Can You Remove Mold Yourself

Mold is a lot more common than you might think, it is very common in buildings and homes. If you’re wondering what percentage of homes have some form of mold the answer is around 70%, that’s a scary number for homeowners and business owners alike. 

Mold is very attracted to wet or damp areas, especially in your home or business. It will grow pretty much anywhere with enough moisture such as leaky roofs, ceilings, windows, or pipes. Basements, showers, and areas around heating or cooling appliances are some more common spots for mold growth. Mold also sometimes hides in hard to see hard to reach areas. If or when you do face mold, depending on the amount of mold or what type of mold you might want to call some mold remediation professionals immediately. They have the experience and tools to properly handle mold removal in your home or business. But if the damage is small enough that you think you can do it yourself, you’re free to try. Here is a small list of tools and equipment you should have ready for the job. Rubber gloves, shoe covers, wire brush, detergent, heavy-duty sheets of plastic, fan, dehumidifier, duct tape, air movers, and possibly a humidity meter to see how much humidity is in the air. 

First, you have to realize if there is a mold problem there is more than likely a water or moisture issue. Once you solve the water or moisture issue you are free to move on to the next step. You’re going to want to isolate the contaminated area, and close all doors and windows in the surrounding area. For more extreme cases you may have to cover all doorways and windows with polyethylene sheeting. Seal the polyethylene with duct tape and slit openings in the sheet to enter the contaminated area.

Next, you are going to want to remove all wet and damaged materials or items. Grab all the stuff you think is worth saving, you can set that to the side to dry for now, assuming there is not mold on it. You should seal all moldy materials and items in thick plastic bags. double bag the materials and items and tie them up, these can usually be disposed of like normal trash. In more extreme cases you might have to wipe down the outside of the bags with a damp cloth and detergent solution before leaving the contamination area.

Then All non-porous materials and wood surfaces with mold must be cleaned. Use a wire brush, disposable wipes, and detergent solution to scrub the area until all mold is removed. Rinse the freshly cleaned surfaces or items with clean water. Use a combination of fans, air movers, and dehumidifiers to help remove humidity and dry the area. Then all areas should be visibly free of mold, contamination and debris. cleaned materials should be dried to allow moisture to evaporate. The fans and dehumidifiers will also help with that. Finally, you are going to want to properly repair or replace all materials that were ruined. After you complete that last step stand back and admire your work! Hopefully, everything is back to normal and looking like it used to.