Mold and Mildew Remediation, Mold Control,
and
Mold and Mildew Removal Protocol,
using
non-toxic,
natural products and procedures:
25
Recommended Steps for Effective
Mold Cleaning and Treatment, Mold Maintenance, Mold
Killing of All Types of Mold and
High Counts of Indoor
Mold, Mold Removal, Mold Remediation of Mold Damage, Mold Mitigation, and Mold
Abatement to Get Rid of Toxic Mold, Black Mold, Slime Mold [Stachybotrys],
and All Other
Mold Contamination and Infestation Caused by
Roof Leaks, Siding Leaks, Plumbing Leaks,
High Indoor Humidity, Flooding,
Hurricanes, Typhoons, Tropical Cyclones, Tornados,
Storms,
Fire, and other Water Damage
Problems, and Removing Mold in Basements, Attics,
and Inside Walls, Ceilings, and Heating/Cooling Equipment and Ducts
Just four words neatly summarize what has to be done in effective and safe
mold removal, mold remediation, mold mitigation, and mold abatement:
CONTAIN, KILL, REMOVE, and PROTECT.
(1) CONTAIN
the mold from spreading into uncontaminated areas;
(2) KILL
the mold;
(3) REMOVE
the dead mold; and
(4) PROTECT
the cleaned out area against future mold infestations.
Whether you plan on doing your own
mold removal
and remediation, or hiring a
Certified Mold Contractor or
Certified Mold Remediator, follow these twenty-five steps
to completely and safely remove mold problems, contamination, and
infestation from your home, condominium, rental apartments, office,
warehouse, retail store or other real estate building. Where relevant,
mold testing and mold remediation suggestions from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency are included below.
The mold removal and remediation techniques explained below are useful for
removing and remediating mold from wood and other cellulose-based building
materials such as OSB board, drywall, plaster, plywood, and ceiling tile,
as well as mold growing on concrete and masonry surfaces such as bricks,
blocks, and poured concrete walls and floors. To remove mold from
furniture, appliances, clothing, and other personal property, please
follow the detailed mold decontamination instructions and procedures for
each different type of personal property, as explained in the mold
self-help book
Do-It-BEST-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation.
1.
Learn the
techniques and procedures recommended for safe and successful toxic mold
inspection, testing, and remediation---whether
your prefer
do-it-yourself or to hire a
Certified Mold Remediator (CMR).
How? Read
mold remediation self-help books and internet mold advice websites, plus
get professional guidance. Visit the
website
Bleach Mold Myth. Read the
up-to-date, in depth ebook
Do-It-BEST-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation
[delivered within 24 hours by email attachments to you], plus
learn how to make your own, low-cost, easy-to-make homemade fungicides
and antimicrobial coatings [from readily available, non-bleach household
products and other items readily available in your community] in
our special report
Home Mold Remedy Recipes, both of which are
available from
Mold Mart, or at our
online mold products catalog.
If you are concerned about mold health problems, plus want to
learn of all available mold medical diagnostic and treatment procedures,
please read our new
Mold Health Guide [ebook]. If you need information about
prosecuting or defending a mold legal claim, read
Mold Legal Guide [ebook]. Each ebook is only $15.00
each, or buy all five for only $49.total in the mold library combination
explained at hte top of this page.
2. Locate and fix all sources of
mold-causing water intrusion such as recurring flooding, plumbing
leaks, leaky roofs or siding, blocked air-conditioning condensation drain
lines, and
high indoor humidity [e.g., above 50 to 60%].
Follow
the dozens of water-intrusion prevention and remediation suggestions
contained in the indepth ebook
Do-It-BEST-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation,
available at our
online mold products catalog.
3. Inspect and mold test inside,
above, and below each water-penetrated
ceiling,
wall, and floor with a fiber optics inspection device, a
hidden moisture
meter, do-it-yourself mold test kits [available at large home
improvement and hardware stores] or a
mold inspection by a
Certified Mold Inspector [CMI], and by cutting small core dry wall
samples. Remove and look in the middle and back of each core for visible
mold growth. You can also cut off thin veneer
moldy slices from each core sampling, and then insert each veneer slice
into a do it yourself mold test kit to watch for mold growth over a 7 day
time period. More valuable to you in mold insights, would be to put each
sample into a separate ziplock bag properly labeled with property address,
precise testing location at that address, date of testing, name of tester
[you probably], and your full contact info, and then to mail your
collected samples to the mold lab you desire to use.
