mjrsplat Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Any tips? I found some black mold growing in my bedroom closet on some baby stuff I had stored in there. I have already pulled everything out of the room, scrubbed down the walls with palmolive and water (heard it kills mold) I threw away any clothes, linens, etc that were in there in case they were holding mold spores, cleaned every item that went back in with palmolive and water. Tv, xbox, table, lamp, entertainment center, etc. I also put a hepa air purifier in the room and it's running on full blast but doesn't seem to make a difference. I went as far as throwing out the bed that was in there and put another bed in with new bedding and pillows. Unfortunately it seems I still have a munch of mold in the air or whatever, now all the stuff I put back in smells of mold, and after being in the room 10 minutes my clothes smell like mold. If anyone has tips on how to get rid of it once and for all, I need solid advice ASAP considering I'm sleeping on the couch in the meantime and hoping it doesn't circulate through the rest of the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Keep in mind there are many types of black mold not all of which are the deadly kind. The noticable smell of mold indicates a more severe type but could also indicate alot more damage than first thought. Anything you do will be in vain and can potentially cause you extensive issues if you do not first identify whats causing the mold. Mold has certain requirements it needs to begin, maintain and grow. If you have found mold on the drywall and there is no reason found that would cause this which is visible, than be prepared to remove sections of the drywall until you can find what has caused it and how extensive it is. Remove any areas at least a foot beyond any affected area. If its on the studs then spray them down with bleach and allow this to air dry for at least a day or 2 and see if additional growth is present. If you feel you have killed its growth and you have found the source of moisture/repaired feeding it, then encapsulate the studs with the correct type of paint and replace any drywall with water board or green drywall. Unfortunately anything that has mold on it or came in contact with mold will be difficult to clean or eradicate the smell. If you can wash it in hot bleach water than do so. If its on the kids toys, wash them in bleach. If its stuffed animals pitch them immediately. Mix up some bleach water 50/50 or stronger and wipe down everythig you can. Protect yourself when putting the mold spores into the air, you will breathe in millions of spores even with a mask. It takes one microscopic spore to cause cancer. First thing first is identify why there are conditions for the mold. I have done alot of mold repairs and never heard of palmolive being used. Right now mold is being taking out of an entire finished basement on a house my wife is doing for me. Mold is tricky your really cant just hide it and its typically not just a simple 5 min fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrsplat Posted February 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thanks for the input. The source of the mold I found was baby bottles I had stored. I had washed and sanitized them prior to storage, but I suppose weirder shit has happened. I haven't found any traces of mold elsewhere, the walls were washed down as a precaution. I thought I had the source eliminated, then again I didn't bother to steam clean the floors, just vacuumed them really well, I figured steam cleaning could potentially give the mold a place to grow. I should add theres no way I can wash clothes and all that with bleach as they aren't white. It sounds like I'm throwing away more clothing and bedding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) Yes you are throwing away additional clothing. Buy color safe bleach and try washing. Inspect the clothing after for mold discoloration and smells. If you think the bleach and hot water did the trick than your probably good. You typically cannot wash away the black color from mold in clothing. If its in the carpet than pull it back. It has to dry before you can begin to deal with it. If its in the padding than remove the section and get you a $2 piece from a carpet store and replace the bad section. Take your bleach mixture and spray the back side of the carpet if it hasnt destroyed the carpet. Dont soak the fibers so that it bleachs the carpet just thecarpet backing. Allow everything to dry before putting it all back down. If its on the subfloor, than spray it with your solution as well. If it looks like growth, spray, let dry and encapsulate with paint and put it all back down. This is all a judgement call and you have to decide if you are doing enough steps to reasonably get it all the first time or you risk it getting worse. Just remember to go further with removal of the pad than just what you see, typicall 1-2' beyond the affected area. Once its all back, dont steam clean the carpet, mix up some color safe bleach and test in a small area to see if it bleachs the carpet. If it doesnt in your test are than attack the carpet fibers making sure not to soak the new pad, just dip your rag, ring it out and wipe the are repeating the process. Allow to dry. Remember mold can cause permanent health issues including cancers and respiratory with only a few seconds exposure, dont wait for this to cause an issue especially if you have kids. When dealing with mold removal do what you can to not make the spores airborne. Dont just start ripping stuff apart, move slowly and let the tools your using do their jobs. Bag the stuff you remove thats damaged up and get it out of the house.Have a fan runnig in a window to help remove airborne spores when taking it all apart. If your air purifier is not a hepa filter type, shut it off its doing more damage than good. Edited February 10, 2012 by wnaplay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Bleach and/or fire. Otherwise just throw the