How to clean this mold?


  #1  
Old 06-17-16, 05:26 PM
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How to clean this mold?

So we've had this in our basement ever since we bought the house about 5 years ago. We did have poor grading outside the foundation and that has since been taken care of, although I don't know that to be the ultimate cause of this mold.

Anyway, can I just scrub this stuff off the wall with a utility brush and then spray this mold treatment on it? I apologize if I sound dumb, or if that's an awful idea, of which, I'm lucky I checked here first. It's just that I know how the internet has a way of over-amplifying dangers and "diy" things like this. I don't want to call in a pro who will do the same thing I'm asking about.

See attached pictures.

By the way, can this stuff cause coughing/allergies? The furnace is about 4 feet to the left of it. I'm just thinking that folks have mold in their walls, and air ducts for decades and never know it... right?

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Old 06-18-16, 03:06 AM
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Mold needs 3 things to thrive; moisture, heat and a food source. That is a lot of mold in that corner! I'm not sure what is the best way to remove it Mold spores can cause respiratory issues although some folks are more susceptible to it than others. While it should be cleaned up pronto, it can be a diy job. You'll need to investigate and find out the source of the moisture so you can take action to prevent the mold from returning. Could be as simple as rerouting downspouts.
 
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Old 06-18-16, 04:38 AM
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Ditto on Marks comments.

This link and its reference links probably have more information than you were looking for. This is a question we see often and as you have discovered, recommended solutions vary. I won't give you the scare tactics, but IMO mold should be taken seriously even if 99 out of 100 homes have mold and no one ever had problems. You don't want yourself or your family to become that other one percent.
CDC - Mold - Cleanup and Remediation

Fact, a major portion of the air you breathe comes from your basement. Especially during cold weather the normal air leakage in a home is into the basement and up through the house, at times 50% or more of household air originates in the basement. Air exchange in a home averages a total change every 3 hours so a lot of basement air is making its way to the areas you live in.

If you have basement windows open them, but install a window fan or two upstairs to blow air into the house, intent is to pressurize the house so basement air will go outside.

Purchase and wear a high quality mask rated for mold.

I saw in the link above a recommendation for a bleach solution. I would wet the mold before disturbing it and then scrub with the bleach solution. I'm not a pro so read that link.

Then and this is the difficult news, a block foundation allows moisture (both water and moisture vapor) to move from block to block, thus moisture entering in one area may surface almost anywhere down there. That corner is probably cooler an maintaining a higher moisture level.

Purchase a couple of moisture meters that also read temperature and keep track of the readings down there. If necessary run a dehumidifier, but RH should be below 50%.

Bud
 

Last edited by Bud9051; 06-18-16 at 04:41 AM. Reason: addition
 

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