For low-cost mold testing, use
inexpensive Scotch®Tape to do
lift tape mold sampling and/or do
bulk physical sampling [collect physical pieces of moldy building
materials or other items], and then send the tape samples or bulk samples
to a mold lab of your choice for mold species identification.
4. Find and locate all toxic mold
infestations (visible and hidden) in the entire home or building by
thorough, all-around
mold inspection and
mold testing (with mold laboratory analysis and mold species
identification of collected mold samples).
"You may
suspect hidden mold if a building smells moldy, but you cannot see the
source, or if you know there has been water damage and residents are
reporting health problems. Mold may be hidden in places such as the back
side of dry wall, wallpaper, or paneling, the top side of ceiling tiles,
the underside of carpets and pads, etc. Other possible locations of hidden
mold include areas inside walls around pipes (with leaking or condensing
pipes), the surface of walls behind furniture (where condensation forms),
inside ductwork, and in roof materials above ceiling tiles (due to roof
leaks or insufficient insulation)," warns the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
° For all
building locations wherein you see visible mold, use the clear Scotch
tape
lift sampling method, or scrape visible mold particles into a mold
test kit [available at large home improvement and hardware stores].
° Conduct a
mold control test using a do-it-yourself mold test kit outside your home or building with the test kit being at
least five feet out from any roof or porch overhang. You need this outdoor
control test for comparison of results from your indoor mold testing.
° Use a fiber
optics inspection device, a hidden moisture meter, and internal wall and
ceiling cavity mold testing to search for hidden mold growth.
5. Test the outward airflow from
each heating/cooling duct register for elevated levels of airborne mold
spores. If there is a serious toxic mold infestation anywhere in a
building, airborne mold spores from such mold locations will usually enter
and contaminate the heating/cooling equipment and ducts, as well as the
rest of the building. Use do it yourself mold test kits to collect possible mold spores in the outward air flow
from each register with the system running on fan ventilation.
6. Replace mold-infested heating/cooling equipment and ducts if the owner
can afford to do so.
Otherwise, do repeated mold spraying with a
mold fogging
machine and a
mold home remedy recipe into the return air duct while the system is
running on fan ventilation to deliver the fungicide to internal surfaces.
Do mold fogging for at least one half hour to hour into the return air
duct of the central heating/cooling system.
Air
conditioning-heating equipment and duct mold problems.
When humid air passes
over chilled cooling coils, water condenses and drips through the coils
into a collection pan, from which it continuously drains. Problems with
these systems may occur when this water collects and becomes stagnant
either on the coils or in the drip pan. When standing water is present, a
biofilm will develop. This biofilm is composed of bacteria and fungi that
are embedded in a slimy matrix. Other organisms such as amoebae and algae
may also occupy this comfortable growth site, feeding off the accumulated
organic material. Learn how to deal with this important problem at
Cooling Coil. In addition, it is common for the condensation line from
the cooling equipment to become clogged, backing up water into the air
conditioning unit and then, from there, into the house or building.
If there
is a serious mold problem anywhere in a home or other building, airborne
mold spores from those points of mold contamination will enter into the
heating/cooling ducts and/or equipment to mold contaminate both, and thus
the entire building. Of course, the opposite is also true: if there is
mold infestation growing inside the heating/cooling ducts and/or
equipment, the heating/cooling system will efficiently spread airborne
mold spores through out the entire home or building through air
distribution of the running system. In any home or building with mold
infestation, you need to mold test the outward air flow from each
heating/cooling duct register for the possible presence of elevated levels
of airborne mold spores in comparison with your outdoor mold control test.
Use a
Certified Mold Inspector or do-it-yourself mold test kits.
When
doing mold remediation of a house or building, the heating/cooling mold
problems should be fixed first, and then you can seal tightly with plastic
sheeting all inward and outward duct registers. Don't run the system until
the rest of the home has been effectively mold remediated and the building
has passed mold clearance tests done by an independent
Certified Mold Inspector not involved in the mold remediation work, or
by your use of do-it-yourself mold test kits available at a large
hardware, home improvement, or safety store..
If you
fog a mold home remedy
recipe into the return air duct while the system is running on
fan ventilation, you can get substantial amounts of mold remedy delivered throughout the system. While spraying or fogging a mold fungicide
[spraying step 1] and subsequently a
Mold Home Remedy Recipe [spraying/fogging step 2] inside the
heating/cooling ducts and equipment, no one [except the protected
applicator] should be in the home or building during the spraying or
fogging application. The person doing the spraying or
fogging application needs to wear proper personal protective gear, as
explained at point 13 below.