shit away. Then run a dehumidifier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrsplat Posted February 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Yes you are throwing away additional clothing. Buy color safe bleach and try washing. Inspect the clothing after for mold discoloration and smells. If you think the bleach and hot water did the trick than your probably good. You typically cannot wash away the black color from mold in clothing. If its in the carpet than pull it back. It has to dry before you can begin to deal with it. If its in the padding than remove the section and get you a $2 piece from a carpet store and replace the bad section. Take your bleach mixture and spray the back side of the carpet if it hasnt destroyed the carpet. Dont soak the fibers so that it bleachs the carpet just thecarpet backing. Allow everything to dry before putting it all back down. If its on the subfloor, than spray it with your solution as well. If it looks like growth, spray, let dry and encapsulate with paint and put it all back down. This is all a judgement call and you have to decide if you are doing enough steps to reasonably get it all the first time or you risk it getting worse. Just remember to go further with removal of the pad than just what you see, typicall 1-2' beyond the affected area. Once its all back, dont steam clean the carpet, mix up some color safe bleach and test in a small area to see if it bleachs the carpet. If it doesnt in your test are than attack the carpet fibers making sure not to soak the new pad, just dip your rag, ring it out and wipe the are repeating the process. Allow to dry. Remember mold can cause permanent health issues including cancers and respiratory with only a few seconds exposure, dont wait for this to cause an issue especially if you have kids. When dealing with mold removal do what you can to not make the spores airborne. Dont just start ripping stuff apart, move slowly and let the tools your using do their jobs. Bag the stuff you remove thats damaged up and get it out of the house.Have a fan runnig in a window to help remove airborne spores when taking it all apart. If your air purifier is not a hepa filter type, shut it off its doing more damage than good. Unfortunately, I already have respiratory issues, they got a lot worse over night that's when I suspected mold. I don't even begin to know how to check for it in the places you described, none of it is visible, but you can smell it. Within a few minutes of being in the room, my clothes reeked of it. Now the smell is stuck in my nose again, I'll probably feel crappy again tomorrow. The more I hear the more I'm leaning toward hiring someone to solve the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xyster101 Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 +1 to what was already said. Home stores sell bleach in 30% concentrates, I would use that to help kill it. Bleach will make things wet, so make sure it is 100% dry before putting carpet back whatever. If the mold is bothering you, might be worth spending the money on a pro. For such a small area, I would think a few hundred would do it. Any flooring or construction stuff needs cleaned and then painted with special paint to seal it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwohio Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) Is there some type of 'home test kit' that you can use to see if mold is in the air? When we bought our house they did a radon test where a 'strip' was hung in the basement for 48 hours to determine the how much radon was in the space. Does anyone know if there is a test similar that you can do your self without having to hire someone with a fancy machine to check? You guys have me all paranoid now........ EDIT: ok, found some test kits.....anyone have any insight if one is better than another? Edited February 10, 2012 by bmwohio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87GT Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Tilex mold and mildew remover for the walls. Home Depot sells some. Spray it on and let it run down the wall and it will remove everything. No scrubbing needed. Works every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Tilex mold and mildew remover for the walls. Home Depot sells some. Spray it on and let it run down the wall and it will remove everything. No scrubbing needed. Works every time. Works everytime? If you have to use it more than once, than it didnt even work the first time. Aj, you probably wont see, it, go buy you a filtered mask and start getting into it to see if its a 1 hr job or its time to call in th epa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 Call huffer restoration. Gregg is a great guy to deal with and very knowledgeable. He can do an air test and tell you what direction to take. I had a mold issue and he came out and spent an hour and a half with me and gave me lots of tips, advice, and direction. He will also not try to take your money. I expected I needed a test on my mold and he advised against it to save me money due to my particular mold situation. I gave him 75 dollars for his time and went away feeling very relieved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrsplat Posted February 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 Call huffer restoration. Gregg is a great guy to deal with and very knowledgeable. He can do an air test and tell you what direction to take. I had a mold issue and he came out and spent an hour and a half with me and gave me lots of tips, advice, and direction. He will also not try to take your money. I expected I needed a test on my mold and he advised against it to save me money due to my particular mold situation. I gave him 75 dollars for his time and went away feeling very relieved Do you have a contact number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 614 761-7876 This is just the number I came up with a Google Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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