangerous thing and you do not want to take the chance of breathing it into your lungs.
I would look into have a home inspector come out to see where all the water is coming in during heavy rains. Obviously your basement needs some work but a good home inspector would be able to find the problem and recommend exactly how much it will cost to fix it.
PS When you do remodel the bedroom, I would avoid carpet from now on!
I'd get professionals in to remove the mold. The problem sounds extensive.
If you are tempted to tackle it yourself, be sure to wear good face masks. You're quite right to be concerned about the mold spores become airborne. Not great for you but also you don't want them floating to other parts of your home and taking up residence and creating new colonies! So containment is vital. Seal off the room, from other parts of your house and open a window . You can tackle the mold on hard non porus surfaces with a equal mix of bleach and water and leaving the area to dry thoroughly. At lot of people say bleach doesn't work on mold but it has worked for me in th past. The key is to also remove or elimnate the conditions that allow the mold to return - so proper ventilation etc.
The carpet is a major issue. I'd be tempted to rip it out and start with new. Failing that you may want to get a carpet company to come in and clean it and treat it for mold. Then after the initial 2-4 day drying period, leave a dehumidifier and ozone air cleaner running 24 hrs for the next month or so and monitor daily.
Check out the link below for more info on cleaning up black mold
More Related Questions & Answers...