Common Mold Clean-up Mistakes

Common Mold Clean-up Mistakes

Hello Everyone:

Everyone has encountered mold at one time or another. This is good information that should be read carefully. [The emphasis throughout aren't mine, only the highlights.]

Best of Health!

DD

 

http://www.usmoldphysician.com/articles/moldcleaningmistakes.html

 

COMMON MISTAKES IN MOLD CLEANING:
BLEACH, BORAX, BAKING SODA & FANS

Don't use ineffective bleach to kill mold on porous surfaces such as wood, drywall, and carpeting.

 

Do not use ineffective bleach to try to kill mold growth on, in, or behind porous surfaces like drywall, wood timbers, plywood/chipboard, insulation backing paper, carpeting/padding, and other construction materials made from cellulose-containing materials.

 

Consider using non-bleach mold home remedy recipes with Borax or baking soda on non-porous areas.

 

The EPA reports the benefit of a borate-based detergent solution and applying without a rinse. This will help prevent mold from growing again. To find a borate-based detergent, read the ingredients listed on the package label for borates.

 

During the cleaning process, you may be exposed to mold, strong detergents, and disinfectants. Spore counts may rise 10 to 1000 times once you begin cleaning or moving the mold.

 

You should discard moldy items that are porous. Some items are so porous it is almost impossible to redeem them:

• Paper
• Rags
• Wallboard
• Rotten wood
• Carpet
• Drapes
• Upholstered furniture

Contaminated carpet is often difficult to thoroughly clean, especially when the backing and/or padding can become moldy.

 

Solid materials -- glass, plastic, and metal -- can generally be kept after they are thoroughly cleaned.

 

Never mix bleach with ammonia. You will form toxic fumes that are dangerous.

Do NOT use fans if mold may have already started to grow -- more than 48 hours since flooding. You will contaminate the entire structure with mold spores--sending them into flight.

 

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF

If you do not understand the need for special equipment, and especially air control, you do not know what you are doing. People train ten years to handle mold damage and are still learning. It is more than scrubbing a wall, and removing some dry wall with mold! You would not let your uncle or neighbor operate on your spleen unless they had special surgical training. Your home or other structures also commonly require expert evaluation, and perhaps professional remediation. Doing it yourself could make you very sick, and ruin any real chance at restoring your structure.

 

Any possible errors listed above are Dr. Schaller's, and while he treats humans with mold illness, he leaves the structural evaluation and remediation and consultations to real experts. Dr. Schaller treats people, and lets experts like Dr. Lipsey evaluate and handle homes, schools, and other structures.

 

He is one of the leading national experts in mold, and here is his contact information:

Dr. Richard Lipsey
Professor and Toxicologist
Univ. of North Fla, OSHA Cert.
Univ of Florida Jax Poison Control Board

Lipsey's CV -- Toxicology And Environmental Health Associates, www.richardlipsey.com

 

*******************

 

http://www.usmoldphysician.com/articles/bleachmoldmyth.html

 

Chlorine Bleach is ineffective in killing mold for at least four reasons:

1. It is too diluted and thus too weak to permanently kill mold unless the mold is simply sitting on top of a hard surface like a counter top or sink.

 

2. What little killing power chlorine bleach does have is diminished significantly as the bleach sits in warehouses and on grocery store shelves or inside your home or business [50% loss in killing power in just the first 90 days inside a never opened jug or container] Chlorine ions constantly escapes through the plastic walls of its containers.

 

3. Chlorine bleach's ion structure also prevents chlorine from penetrating into porous materials such as dry wall and wood--- It just stays on the outside surface, whereas mold has protected enzyme roots growing inside the porous construction materials. When you spray porous surface molds with bleach, the water in the water solution soaks into the wood while the bleach chemical sits atop the surface, gasses off, and thus only partially kills the surface layer of mold while the water penetration of the building materials fosters further mold growth.

 

4. Chlorine Bleach is NOT registered with the EPA as a disinfectant to kill mold. You can verify that important fact yourself when you are unable to find an EPA registration number for killing mold on the label of any brand of chlorine bleach.

 

New University Study Discovers That Bleach
is Ineffective In Killing Mold on Wood

"While bleach is often recommended for remediation of surface mold on wood, our [university research study] results illustrate that the treatment does not eliminate the surface microflora," is the conclusion of the Oregon State University study of the effects of chlorine bleach on mold growth on Douglas fir wood [an important timber crop in the state of Oregon]. The research study was conducted by Professor Jeffrey Morrell, Dept. of Wood Science, Oregon State University, as assisted by Adam Taylor [graduate research assistant] and Camille Freitag [Senior Research Associate], as published in Forest Products Journal, 54:4, 2004.

 

To kill mold effectively on porous surfaces [like building materials, carpeting, upholstery, etc.], use EPA-registered fungicide Shockwave which is manufacturer-rated to kill mold on both porous and nonporous surfaces. Bleach as a mold disinfectant is best used in the kitchen and bathroom for countertops, tubs and shower glass, and other hard surfaces.

