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,
available at the
mold store.
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 or
boric acid formula 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 either 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.
If you fog a fungicide into the
return air duct while the system is running on fan ventilation, you can
get substantial amounts of fungicide 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]
or
boric acid formula 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 or
boric acid formula 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 or
boric acid formula 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.).
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 or
boric acid formula, 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, or use
boric acid formula. 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
bleach and mold.
Use
boric acid formula, the best & most environmentally-friendly,
safe, and effective
mold remover and mold clean up product.
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
boric acid formula, the best & most environmentally-friendly,
safe, and effective
mold remover and mold clean up product. 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. Use
boric acid formula, the best & most environmentally-friendly,
safe, and effective
mold remover and mold clean up product.
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
or
use
boric acid formula mold cleaner, the best & most environmentally-friendly,
safe, and effective mold remover and mold clean up
product has dried, spray one or two wet coatings of the EPA-registered 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
boric acid formula, 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 either a
mold home remedy recipe or
boric acid formula.
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.
