There are lots of things you don’t want to hear in life and “BTW, you have a mild mold problem” is always on the short list along with “will the owner of the blue Mercedes come to the nearest phone…..”
On a serious note, for most real estate transactions, a mold inspection is either a requirement or frequently added on.
For good reason, mold is all around us and common in many older homes, especially those with inadequate ventilation.
And, not to sound like an alarmist, but indoor air problems from mold growth can and are bad for your health, especially if you an asthmatic or bronchial condition.
You are never far from mold, so you can relax a bit. Mold spores are all around us in the atmosphere and we do breathe in low grade levels of the fungus on a regular basis, with no negative impact on health.
Your home is no different from the wide open spaces, mold are fungi, which are all around us and as air circulates from the outdoors enters your house, mold is part of the “package.” Where/when mold becomes a problem is typically caused by issues relating to excess moisture build up from water damage or humidity.
Mold is a type of fungi and it’s again (to underscore) going to be a problem only when you have water damage in a home or building, or, high humidity or dampness.
What’s Serious about Mold and What Isn’t?
That black stuff on your bathroom wall, it’s probably “garden variety” black mold and you can get rid of it easily by using some of the products I’m referencing below for DIY solutions. In most cases, it’s not a concern.
Most mold kits don’t work. They only confirm in the vast majority of the time what you know: that you have a problem.
The rule of thumb for at least having some data to attach to whether or not you think you have a problem is seeing or thinking you have a mold problem encompassing more than ten square feet. You probably don’t want to mess with it, if the size exceeds that rule of thumb.
But, if you suspect a real problem, and know mold can be insidious and toxic you will need to find a firm or contractor with the right skills and experience.
Most knowledgeable firms or contractors will use an air sampling pump or spore traps to understand if there are elevated species of mold or the presence of any toxic black mold necessitating professional mold remediation.
Whoever you hire has too do a lot more than deal with your aesthetic problem. A basic remodeling job is not going to help you if you have a serious problem – ripping out drywall or removing damaged materials is not a long term fix.
In life “cheap is never the same as quality” and you want someone that can come into your home, test the air before and after the work is done and take care of not only visual issues but deal with the underlying non visible problem. The “devil is always in the details…..”
Let’s Move to the DIY Focus: If You Don’t Have a Serious Issue
Let’s say you have a teenager in the home and you can somehow cajole, bribe or threaten them with no Wi Fi access for a week. Here are the most common materials they can use.
Bleach: it’s cheap, readily available but it’s not “easy” on the body, so don’t use it without good ventilation. DIY stuff: one cup of bleach per gallon of water (1-10 ratio approximately), apply it to no porous surfaces using a spray bottle or a sponge and you don’t need to rinse the surface. It’s not pet friendly, so keep this in mind.
Why bleach is at times not a great solution: it doesn’t smell good, it’x toxic for critters and the environment and it can ruin the finish of any material. Also, bleach won’t kill mold in porous materials (it’s below the surface) and borax and vinegar may be much better alternatives.
Why Ronald Regan may have been right about Borax: borax emits no chemicals whatsoever or dangerous fumes, has a low pH level of about 9 (baking soda is ph 8.1) and you just mix it with water and it’s a great deodorizer and readily available in the laundry section of any grocery store.
Borax DIY: before you start whip out that Dyson vacuum with a hepa filter and vacuum up all lose materials, mix one cup of borax per gallon of water, use a brush to remove the mold and leave the solution on without any rinse, as this should help to prevent mold recurrence.
Vinegar is a great alternative to bleach: it kills about 75% of most mold species, it’s natural (if you can stand the smell), safe and non-toxic. And, as an added bonus, your teenager may never have heard of it and will be impressed to know in a pinch, you can cook with it too.
Vinegar DIY: use white distilled vinegar, not regular vinegar, although this works too but not as well, don’t water it down and spray it onto the surface and then wipe it dry. Some think the smell will go away, I’m not 100% sure about this. In a pinch you can also use this solution on your pooch if they have had a run in with a local skunk.
Baking soda is all natural and can be used in conjunction with vinegar, or not: it’s a deodorizer too and will help to offset the mold smell and helps to absorb moisture.
Baking soda DIY: mix one quart of water with a teaspoon of baking soda in a spray bottle and shake it like a James Bond styled martini and spray it on the mold, scrub the mold and then wipe clean And, you can then spray the area again once you’ve removed the mold and just let it dry.
Tea Tree Oil is very effective, but it’s not as low cost as some of the other substances. But, it’s very effective, it’s 100% natural and pet friendly. A small bottle will set you back about $15 and you can find it in most natural health food stores.
Tea Tree DIY: mix one tablespoon per cup of water, use a cloth to apply it to the moldy surface and there is no need to rinse the surface, it’s going to have a strong odor which may take time to dissipate and you can save your mixture for a long time, it does not lose potency for a long time.
Don’t contact me if you can’t motivate the teenager – I have no magic solutions, other than vague promises to never “bother” them again for their natural lives. #presson
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