7.
If any residents or workers are experiencing any possible toxic
mold health
symptoms, or if there is a strong smell of mold, or if there
are visible signs of major
mold growth
anywhere in the building, or if the building tests positive for elevated
levels of airborne mold spores, the occupants should move temporarily to a
mold-safe place until after successful mold remediation and clearance
testing.
Hot Tips:
Do you want or need quick and immediate mold relief? The first
immediate action you can take is to remove almost all of the airborne mold
spores 24 hours per day from the air you breathe in your moldy home,
apartment, or workplace by running one or more of electronic air cleaners
in different areas of your house, rented house/apartment, or place of
employment. Your second immediate action is to use a hand-pumped garden
type of sprayer to spray two coatings of a low-cost home-remedy
fungicide in all rooms, attic, basement, crawl space, garage, and the
heating/cooling equipment and ducts [through the return air duct while you
are spraying directly into the return air duct] of your home, condominium,
apartment, office, or other building. You can also place small to
large fans in key areas of rooms/areas being mold-sprayed to help the mold
fog to reach all areas of a room or area.
Let each fungicidal spraying dry for about one to two hours while the
fungicide is killing the mold. Then fan dry the area quickly to remove
excess moisture from the spraying procedures. Then fog with two layers of
homemade
antimicrobial coating
to help protect the areas against future mold growth. After each spraying,
let the fog set for about one to two hours, then dry the area quickly with
fans. The person doing the fungicidal spraying or
fogging application needs to wear proper personal protective gear, as
explained at point 13 below.
8.
Occupants moving out should not take any clothing, personal possessions,
furnishings, furniture, or equipment until after such items have been
effectively mold decontaminated outdoors [or in a clean room built from
plastic sheeting] to avoid mold cross contamination of the temporary
living or working quarters.
9. Do not paint over mold problems.
Mold loves to eat paint as a snack food. Don’t expect to kill mold
successfully by using paint containing a mildicide [too mild to kill
existing toxic mold infestation] or with a
paint
primer sold to hide water damage stains. Do
not rely on
Kilz to kill mold or anything---it does not kill mold, and the
product is NOT an EPA-registered fungicide. Kilz is a good product
to hide or camouflage defects like water damage stains prior to painting
over problem areas.
10. Before beginning to work in
the mold-afflicted areas, contain the moldy work area (and thus contain
the toxic mold spores that will be released into the air by opening up
mold-contaminated areas) by using wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling plastic
sheeting as containment walls. How to make effective mold containment
walls, including a mold-secure entry way into the mold containment area,
is explained in detail in the ebook
Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation.
Use 6 mill thick, clear plastic sheeting that you can buy at a hardware
store or home improvement center. A photograph of a mold containment wall
in use is provided at the bottom of this page.
11. After the installation of air
tight mold containment walls, dry the work area [especially if still wet
from flooding or a now fixed water leak or roof leak] with one or more
large dehumidifiers or an industrial size dehumidifier. Improper fan
drying can spread mold spores to cross contaminate an entire building and
its heating/cooling system.
12. Inside the mold containment
area, use a large fan in the window to exhaust air directly outside on a
continuous basis to expel airborne mold spores and remediation-caused dust---or
better yet, use an industrial hepa filter to filter out mold, with a
flexible hose directly venting the exhaust air flow to the outdoors. You need to exhaust more air to the outside
than is entering the containment area to create negative air pressure.
(You know you have negative air pressure when the plastic containment
sheets are being sucked inward toward the work area rather than bulging
outward away from the work area.). A photograph of a mold
containment wall in use with negative air pressure is provided at the
bottom of this page.
13. While working inside the mold
containment area, always wear effective protective gear such as
protective biohazard suit. [$10 at safety stores] or painter's coveralls
and booties or a long sleeve shirt and pants; gloves; and a one piece,
full face breathing respirator mask using an organic vapor cartridge
filtration, available from local safety, hardware, and home improvement
stores. You also need such personal
protective gear when you spray
Mold Home Remedy Recipes], followed up with the EPA-registered
fungicidal coating or with a low-cost, homemade
antimicrobial coating Here are more details on
advisable personal protective gear---
° Tyvek protective biohazard suit.
[available at safety stores] or painter's coveralls and booties, or long
sleeve shirt and pants.
