What do fungi eat when camping? S’pore’s!
Mold is a type of fungi, that loves to live in food, or wet places. Currently, scientists have been able to identify over 100,000 different species of these microorganisms, across the globe.
When you have mold growing in your house it’s horrible to look at. Green or black spots of discoloration, are enough to make any homeowner cringe. Especially if you’re not sure how to clean mold off walls.
Not only is mold unsightly to look at, but it can also endanger your livelihood. The nasty fungi are capable of causing serious health problems, such as skin rashes, asthma, cancer and birth defects.
On top of endangering your health, mold also wreaks havoc on your home’s structure. Different types of fungi species are capable of eating away large portions of wood, plastic, and metal. Left unattended, mold will quickly eat away at your house, from the inside out.
If you have mold in your house, it’s time to take immediate action. Read on to learn how to get rid of mold, and keep it from coming back.
Uncovering Mold Cleaning Myths
Before we tell you how to clean the mold off your walls, we want to save you from falling into the trap of believing myths about mold.
There Are Multiple Ways Mold Can Appear
One of the first mistakes homeowners make is believing all mold damage appears the same. There are many different ways to tell you to have mold growing in your house. Here are some of the signs that indicate mold or mildew is growing in your home.
- Damaged paint
- Strange colors on walls
- Musky wet smell
- Reoccuring spots
If you’ve had any water leaks or past flooding issues, you need to inspect your home for mold. Proactively attacking current, and potential mold will help protect your house from any further damage.
Old Homes Versus New Homes
Mildew and mold love to occur in areas that have higher humidity, and tight seals. Because of this, new homes, with well-insulated windows, tend to have mold problems more frequently than older ones.
Avoid Using Bleach
When you use bleach on a porous surface, like your wall, you can make the mold problem worse. Wood and drywall are both porous and don’t respond well to bleach as a cleaning agent.
How to Clean Mold off Walls Naturally
Instead of using toxic bleach on your walls, we’ll show you how to make your own cleaning solution. Here are a couple of different natural ways you can clean mold on your walls.
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Distilled White Vinegar
You should also invest in gloves, a spray bottle, scrub brush, and a pair of safety glasses.
Using Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is good for a lot more than just doctoring up boo-boos. This magical cleaning solution also has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties.
The type of hydrogen you buy needs to say “3% concentration” on the label. This is the standard brown bottle you’ll find in most drug stores.
Once you have the hydrogen peroxide and your safety gear, you’re ready to begin. Here are the steps you’ll need to follow for removing the mold.
- Put your safety gear on
- Pour hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle
- Saturate moldy surface
- Leave for 10 minutes
- Scrub the moldy area with a brush
Once you’re all done scrubbing up the moldy spots, you can begin to wipe down the area. Using your rag, or paper towels, wipe up any remaining mold or mildew.
Using Distilled White Vinegar
There are a few reasons why distilled white vinegar is such a popular natural cleaner. One of the reasons that vinegar is effective at combating mold because it’s a mild type of acid. Its acidic properties make it ideal for disinfecting and cleaning multiple surfaces.
Here are the steps you’ll need to take to clean mold using vinegar.
- Put on safety gear
- Pour vinegar into a spray bottle
- Spray over a moldy surface
- Let sit for one hour
- Wipe with water
- Wait 3 hours to inspect
After you’ve covered the moldy area with the vinegar, you won’t need to use your scrub brush. Instead, you’ll just let the vinegar’s acidity begin eating away at the mold.
Allow Area to Dry Completely
After you wait and wipe the area clean, you’ll need to allow time for it to dry. Come back in 2-3 hours to check if the vinegar smell has gone away and if the wall is dry.
If the smell is still lingering, or wall is still damp, place a fan in the room and point it towards the wall. The vinegar smell should dissipate within a few hours, and once the wall is dry, your job will be complete.
Distilled white vinegar doesn’t only kill mold and bacteria, it also helps prevent it from ever growing back.
Taking Care of Return Mold
Knowing how to clean mold off walls, means being able to prepare your house to pass its inspection. Yet, what do you do if after all of your cleaning efforts, the mold returns?
Reoccuring mold can be a sign of a bigger problem. It can mean that there’s a continuous source of moisture.
To permanently stop mold from coming back, you’ll have to identify where the moisture is coming from. Plumbing leaks and water backflow are often the causes of recurring mold growth. Once you’ve identified where the water is coming from, you’ll need to fix the problem immediately.
Here at CLASS Home Inspection, we know how exhausting selling or buying a home can be. That’s why we’re committed to helping make the inspection process as easy as possible for our customers.
Each home we inspect receives a detailed photo report, that includes descriptions of every potential issue we find. You can view the interactive report from any electronic device, and you’ll have a hard PDF copy for your records.
Rest easy knowing you’ve covered all your bases. Reach out to us today to schedule your home inspection.