Home Improvement DIY

You should understand the fact that mold and mildew can grow very rapidly on wood.  This is because wood is an organic product and give the mold what it needs to thrive.  If you are a great wood-lover then you need to be aware of this before it gets out of control.  Mold that grows on wood (and any other surface) can be very bad for your health and it’s not exactly brilliant for the wood either.  It will turn your beautiful wood into ugly and stained wood.

So if you have a lot of wood products in your home such as flooring, window shutters, doors and antiques then you need to be aware that it can be very costly if you have to deal with removing the mold and also giving the items a facelift too.

What is particularly horrible is the fact that the toxic black mold particularly love wood and it’s especially problematic for those who live in a humid climate.  Ideally you should seek to prevent the mold and mildew from attacking the wood in the first place.  However if you have been too late in doing this then you need to detect where the mold is, why it is happening and then set about killing it.

If you want to prevent the mold from occuring then you need to be aware that mold loves moist, damp and humid conditions.  So try to be aware of the humidity levels in your home and use a dehumidifier to keep the levels to a more normal range.  If you accidently allow the wood to get wet then you should dry it off without delay.  If it is the rainy season then take extra care to check your garden furniture and window shutters.

Consider the rooms and areas of your home that have ventilation problems.  Bathrooms, kitchens and basements are the three most common rooms to have mold problems.  Also look at what you treat your wood with.  There are waterproof coatings available (such as varnish and paint) which you can apply to the wood to prevent moisture from seeping in.

If you want to determine whether you have a mould and mildew problem then you need to look at the wood to see if you can see any dark spots on the surface.  You will also probably be able to smell an unattractive must odor too.  Often it’s this odor that alerts you to the mold in the first place.  Also have a look at the surrounding areas to see if there is any mold appearing there as well.

Now that you have found the mold that you want to kill you need to know what products you can use.  There are a number of products on the market which have been developed to kill the mold.  Buy one and then follow the instructions.  Make sure you also follow the mold-prevention steps so that the problem doesn’t come back again.

If you are treating painted wood you can make your own cleaner by mixing 3/4 cup of bleach in a gallon of water.  Soak a sponge in the bucket and then clean the affected area so that all of the mold has gone.  Make sure that you don’t allow too much water to saturate the wood otherwise you might damage it.  You can repeat the cleaning several times however make sure that you allow the wood to dry out before cleaning it again.  When you are finished you can then rinse the wood with clean water.

For cleaning unpainted wood then you can do the same as above but use three parts water to one part bleach.  For furniture you should use a mild detergent.  Sometimes a white coating can appear; this is just the wax from the furniture.  Use a furniture cleaner to get rid of it and then apply a new thin layer of wax.

Be aware that if you have a really serious problem with mold you will probably be better off finding a professional company in your local area to come out and deal with it.  There are also mold testing kits available so that you can find out whether or not you really do have a mold problem.  Sometimes somthing that looks like mold isn’t really so testing kit will allow you to know for sure.

 

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