° Gloves: either disposable latex
or good work gloves. "Long gloves that extend to the middle of the
forearm are recommended. When working with water and a mild detergent,
ordinary household rubber gloves may be used. If you are using a
disinfectant, a biocide such as chlorine bleach, or a strong cleaning
solution, you should select gloves made from natural rubber, neoprene,
nitrile, polyurethane, or PVC. Avoid touching mold or moldy items with
your bare hands," recommends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
° Avoid breathing
in mold or mold spores. Wear a 3M brand
one piece, full face breathing
respirator mask using an organic vapor cartridge filtration, available
from your local safety store, Home Depot, Lowe’s and other home centers
and hardware stores. Alternatively (but less comfortable in your ease of
breathing) you can use hole-free Chem-Splash eye goggles ($4) along with a
separate breathing mask with cartridge filters ($30) from the same stores.
Alternatively, "In order to limit your exposure to airborne mold,
you may want to wear an N-95 respirator, available at many hardware stores
and from companies that advertise on the Internet. (They cost about $12 to
$25.) Some N-95 respirators resemble a paper dust mask with a nozzle on
the front, others are made primarily of plastic or rubber and have
removable cartridges that trap most of the mold spores from entering. In
order to be effective, the respirator or mask must fit properly, so
carefully follow the instructions supplied with the respirator. Please
note that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
requires that respirators fit properly (fit testing) when used in an
occupational setting; consult OSHA for more information (800-321-OSHA or
osha.gov," advises the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
° Wear goggles.
Wear eye goggles with no holes [such as Chem-Splish] if you are not
wearing the 3M brand one piece, full face breathing respirator.
"Goggles that do not have ventilation holes are recommended. Avoid
getting mold or mold spores in your eyes," advises the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
HOT TIP:
You can order a custom-fitted full face breathing mask by contacting your
local 3M branch. Custom-fitted full face masks do a better job of keeping
mold spores from entering inside the mask [and therefore into your body].
HOT TIP:
If you have a beard, shave it off prior to wearing a full face mask
breathing respirator to obtain a tighter fit to your face to help keep
mold stores from entering inside the mask and your body.
14. Kill surface mold
growth by with one or two wet sprayings or foggings of an effective
mold home remedy mold cleaner---read
Mold Home Remedy Recipes. While spraying a fungicide, no one
else should be inside until the spray or fog has dried. Use a hand-pumped
garden sprayer or a small electric sprayer. If doing mold fogging, fog
the Mold Home Remedy Recipe for at least one half hour in each room, and
one half hour to hour into the return air duct of the central
heating/cooling system while the heating/cooling system is running on fan
ventilation. If possible, remove all furniture from each room to be fogged
to fog the empty room [without furniture blocking access of the fungicide
to wall and floor areas]. Then repeat the process but on the second effort
with the furniture put back in the room to do mold killing on the
furniture itself.
IMPORTANT OZONE WARNING:
Do not use an Ozone Air
Purifier/Ozone Generator to kill mold. Ozone is ineffective in killing
mold. Ozone can only kill what it comes into
contact with. Ozone cannot get at, and thus cannot kill, mold growing
INSIDE drywall, wall, carpeting, upholstered furniture, wall cavities,
ceiling cavities, and floor cavities. Besides being ineffective at killing
hidden mold [the worst type], a high ozone treatment can easily damage all
rubber and plastic parts it comes into contact with such as rubber and
plastic components of appliances, electronics of all types, exposed
electric lines and extension courts, and hvac controls. Ozone is also
unhealthy to humans according to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, which specifically discourages the use of ozone for mold
remediation. For more information on the ineffectiveness of
Ozone and the Ozone Air Purifier to kill mold and other indoor
air contaminant, read the highly-informative U.S. Federal Appeals court
decision:
Federal Trade Commission and the Court of Appeals.
15. Do not use chlorine bleach
[sodium hypochlorite] to kill mold or disinfect moldy areas. Bleach is
not an effective or lasting killer of toxic mold growth and
mold spores on and inside porous, cellulose building materials such as
wood timbers, drywall, plasterboard,
particleboard, plywood, plywood substitutes,
ceiling
tiles, and carpeting/padding. Learn more about
why bleach doesn't work at
bleach and mold.
16. After the killing of all
visible surface mold, the next step is to remove and to clean off as much
surface mold growth, mold stains, and mold odors as possible. "Dead
mold may still cause allergic reactions in some people, so it is not
enough to simply kill the mold, it must also be removed," recommends the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Persons cleaning mold
should be free of mold symptoms and allergies. Gloves should be worn
during cleaning. A good first step is to use a hepa vacuum cleaner to
remove loose [invisible to the eye] airborne mold spores and mold growths
deposited on all surfaces such as ceilings, walls, floors, and upholstered
furniture. Vacuum at least twice, going in a different movement direction
each time you do the vacuuming---e.g., horizontally the first time and
vertically the second time. Scrub and clean thoroughly and completely
all surfaces [including furniture and appliances] with Borax laundry
detergent, a natural mold cleaner, in warm water. The cleaned area should then be thoroughly dried.
