Thread: Mold removal
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Old 01-29-21, 04:40 PM   #8
WillyP
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MN Renovator View Post
I used to think this way too until I talked to a storm damage contractor casually who told me that on a non-porous surface, mold can be removed with bleach. On surfaces like wood and drywall, the mold apparently has a membrane that lives deep and the chlorine in the bleach evaporates but the water that suspends the chlorine in the bleach takes longer to dry. Basically you might kill and wipe away the mold on the surface, but you'd be giving the underlying mold water to immediately restart growth. Granted if you can keep things dry enough the mold might not spread enough to be visible or to be able to smell it and you might get away with it, but if there is any moisture it encounters in the future, it will come out of dormancy.

His suggestion to me if I ever encounter mold is to spray it down with undiluted white vinegar out of a spray bottle, keep it wet with vinegar for 1 hour, scrub away the mold with towels you are willing to throw away, then spray it down and keep it wet for another hour.

I've read other stuff online that apparently hydrogen peroxide works better than bleach too. ..but I don't think you want to mix any of these chemicals, so do research on mold removal, decide on one thing and stick with it. If it's drywall, I'd opt to spray it down with vinegar to prevent living surface spores from spreading while I remove it and seal it immediately into a trash bag and get it outside as quickly as possible.
Bleach doesn't evaporate (like water) But it does break down. It leaves behind salts that do in fact help prevent mold from growing. I've never heard of chlorine based bleach adding to mold growth long term. That sounds like an old wives tale. However there are much better things to use. Many products use enzymes to break down mold. These enzymes literally eat the mold.
No matter what you use, you should clean the surface first with soap and water. Of course something like the rafters in an attic are going to be very difficult to clean.
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