DIY Mold Myths
We talked about bad DIY advice when it comes to crawl spaces the other day, but mold deserved its own spotlight. We all know that mold is bad, but the actual science around it is often clouded by noise about how to get rid of it. Here are some myths vs. realities.
Myth: All mold is deadly
Reality: No it’s not
When you think of mold, you probably go to one of two places: expired food and toxic black mold. But there’s a whole world (literally) of mold that just...exists. You never see it because spores are invisible to the naked eye, but it’s basically everywhere and just casually does its thing. The problem is when it starts concentrating in an area close to your living space - that’s when it can exacerbate health conditions or even cause new respiratory problems.
And not all mold is the toxic black mold everyone likes to freak out about - even if the mold is, in fact, black!
Myth: You can get rid of mold by scrubbing it with bleach
Reality: I mean, sort of?
One of the most prolific DIY mold removal suggestions is to scrub the affected area with bleach and a brush. And technically the mold will be gone, or at least it will look like it’s gone. But the brushing action just mobilizes spores and sends them off on a new adventure. Maybe they’ll take root across the room, or maybe in a different room of the house. And then each spore will start its own new colony, and you’ll be worse off than before.
The best way to get rid of mold is to take away favorable conditions and render it dormant without disturbing it.
Myth: You can’t get rid of mold at all - once you have it, you’re in trouble.
Reality: That’s not true either
Like I said above, you can “get rid” of mold by rendering it dormant. To do this, you need to remove one of the two things it needs to survive: food (organic material) and moisture. Installing a dehumidifier that keeps the affected area below preferable humidity will prevent the mold from growing and thriving. You can also have an actual mold abatement product, like our Mold-X, applied to the area to encapsulate the mold in place.
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Mold is annoying, gross, and sometimes dangerous. It’s normal to want to get rid of it, but be careful what measures you take to ensure that you actually eliminate it instead of further spreading it around your home. If you don’t know where to start, call us for a free inspection and we’ll take it from there.
