How To Get Rid Of Black Mold On Wood

How to Remove Black Mold From Your Home

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Finding out that you have black mold in your home can be a nightmare. Not only does black mold smell foul and make your house look unclean, but its presence can also cause serious health problems, including stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, burning eyes, skin rash and lung infections. Some studies even suggest that black mold can cause the onset of asthma, and people with immune disorders or chronic lung conditions are particularly at risk for negative side effects.

While severe cases of black mold are best handled by a professional, you can treat it yourself if you're willing to put in the work and take appropriate safety measures. Be aware, however, that you're signing up for quite the project.

Getting Started

Because exposure to black mold can cause serious health problems, it's vital to take proper safety precautions while treating a mold outbreak. First, you need to remove anything that could be causing moisture in the area, since otherwise, the mold is likely to grow back. An exhaust fan placed near an outdoor opening can also help remove mold spores from the air, although you shouldn't use an expensive one — the fan is likely to get covered in hard-to-remove spores, so you're probably better off throwing it away when you're done. Be sure to tape cardboard or plywood around your windows to prevent spores from reentering.

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Additionally, you should take care to seal the doorway with heavy plastic and duct tape to keep the mold from spreading. During removal, be sure to wear long-sleeved clothes you can dispose of later, goggles, rubber gloves and an N-95 or P-100 respirator. Make sure heat, air-conditioning and other ventilation systems are turned off with vents covered during removal, and slightly dampen any dry moldy areas with a pump sprayer to avoid spreading spores. Doorways should be covered with overlapping sheets of plastic. Any carpeting should be wrapped and taped in 6 millimeter plastic, and any mold-covered items or trash should be double-bagged before disposal.

Removal

If the mold has spread to any significant degree, you'll likely need to not just clean the outside of walls, floors and even ceilings, but also get inside them. Baseboards and trim in areas with signs of mold will need to be removed using a crowbar, and you'll want to test stained or damaged areas for deeper mold spread into the insulation and wall framing. You may need to cut away your drywall to identify the full extent of the damage, which means shutting off power lines and carefully poking holes through damaged areas to identify wires. During that process, you'll need to continue moistening moldy areas to keep them from releasing spores. You may find rot that needs to be replaced, which can be a project in and of itself.

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Once the compromised surfaces and materials have been removed, use a wet/dry vacuum to clean up debris, ideally while using a long hose with the vacuum base outside to contain spores. Afterward, you'll need to clean out the hose, tank and attachments with a mixture of bleach and water, and the filter will need to be (safely) disposed of.

Scrubbing Surfaces

While 1 quart of water mixed with ½ a cup of bleach is a solid and reliable cleaning agent, other options for treating black mold do exist. Tea tree oil can be a surprisingly effective choice, and you can buy it at your local health food store; just make sure that it includes 30 percent terpinen 4-ol and 15 percent or less cineole. Just add one teaspoon of tea tree oil for every cup of water. (This same recipe also works with grapefruit extract, although it's not quite as effective). You can also use Borax, vinegar, or ammonia. Be aware, however, that bleach should never be mixed with vinegar, ammonia or rubbing alcohol. When in doubt, do not combine cleaning agents.

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Using a soft brush and the solution of your choice, scrub any remaining mold stains until no trace of the mold can be seen. Do not rinse any formerly moldy items after they're cleaned; instead, wipe away any remaining moisture. Allow trim and other salvageable items to dry in direct sunlight, and use dehumidifiers and new fans to dry out the problem area for three days. If you find more mold during that time, repeat the steps above. Finally, seal wood surfaces with an oil-based primer or pigmented shellac, and if necessary, install new insulation and drywall. Use latex paint that contains a mildewcide (or add one yourself) to restore walls and prevent a second outbreak. Reinstall the trim.