The right way to clean mold

4/13/2018 (Permalink)

Mold found in an attic.

Have you ever heard of anyone say that they always have mold, they just spray some bleach on it and it is gone!  Well, that's not the case.  Bleach does kill mold, but does not kill the spores that are produced from the mold itself.  So, bleach can be a quick fix, but it does not solve the issue.

First thing that needs to be done, is find out why it is growing.  Is there a source of water that you may not know about, which is feeding the growth?  Or is it that you have a damp, humid basement?  Whatever the reason, its there, and the issue needs to be solved prior to remediation, or it will just come back. 

Once the source has been discovered, now its time to do work!  Before we even touch mold, we have to contain the affected area.  Once mold has been touched or disturbed, it can become airborne and stick to other parts of the room, some which may be unaffected.  Once we contain the area and set up our proper protective equipment, negative air will be run from the contained area with an air scrubber.  This draws air from the surrounding environment, places it through a HEPA filter, and blows out clean air. 

The next step is either cleaning, or removing the affected materials.  When we clean items that have been exposed to mold, we must use a HEPA vacuum to remove any surface mold, or spores that the vacuum can pick up.  Once every square inch of the contained area has been HEPA vacuumed, its time to apply an antimicrobial agent to the contained area as well.  Every square inch must be cleaned! 

On some more severe cases, you might need to fog the affected area or seal materials such as studs or sheathing, which does not need to be removed.