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Do It Yourself
Mold Remediation and Mold Removal
The proven and effective household mold removal and remediation procedures
listed here are excellent techniques 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 do it yourself book
Do-It-BEST-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation
available at the
mold products store.
1. Study the do it yourself steps recommended for results-oriented
toxic black mold and household mold inspection, testing, and remediation---whether
you choose to go the do-it-yourself way or to hire a
Certified Mold Remediator (CMR). How? Study do it yourself mold
cleaning and mold remediation self-help books and internet mold advice
websites, plus get professional guidance. Master how to make affordable,
easy-to-make homemade fungicides and antimicrobial coatings [from readily
available, non-bleach household products and other items readily available
in your community] in the special report
Home Mold Remedy Recipes. If
your family or co-workers are facing mold health issues, read the
available and latest mold medical diagnostic and treatment procedures in
Mold Health Guide [ebook]. If you need information about
prosecuting or defending a mold legal lawsuit, read
Mold Legal Guide [ebook]. Each ebook is only $15.00 each,
or buy all five available mold books for only $49.total in the
mold library combination.
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 in depth ebook
Do-It-BEST-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation.
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 (one inch by one
inch or bigger) 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 laboratory you
desire to use. For low-cost mold testing, you can also use
inexpensive Scotch®Tape or equivalent quality 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 lab analysis 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 (mold cross contamination). 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 you can
afford to do so. Otherwise, do repeated mold fogging and mold
spraying with a
mold fogging
machine, a sprayer, 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 or spraying for at least one half hour to hour into the
return air duct of the central heating/cooling system. Fogging is much
more wide-reaching in its mold-killing power than is spraying.
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 from a large
hardware or home improvement store.
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
or 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 safely-protected
applicator person) 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. How to properly mold clean each type of personal effect
and personal property is explained in the in depth ebook
Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Inspection, Testing, Remediation, and Prevention.
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 only a 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 (such as 3M brand) 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
recommend personal protective gear for your use when doing mold removal
and mold remediation work---
° 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 or BEHIND drywall, wall, carpeting, upholstered
furniture, wall cavities, ceiling cavities, and floor cavities. Besides
being ineffective at killing hidden mold (the worst problem to deal with),
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 (heating, ventilating, & air conditioning) 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 moldy or mold-exposed surfaces [including furniture and appliances]
with a good mold cleaner such as one of the
Mold Home Remedy Recipes. 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 intensive and
thorough mold cleaning, then you probably need to replace the building
materials themselves with new ones---preventively-treated with the
EPA-registered fungicidal coating or a
mold home remedy mold protectant. "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. You can also clean and remove mold by using a
Mold Home Remedy Recipe. 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 a
Mold Home Remedy Recipe. 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.
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.
Also, please read
Crawl Space Mold Remediation
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