 

Comparison of Commercial Products [such as EPA-registered fungicide Shockwave] versus Home-Made Alternatives such as using Bleach

Often people choose to use home-made alternatives to commercial cleaning products because they believe that naturally occurring or naturally derived substances are less toxic and better for the environment than commercial products. However, scientists have not found a correlation between naturalness, toxicity, or environmental compatibility. In fact, some of the most toxic substances in existence are naturally occurring substances. Furthermore, commercial products are tested in terms of effectiveness, safety, and environmental compatibility. Nonetheless, if you choose to use a homemade cleaning solution, you MUST use precautions.

 

In addition to the factors listed in the following table, there are safety factors that should be considered before making or using a homemade cleaning product. For instance, you should NEVER mix cleaning solutions. This is especially important because products that are safe when used separately can become hazardous if mixed with another product. An example of this type of product is chlorine bleach. NEVER mix chlorine bleach or a product containing chlorine bleach with ammonia or any product containing ammonia or with any acidic products such as toilet bowl cleaners. If these products are mixed, toxic gases can be released. Furthermore, mixing household chemicals can also result in heat or explosion or household chemicals can become less effective if mixed with another chemical. Still yet, some household solutions simply do not work well or at all. This is of particular concern when individuals are trying to disinfect a surface, or kill disease causing microorganisms.

 

The following table outlines some of the advantages and disadvantages of commercial products and homemade alternatives.

Commercial Products	Home-Made Alternatives
Meet Federal Safety Regulations	Not Subject to Federal Regulations
Proper Precautionary Labeling	No Precautionary Labeling
Ingredients Known to Poison Control Centers	Ingredients May Not be Known to Poison Control Centers
Child-Resistant Closures Where Needed	Usually No Child-Resistant Closures
Packaging Compatible with Formulation	Packaging May Not Be Compatible
Formulation Stable	Product May Degrade in Package
Won't Grow Harmful Bacteria	May Grow Harmful Bacteria
Won't Harm Goods When Used as Directed	May Harm Valuable Possessions
Careful Quality Control	Varies By Consumer Skill
Evaluated for Safety and Environmental Compatibility	Not Evaluated for Safety or Environmental Compatibility

Source: The Consumer Products Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Today's Household Chemical Products. (1992) Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association, Inc

 

Disadvantages of Using Chlorine Bleach

The following disadvantages of using chlorine bleach were published "Bleach Usage" on Facility-maintenance.com---

1. Chlorine bleach lacks the ability to cut through dirt. A surface or object being cleaned and disinfected must first be cleaned if bleach is going to be used as disinfectant, adding time and labor costs to any project. "Organic material readily inactivates these disinfectants, so the surface must be cleaned first," said one industry consultant. "You have to essentially double the time that it should take to clean and disinfect a soiled surface." [In a 2004 study of five different household products to try to clean a moldy shower curtain, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the least effective product was chlorine bleach.]</li>
2. More disadvantages of chlorine bleach are as follow---
• Bleach loses strength rapidly: Carol Bush, area manager for contract cleaner Central Property Services, Pittsburgh, said a bleach/water solution left on a shelf for any period of time will lose its effectiveness. At the same time, said cleaning industry educator William Griffin, Cleaning Consultant Services Inc, Seattle, bleach loses its effectiveness quickly when being used, "gassing off" before most disinfecting can be accomplished.

 

• Bleach can hide dirt: The bleach can make some soil transparent, leading a cleaner to think he/she has actually cleaned a surface when in fact the soil remains there, said Michael Smith, academic custodial supervisor, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA.

 

• Bleach damages floor finishes: Bleach attacks floor coatings, eating away at their effectiveness.

 

• Bleach damages fibers, carpets etc.

 

• Bleach corrodes hard surfaces: Metals and other surfaces can not only be corroded, but discolored.

 

• Bleach causes health concerns: Improper use of bleach -- either using too much or mixing it with certain products -- such as those that contain ammonia hydrochloric acid, acetic acid and phosphoric acid -- can create hazardous health conditions. [Another bleach health hazard: bleach can contaminate groundwater.]

 

What should you use to kill mold effectively?

Spray the moldy area with one or two wet coatings of the EPA-registered fungicide ShockWave, which is manufacturer-rated to kill mold on both porous and nonporous surfaces, followed [as step two] with one or two wet sprayings of EPA-registered fungicidal coating After-Shock. Both are available at Mold Mart. Learn the 27 steps recommended for safe and effective mold remediation.

 

I would like to thanks Phillip Fry of DangerBusters for his material posted above on bleach. He has an international web site with articles on every major aspect of mold.

He recommends the following sites for additional information: Mold products/services at www.shoppalstores.com/moldmart/ Mold training/certification at www.moldschool.net Find a Mold Inspector at www.certifiedmoldinspectors.com. Mold info at www.mold.ph

If you use any substance to remove and kill mold reduce your exposure as much as possible. My opinion is that all major substances used to kill mold are not to find their way into your body.

 

I also suggest reading my two liver articles if you are going to be exposed to mold killing substances of any type, so you can take supplements which may reduce the stress of exposure upon the body. All products and treatments could always use more research. One of my relatives is an expert toxicology engineer and he feels the quality of chemical testing is still very primitive and less exposure to mold killing chemicals is always better.

Also, in addition to checking you liver health, check your Epstein Barr Panel and Natural [Cancer] Killer Cell number during check ups to see if your immune system is working reasonably. If these are abnormal, your body may not be able to handle the chemicals you have been exposed to and you may need some medical help.

 

Best,

Dr. J

[Dr. James L. Schaller]

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