Dispose of any sponges or rags used to clean mold.
If
you cannot clean off the mold growth and mold stains with a hard scrubbing
with Borax in water, then you probably need to replace the
building materials themselves with new ones---preventively-treated with
the EPA-registered fungicidal coating. "If you are unsure about how to
clean an item, or if the item is expensive or of sentimental value, you
may wish to consult a specialist. Specialists in furniture repair,
restoration, painting, art restoration and conservation, carpet and rug
cleaning, water damage, and fire or water restoration are commonly listed
in phone books. Be sure to ask for and check references. Look for
specialists who are affiliated with professional organizations,"
recommends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
17. Except for wood support
timbers and building materials to be saved, remove and safely discard all
other mold-contaminated building materials (such as particle board,
drywall, plaster, plasterboard, ceiling tiles, paper-backed insulation,
mold-laden insulation, plywood, plywood substitutes, and
carpeting/padding) in doubled up construction trash bags (double bagging)
with a 6 mil thickness. "Absorbent or porous materials, such as ceiling
tiles and carpet, may have to be thrown away if they become moldy. Mold
can grow on or fill in the empty spaces and crevices of porous materials,
so the mold may be difficult or impossible to remove completely," advises
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
18.
Remove all
mold growth from the mold-infested wood surfaces. All wood beams, wall
timbers, roof trusses, floor joists, plywood surfaces, and other lumber to
be saved need to be totally cleaned of mold growth by using power tools
such as a planer, grinder with wire brush attachment, and sander---or
replace the moldy timbers. Mold cannot eat polystyrene insulating
board such as Pinkboard or Blueboard, but mold can grow on organic dust
which lands on the insulating board. "The
only sure way to [kill mold] requires the physical elimination of mold
and moldy materials by thorough cleaning or removal of the affected
materials."---American Industrial Hygiene Association.
19. Re-spray twice the cleaned out
area with another wet spraying of an effective
mold home
remedy to kill any remaining, living toxic mold spores or mold
growths.
20. Spray a protective fungicidal
coating on all remediated-surfaces prior to rebuilding and closing in
the mold-remediated area. The fungicidal coating helps to protect the wood
and other cellulose-based building materials against future mold growth. After the second spraying of a
mold home remedy recipe
has dried, spray one or two wet coatings of a mold home remedy
fungicidal coating designed to protect wood against future wood
infestation problems..
21. After the final drying of the
fungicidal coat spraying, it would be helpful to spray all cleaned timbers
and other wood surfaces with a clear, liquid, plastic coating
[available from a well-stocked local paint dealer, hardware store, or home
improvement center] to make a hard, impenetrable water barrier [upon
drying] to protect the wood from future high humidity and water leaks.
22. After the toxic mold
remediation is completed, mold test (clearance testing) all of the
mold-remediated surfaces plus the air of each room, attic, basement, crawl
space, garage, and the outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct
register to find out if those areas are now mold safe prior to
rebuilding the cleaned out areas with new building materials. "Surface
sampling may be useful to determine if an area has been adequately cleaned
or remediated," advices the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency. There should be NO residual mold smell and no
mold or water stains anywhere.
23.
Remove
mold growth, mold stains, and mold odors
from all personal property, furnishings, furniture, and equipment
that have been exposed to mold infestation by washing and scrubbing
the items thoroughly and completely outdoors [or in a plastic-sheet-built
clean room] with Borax laundry detergent, a natural mold cleaner,
in warm water. Learn the recommended mold decontamination procedures for each type of
clothing, furniture, electronics equipment, and other personal property in
the ebook
Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation,
available at the
online mold products catalog.
24. Close in
the mold-remediated area with mold-free, new building materials that been
have carefully inspected to be mold-growth-free,
and which have been pre-treated by spraying with one to two wet coatings
of both a
mold home remedy recipe and an EPA-registered fungicidal
coating.
25.
On-going cleaning, building maintenance, mold maintenance, and all-around
building inspection on a regular basis (including air conditioning/heating
equipment and ducts, plumbing, roof, siding, windows, and water
supply/sewer lines) are required to help prevent the re-occurrence of
toxic mold infestation problems. A mold-safe building is not a
one-time effort.
|
