Mold Mildew
Effective home mold mildew removal procedure
I have been suffering from mold problem lately. Out of sudden, my dining rooms, kitchen and basement are full of ugly molds. The musty moldy smell make my once lovely home becomes very uncomfortable to live in. The cost of hiring professional home mold removal company has me stepped back to re-consider other alternative for home mold mildew removal. Is it possible to DIY the task? This question keeps lingering in my mind.
After searching high and low on the Internet, I am finally able to list out the effective steps to do a proper home mold mildew removal safely. Having this list in hand makes my life so much easier when it comes to dealing with home mold mildew removal. Thus, I am so eager to share it with anyone who has the same problem like me and no longer want to suffer from the unbearable home mold problem and the high cost of getting help from professional home mold removal company.
Before I proceed to explain each of the steps, let me paint the whole picture of the home mold mildew removal procedure. The key to safe home mold mildew removal involves 4 main elements, which are
1. Confine - confine and isolate the moldy items and areas. Don't give chance for mold to spread
2. Destroy - find the mold and kill it
3. Eliminate - clean up the dead mold; remember that dead mold is as deadly to your health
4. Shield - protect and disinfect to prevent mold from growing back in the future
When you are planning to have a stress-free home mold mildew removal done all by yourself, follow the steps detailed below.
1. Educate yourself
The very first step is to educate yourself about the process of home mold mildew removal and the safety measures while implementing home mold removal. Learn about the health risks associated with prolong mold exposure. Equip yourself with the knowledge of mold prevention.
2. Identify the sources of water damage
Look for possible leakage such as leaky pipes and roofs. Check all the air-conditioning systems, blocked drain lines would cause leaking. Test the indoor humidity level, high moisture trapped within you home invites mold. If you are living in high humidity areas, you may consider investing in a dehumidifier to help control the indoor humidity level.
3. Mold inspection
Use a DIY mold test kit to test for mold presence especially in areas with high water penetration including ceiling, floors and walls. You can easily get this mold test kit from your local home improvement and hardware shop. Try to get some visible mold sample using Scoth tape to test with a mold test kit. You may need additional devices like moisture meter and fiber optics inspection device to help detecting possible hidden mold.
4. Check the ducts of heating and cooling equipments
Mold spores may have polluted the equipments as well as the air ducts. You can utilize the mold test kit to collect mold spores from the outward airflow of these equipments. If the equipments have been badly contaminated, you may have to replace them. The other alternative is to do mold fogging into the air duct to kill the living mold spores.
5. Confine the mold-infected areas
Before you begin the home mold mildew removal procedure, you must contain and isolate the moldy areas to prevent the harmful spores from infecting other areas. Setup up a proper mold containment walls with floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall plastic sheeting. Use the clear and thick type of plastic sheeting.
6. Put on protective gears while performing home mold mildew removal procedure
Wear goggles, long non-porous gloves and respirator to protect yourself from the harmful mold spores. Do not touch the mold particles with your bare hands.
7. If the contaminated area is still wet, dry it with dehumidifier.
If the moldy area is still drenched as a result from flooding or household leaking, use dehumidifier to dry the area. Do not use blow fan, as this will help spreading mold spores.
8. Kill mold with fungicide
Fog the mold containment area with mold killer product for half an hour as a minimum. Try to use mold killer product that has antimicrobial element. Leave the areas to dry thoroughly. You may have to apply a second fogging if the infestation is severe.
9. Clean the dead mold
When the fungicide spray has dried up, you can start removing the dead mold. Use a vacuum cleaner to remove loose mold spores and other surface molds left on walls, floors, ceilings and furniture. After the vacuum, clean all surfaces with laundry detergent. Borax is a good mold cleaner used in home mold mildew removal. Scrub hard to remove all mold residuals. Discard all the sponges and scouring pads used for home mold mildew removal task. Allow the area to dry completely after the cleaning. You can use a dehumidifier to help with drying up the area.
10. Treat the remediated areas again with mold killer spraying / fogging
This is to kill the remaining mold growth and mold spores that are still active floating in the air. When the fungicide has dried up, spray one more coating of mold killer for a complete mold mildew removal.
11. Allow the mold-remediated area to dry thoroughly from the mold killer spraying or fogging
Always remember to let the area dry completely before re-building or re-constructing back the mold remediated area.
12. Perform second round of mold testing
Upon completion of your home mold mildew removal, conduct mold testing again to ensure the remediated areas are now safe from mold spores. Mold testing should be done for all areas and surfaces including air ducts of heating / cooling equipments.
13. Protection from future mold growth
You may now re-build or re-construct the remediated areas using new building materials that are mold free. Treat the materials beforehand with protective fungicidal coating. This protective coating is helpful to prevent future mold infestation. For concrete walls, you shall switch to oil-based paint to fight against potential mold growth in the future.
14. Regular cleaning and maintenance is a MUST
You shall clean and maintain your home regularly to prevent future episode of mold infestation. Make mold inspection and mold testing part of your household maintenance routine. Remember to keep your home as dry as possible, control the humidity within your home, allow good air circulation to minimize moisture entrapped in the air. Without moisture, mold cannot survive. This is the key to successful home mold mildew removal.
Are you suffering from home mold problem? Find the complete guide to bathroom mold removal and effective DIY home mold cleaning solution.
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