Why is Mold Growth Dangerous?
Mold spores are hazardous because they can cause respiratory issues, including asthma attacks and other illnesses. Mold can also exacerbate sinus and allergy symptoms in those who suffer from chronic respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis. Mold can thrive in almost any setting if the right conditions are provided. That is why it’s critical to look for mold growth, even if you don’t detect any signs of it yet, in places where mold may grow.
Mold can develop on walls, ceiling tiles, insulation, and wood members in attics, wall cavities, and crawl spaces. Pay special attention to laundry rooms, shower walls, shower doors, bathroom walls, shower curtains, basement walls, and other walls in humid environments, as they are the ripes areas in your home where you can find mold. But what do you do to best kill the mold you find in and on your walls? This article will go over the best cleaning methods for you to follow.
The Most Effective Way To Clean Mold From Your Walls
When there is mold growth inside your walls, you won’t be able to tell how extensive the damage is on your own. Removing mold from inside your walls may even be dangerous, particularly if you suffer from existing conditions such as allergies, asthma, breathing problems, skin irritation, itchiness, and fatigue.
It’s easy to think that filling a spray bottle and dousing everything on the wall with bleach will fix all of these mold problems. However, applying bleach to mold may even cause mold to grow back faster, spreading to surrounding areas that were previously unaffected. This should never be done. If you’ve never attempted to remove mold from your walls before, hiring a mold removal expert is safer. Professionals will be able, on average, to remove mold in your house more effectively than you can and preserve both your health and sanity in the process. A professional team will have all of the protective gear, detection equipment, and strategies needed to remove all forms of mold from your property.
Unless you are a licensed mold expert, it is best to leave the mold eradication process to a team of professionals. Doing this yourself may aggravate your symptoms and any pre-existing conditions unnecessarily. Attempting to do anything yourself may cause you to spend more money later on trying to deal with your aggravated symptoms that are a direct result of mold.
How To Remove Mold From Walls
However, if the affected area of mold growth on the exterior walls is relatively small, you may still feel compelled to do the work yourself. Getting rid of mold on your own is not an impossible task, especially if the outbreak is not particularly large. In order to be prepared for this undertaking, you should be ready with proper safety items and cleaning materials. Gather rubber gloves, safety glasses, chlorine bleach, distilled white vinegar, baking soda, a spray bottle, a medium bristled brush (or any type of scrubbing brush you can find), and a clean huck towel or cotton rag.
How to Remove Surface Mold From Painted Walls
It’s usually easier to clean visible mold that has grown on the surface of painted walls. To prevent mold from spreading, your goal is to control the moisture and reduce the humidity in the room. Begin the process by removing everything from the area and off the wall. Covering the floor with a drop cloth is one way to keep it dry. Mucus can be removed using a huck towel or cotton rag moistened with warm water and detergent (such as Dawn dish soap) to clean dirt and debris off of surfaces.
You can also use a cleaning solution to help kill all the mold on contact. This will not destroy the mold, but it will make it simpler to remove in the next step. Get some mold cleaner from your local home improvement store.
Spritz the affected area, scrub it clean, and wipe it dry. Then give it a spritz once again, let it sit for 10 minutes, wipe (with a different side of your rag or towel to avoid re-contamination), then rinse and dry the wall as usual. If any paint has been removed, it will need to be repainted. Mold-resistant paint is suggested for this reason but remember to wait for your wall to dry before applying thoroughly!
How to Get Rid of Mold Spores from Bare Drywall
If you discover mold on your drywall, the stud area behind it may have a bigger mold problem. Mold on drywall has already reached the surface; therefore, you can’t simply wipe it away. You’ll need to remove and replace the damaged wall in this situation. You can do several things to reduce the danger of deterioration in any case.
As with the painted walls, you will want to move everything away from the area and use plastic on the floor to protect it. You’ll need a mounting surface for the new drywall section, so use a stud finder to locate the wooden supports behind the wall. Make a pencil outline of the area you’ll be cutting. Make sure to include an extra two feet on all sides. Using a utility knife, cut out the area you marked. You should not use a power saw since this may agitate the mold and allow the spores to enter the air (airborne spores are the most dangerous and easily spread). Clean drywall bricks and place their moldy sides on the plastic to prevent spores from spreading.
To complete this procedure, you must first clean the cavity with mold cleaner to ensure that you’ve gotten it all and then dry it thoroughly. You will want to make sure your new piece of drywall is the same size as the one you cut out, so measure the length and width of the missing section of drywall and cut the new section to those measurements. Attach the new piece of drywall with screws, apply a joint compound to patch seams, let it dry, and sand. Wrap up soiled materials in the plastic and throw them away. Vacuum the room with a HEPA vacuum and run your HVAC system to circulate the air and reduce humidity.
For Professional Mold Remediation Services, Contact Your Local PuroClean Office
It might appear to be a difficult job to clear up mold on your own. Mold infestations can be extremely frightening, especially when you don’t know where the mold is coming from. If you require expert mold remediation services, contact your local PuroClean office. We are particularly proud of our reputation as “The Paramedics of Property Damage,” and we will expeditiously work with professionalism to return your home to its pre-loss condition.
