How do you get rid of black mold? It's growing on the wall. Someone mentioned "Kills", but I don't know what it is.
Under what conditions will mold grow?
What can be done to prevent it from returning?
Any information is greatly appreciated.
Ken
only bleach will kill it , it grows in damp conditions
i suggest that you hire a mold remediation expert. i just had some mold removed from my basement where there was a water leak. mold spores are in the air everywhere, but can only grow if wet conditions. remove the moisture and the mold has no place to grow. jk
'KILZ' won't kill the mold, but it will allow you to paint over it. It is a sealer for paint.
Why pay someone, you spray on bleach , you clean it off , its not asbestos.
Ken,
I highly second the recommendation to hire a mold expert. Stachybotrys is an increasingly common type of mold, and simply being in the house where it is growing has serious long term health effects, such as lung scarring and permanent memory loss. It could be simple mildew, or it could be something that will permanently injure yourself and your family. Definitely get it checked out.
Chris Devidal snipped-for-privacy@NOSPAMmail.com
Thanks. Please bear with me. I'm asking this question for someone else. I was told that bleach was not an option. Is bleach really the only substance that will kill mold.
Thanks,
Ken
It isn't asbestos, but it can be just as dangerous. Toxic molds love to grow on cellulose rich areas, such as drywall, ceiling tiles, and wood. Now I'm not saying that Ken's mold is toxic for sure, all he said it was black and on a wall, but its something that should always be checked out professionally when you find it growing. Bathtub caulking turns black and spotty, no big deal, but when you see visible growth on drywall or wood, you might just be seeing the tip of the iceberg. Our local elementary school was shut down for weeks while toxic mold was removed. And yes, they do it in almost the exact same way they remove asbestos. Seal the areas with plastic sheeting, and go in in HazMat suits with respirators. Not stuff to be taken lightly,
Chris Devidal snipped-for-privacy@NOSPAMmail.com remove NOSPAM
when you sell the house you'll be asked to make certain disclosures...one of them is mold. i've also heard that certain insurance companies will not insure a house that has a history of mold. so don't tell your insurance agent...and cya by taking care of it correctly. jk
That would be Kilz, and to answer your question, you dont.
If its truely black mold, it is classified as a toxic mold, and having been involved now in several cases of it, one thing you need to know... In some cases, you can get rid of it completely by burning the home....as in to the ground.
Hire someone to come in, get samples, and verify what it is that you are dealing with. IF its the bad stuff, you will need a mold removal expert, with proper credentials, and will probably find out that your home owners insurance will not pay more than $5000 total for a $30,000 repair, and will drop you like a rock when the claims made.
Mold in homes is a complicated issue, and it can be due to the mechanical systems (HVAC) bad drainage, area, indoor air quality, living conditions, etc... No one on the group can give you a definitive answer, other than get someone in and have it checked, and be ready for some bad news.
If the moisture problem has already been remedied, how bad can it be?
Bleach or the active ingrediant in bleach sodium hypochlorate kills mold , bleach is cheap ,easy to use . How much mold and where is the mold on your friends house, do you smell it. it may be a simple fix nothing to worry about. most cases are.
Killz is a very good primer that sticks to just about anything. I wouldn't just put Killz on it, but I would spray it with a 15-20% bleach solution and let it sit for a day or two to dry out. While it is drying you can sand any wood that had the mold to physically remove it. If you take this route, make sure the room is closed off from the rest of the house and wear a respirator and goggles. It is important to sand it while it is still wet as the stuff won't go airborne. It is even better if you can hold a shop vac next to the sander to collect as much as possible white you are doing it. Then after it dries you can cover it with Killz.
It grows in moisture and darkness. The favorite place I have found for mold is in an exterior wall cavity that has gotten wet. The insulation holds the water forever and becomes the food source for the mold even if the leak has stopped.
Stop all leaks and make sure you clean out any wall cavities that are wet. You can get a moisture detector and drill a very small hole in a number of cavities and test them for moisture. You should do this at the bottom as that is where the moisture will linger.
My daughter has a severe mold allergy and has been hospitalized eight times in a three-year span, so I consider myself pretty knowledgable and experienced on the matter. Our old house was just unbearable for her after a while. Our brand new house had a leak because of a crappy fireplace installer and water got into a couple of wall cavitites and the mold was back. I had quotes from $5-15,000 to fix it and the insurance company has a clause so they won't pay a dime other than to repair the leak and the wall damage (about $1K). Needless to say, for that amount I fixed it myself. We have been working closely with a mold dog which is trained to detect mold. His handler has overseen the repairs that I have done and has OK'd everything. You can see if a mold dog is in your area at
Instagone did a great job for us. We applied it to the ceilings a number of years ago and it has not come back.
-- Mike D.
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No, various metallic compounds of copper, arsenic, etc. will too. Bleach is better/safer.
-- dadiOH _____________________________
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ok , there are gasses and other chemicals to , but they are not safe , cheap , or readily avalable .
Thanks. My brother in law has a job where he has to remove mold from an office building. I think I'm beginning to understand why he was given the job. He is ignorant of the fact that he is messing with stuff that can possibly hurt him. The customer is paying bottom dollar for his services. He probably used "Killz" and is painting over it as I write. The scary part is he is probably bringing the mold spores home with him. What a carefree life someone can live when they don't know what they're dealing with. Ignorance is bliss.
Ken
conditions,
Well... We have one...long story short....we got called in, the unit was screwed up (AC unit) and the crawlspace had a water drainage issue. Took samples, ended up getting in a specialist. (we were NOT the original installers on the AC...this was a home for sale, and we were checking it for the buyer) and the home, is now on the ground....as in, insurance didnt pay anything hardly, and you have to treat some types as a hazmat material...I spent a week getting shots for a lung infection..mold.
How bad can it be? Hows longs it been growing?
Mold needs three things to prosper Water, and thats in the air. Food source Dark, or absence of ultraviolet rays.
Mold been here since before the dinosaur...we are not going to kill it all ever.
Better yet...IF he screws up, he better be ready for multimillion dollar lawsuits....seriously. This isnt for the uneducated.
Now..YOU have mold in your home now....all kinds...we ALL do. The point is, do we allow it to grow, buy giving it the corect conditions to thrive.
Rumor has it, that some states will require testing for toxic forms before sales of homes, and then, its gonna get nasty.
BTW...if we find it in a unit, we have to report it.....and then, there is little a person can do.
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