Home Improvement DIY

Mold is a big problem that can affect many different homes around the world including ones made from cinder block (aka breeze block). If you have any mold in your home then it’s important to actually do something about it. Simply hoping that it’s going to go away on it’s own is not an option. It has to be dealt with, whether you get a mold remediation company in or you attempt to deal with it yourself.

Basically the first thing you need to ask yourself is how the mold appeared in the first place. Mold is just a symptom of something much bigger so don’t just clean off the mold without finding out what has caused it.

If you live in a part of the world which has high humidity (for example Florida), then you should go out and buy yourself one of those humidity meters. If it reads more than 50% in the affected area then you will need to look at the different ways to reduce that humidity. Buying a dehumidifier is a very good idea.

In addition to this you should also look at ways in which water is getting into your home. It could be a leaking roof, blocked gutters, rising damp or leaking plumbing. Do your best to check out all of these areas to determine the possible cause. Then set about fixing it. Unfortunately if the problems have been ignored for some time it could cost you quite a bit of money to deal with. Especially if you have rotten wood in addition to the mold to sort out.

OK, so once you have figured out what is causing the mold problems you will need to see about getting rid of it. What you need to be aware of is the fact that when you brush off mold when it is dry the spores can spread out all over the place which is certainly not something you want to happen. Instead you need to use bleach to kill the mold dead.

You can use a solution which is 50 percent bleach and 50 percent water. Mix it up in a spray bottle and spray it all over the affected area. Remember to wear protective gloves when working with bleach because you don’t want to injure yourself. It’s also a good idea to have the windows or doors open for ventilation.

Another thing you should do is spray the bleach solution onto the surrounding areas. Even if you can’t actually see any mold you want to make sure you kill it all. properly. After you have done this you can then leave it for an hour and spray the bleach on again. Leave it to do its job for another hour before washing it down with cold water and some bleach. Do do this you take a bucket with a gallon of cold water (NB, don’t use hot water because it actually provides the mold with better living conditions!) and then add a cup of bleach.

With this cold water and bleach solution you can then scrub the walls with a scrubbing brush to get rid of all the mold. You then leave it dry without rinsing it at all.

Now something you need to find out before you kill the mold is to find out whether it is actually mold or not. Frequently people think that they have mold on the cinder-block when in actual fact they just have what’s called efflourescents. It’s a white substance which feels chalky to touch and is simply lime. So it’s a good idea to have a mold inspector come out and have a look. You don’t want to be dealing with something that isn’t actually mold.

 

Related Entries:

• How To Kill White Mold - Do you have white mold (aka sclerotinia)?  Mold is a very unpleasant subject to talk about yet it’s very important that you deal with it immediately.  There are a number of different types of mold in your home and they can be very bad.  Not just for your home but also for your family.  There’s
• How To Kill Mold And Mildew On Wood - 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
• How to Remove Mold From Your Basement - If you are one of the many homeowners who go down to their basements only to find horrible mold and mildew on your flooring and walls, don’t worry. There are plenty of things you can do to rectify the problem. Mold on Concrete The mold that appears on concrete can be in different forms. Because
• Mold Resistant Drywall - When it comes to looking after your home, one issue that people are often worried about is mold.  You will probably already realize how bad mold can be if you allow it to grow in your home.  It’s really bad for the structure of your house and also for the health of the people living
• How To Get Rid Of Fire Ants In Your Home And Garden - If you have fire ants in your home or garden you will certainly want to find a quick and easy solution to getting rid of them.  Unfortunately, fire ants are very resilient blighters and won’t go without a fight.  For some crazy reason fire ants were first introduced to Alabama and have been steadily moving