How to Clean Mold ?
People often ask me how to get rid of mold or how to clean it. The most common question I get is “can’t I just spray bleach on it?” Sure, if you want to have a continuing problem that will end up costing you tens of thousands of dollars more. Bleach only kills surface mold, rapidly evaporates and leaves behind a residue of nitrogen, which is delicious mold food for the mold lurking below the surface. Not only can the mold grow back worse, but you could burn yourself fooling around with bleach.
Reinventing the Wheel
My advice is that if you need to get rid of mold, hire a professional who knows what they’re doing. It’s not something you can suddenly become an expert in, any more than you can suddenly become an expert electrician, plumber, engineer or race car driver. And in New York State, you cannot have a mold remediation (cleaning) without first having an assessment done by a licensed mold assessor who will take samples and send them to a lab. And after the remediation is finished by the licensed mold remediation contractor, the assessor must return to grade their homework and determine whether it passes or fails. That way you have checks and balances.
What to Expect in a Mold Cleaning
Every mold situation is different. There is no “one size fits all” solution. When I do an assessment, I take copious photographs so I can custom design a protocol or action plan for the remediator to follow. It depends on what the walls, ceilings, floors, and other surfaces are made of. It depends on what kind of furniture and other contents are present. It depends on what level of mold contamination is present. There are different levels of clean-up available depending on how bad the mold is. Below is one example of a protocol I designed for a past client to give you an idea of what was prescribed in that case. Please be aware that this was only one specific case which in no way may relate to your particular situation at all.
Mold Remediation Protocol for John Doe
General Safety Guidelines for All Areas:
Workers should wear appropriate full body protective clothing and masks with a greater than N-95 respirator. A negative vacuum should be created in the workspaces at all times with a HEPA vac that is vented to the outside. There should be four air exchanges per hour.
Treatment of All Contents:
All fabric and foam-containing items including mattresses, upholstered chairs, pillows, stuffed animals, luggage, tote bags, curtains and all paper and cardboard items should be discarded in sealed plastic bags. Rugs should be either discarded or HEPA vacuumed and steam cleaned. Clothes may be washed in hot water and detergent or dry-cleaned. All other objects, fixtures, furniture, contents, tools, electronics, exercise equipment, appliances, shelving, counters, etc. made of wood, plastic, metal, ceramic or glass may be HEPA vacuumed and hand-wiped with a mycocide such as Microban Plus. Items that have been stored in plastic bins can have only the exterior of the bins treated unless the contents were exposed to the air for any significant period of time. Paper items, books, documents and artwork that the occupants wish to save should be HEPA vacuumed then hand-wiped with a gentle mycocide. The client should let the remediation contractor know which items they wish to keep. The contents that are going to be saved should be placed in an outside pod or under plastic until the area is disinfected.
Utility Room:
After the contents have been safely stored or discarded, the small amount of insulation should be removed and discarded in a sealed plastic bag. The sheetrock should be removed a minimum of 18” beyond the visible mold and discarded in a sealed plastic bag. The studs and all other wood behind it and all other wood surfaces present in the utility room including the underside of the stairs should be HEPA vacuumed, abraded, and treated with a mycocide such as Fosters 4080 or equivalent then encapsulated with SMP-100 Mold Proofer or equivalent. The well tank and all other tanks, pipes, plumbing fixtures and electrical fixtures should be HEPA vacuumed and treated with a mycocide. The foundation block walls should be abraded, HEPA vacuumed and treated with Fosters 4080 or equivalent. The foundation flooring and ceiling should be HEPA vaccumed and treated with a mycocide.
House Interior:
After all the furniture and other contents have been cleaned and safely stored or discarded as indicated above, the carpeting should be HEPA vacuumed, removed and discarded in sealed plastic bags. The exposed floor should be HEPA vacuumed and treated with a mycocide. All natural wood doors, trim, beams, stairs, walls, ceilings, floors, shelving, etc. as well as vinyl and ceramic flooring should be HEPA vacuumed and treated with a clear mycocide as should the fireplace brick. Kitchen counters, cabinets, appliances, and all other surfaces as well as bathroom fixtures and all surfaces and laundry appliances should be HEPA vacuumed and treated with a mycocide.
Air scrubbers should run in all rooms for approximately an additional two days after the remediation has been completed and kept running until we return to perform the clearance testing.
After at least 48 hours of air scrubbing and not longer than 2 or 3 more days, pursuant to NYS law, the work areas should be re-inspected by us – not the abatement company, and the air tested in a post-abatement clearance test to determine whether the mold levels have been reduced to an acceptable level. This must be done before any installation of insulation, sheetrock or any new floor covering has been initiated.
