i have mold

T

theemon

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Jun 14, 2009
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one thing i forgot in my fish room was humidity. i found out what happens with high humidity and a hot summer. my whole basement is covered in green mould. im currently trying to fix this, i just set up a decent airflow in/out to the outside. and a dehumidifier is next on the list.
BUT what am i supposed to do about the allready mold infected areas? i can only clean maybe 75% of the area, theres bound to be alot i miss or cant get too. bewarned for your future fish rooms
 
read this over and then re-consider what percentage you can "clean"... http://www.mold-survivor.com/assoc.illness.html
keep in mind i can find much more on the situation from the epa, cdc, etc., etc..

at any rate, kill the mold, cover the mold with a mold inhibiting primer and paint over the affected areas. if it's on drywall your best bet is just to remove it, bag it up and dispose of it. good luck. it's not fun when you're getting paid for it. it's got to be worse when it's your own nightmare.

one thing to keep in mind is during removal/treatment to keep the air in the affected area from intruding into the rest of the home. if you have to hang plastic over doorways, ventilate outward through a window while keeping all the other windows in the house closed so there's no way for it to re-enter the home it's worth it in the longrun.

assuming the mold is on a tough surface (concrete, plaster, joists, etc.) you might be able to rent an approved hepa vac and vacuum most of it off the surfaces before you begin treatment. keep in mind the filters (one time use) alone for these vacuums will run you about $300.

for next time, keep in mind that prevention is MUCH cheaper and easier than cure.

definitely wear approved respirators approved for biological, microbial filtration during the time you're treating this area.
 
i live by the coast and a new place we moved to had hectic green / black mold in the bathroom, use bleach, it kills any mold, dont wash it off . i then repainted with a mold resistant paint, o
 
DGC said:
i live by the coast and a new place we moved to had hectic green / black mold in the bathroom, use bleach, it kills any mold, dont wash it off . i then repainted with a mold resistant paint, o
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it can be done that way if it's not severe. if it's an entire infested room you have to take into account the defense mechanism of many plants/microbials. when they're stressed/harmed/killed they can shoot off spores into the air to land/accumulate elsewhere so the colony lives on. anywhere else in the house they find suitable they will get to if you kill enough of them. most likely it'll be behind a wall you'll never see and the gases/pores they emit can be harmful/reside in your lungs/bloodstream/etc. depending on the severity/species in question and a persons physical health condition/age.

if it's not much more than your normal house already has... sure, bleach it. if it's severe it might be best to call a professional mold remediator. at the very least they have the connections to get test results quickly and accurately as well as all the equipment that may or may not be required to finish the job completely.
 
right now its fuzzy green mold. it brushes off easy, but i bet its covering like 1/3 of the basement. the hidden out of the way places, you know
 
Don't let the fear mongers scare you too much. Mold is everywhere and anywhere. It's only some of the very rare species that can cause major issues (other than sinus issues) to humans. These rare species usually occur ONLY when supplied with a constant dripping type water source for a LONG period of time. The mold you are likely seeing is the easy to grow stuff which isn't toxic. Vacuum it up with a decent vacuum with a HEPA filter, then spray the walls with a 10% commercial bleach (with mold killer, since normal bleach doesn't have this extra chemical) solution, to kill any remaining mold and then eliminate the cause, which you seem to have done and it won't come back... at least not any more than would naturally occur every where.

How do I know this... 16 years working in the legal industry and being involved in the prosecution and defense of MANY mold related lawsuits... and living through Hurricane Katrina and now being in the construction industry and gutting and cleaning out a lot of flooded homes. Only the folks that fell for the fear mongers spent the extra thousands of dollars on so-called mold cleaning experts. Once you gut a house and then treat the remaining structure with a bleach/mold killing solution, the problem is solved as long as the house isn't subjected to a new and constant supply of leaking water or excessive humidity issues.

NOTE - Make sure you cover your tanks well when using the bleach solution so you don't kill your fish. Same if you decide to paint the place to further encapsulate the remaining mold spores... but once again, if you eliminate the source of excess moisture, the remaining spores won't have a reason to bloom again.
 
yep bleach is the way to go i have done it and it takes care of it and get more air circulation as you have done. like it has been said there is mold everywhere you just dont see it but we breath it everyday and dont even know it.
 
bleach should be mixed with water.. I heard that some mold spores are resistant to straight bleach and that the water tricks them o.o
 
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