Removing Mold And The Equipment You Need

The process of removing mold from your home can be a long and tedious one, depending on how large the infection is and whether you are choosing to take care of the problem yourself or have a professional take care of the problem for you. The most efficient solution for those who have the money, but not a lot of time is to have a professional mold remediation company remove the mold and all affected materials from the property, but not everyone can afford to have this done. So, the option of removing the mold yourself is available, but only for those who have the knowledge and proper equipment to do so.

You can perform most mold removal projects on your own, but projects that require you remove material from walls, floors, or ceilings are best undertaken by those who have experience in interior remodeling and renovation. Scrubbing mold off of certain areas of the home is fairly easy and is an efficient way to deal with a mold problem, as long as the mold has not embedded itself into the surface. Drywall is particularly at risk for having to be replaced if the mold infection becomes too extensive.

You will need buckets of water and the cleaning solution of your choice, along with sponges, rags, or whatever you decide to use while doing the cleanup. Wearing latex or rubber gloves is recommended for this, since coming into contact with mold can cause skin rashes. Heavy trash bags will be needed to dispose of waste in.

Something else you may want to purchase is a respirator, particularly if you are going to be opening up any walls and releasing mold spores into the air. An N-95 respirator can be purchased from your local hardware store and is the lowest level of protection available. If you want more protection than that, you can purchase a half or full face mask respirator with a HEPA filter attached to it.

Wearing disposable protective clothing is also recommended if the mold problem is extensive in any area of the house. Protective shoe covers should also be worn and duct tape used to seal up the gaps in the suit on the wrists and ankles.

Something else you may want to purchase is an air purifier with a HEPA filter built into it. This will help clean the air in your home and remove almost anything you can think of, including mold spores stirred up by the removal, and your health will improve. Depending on your financial situation, you may not be able to afford this, but if you can afford it, purchasing one of these air purifiers will be one of the best health investments you can make.

Getting Rid of Mold On Your Own

The last thing that anyone wants to discover in their home is mold, but unless you do at least a casual inspection of your property on a regular basis, you might end up finding it in larger quantities than you are capable of dealing with. Mold is a health hazard for anyone that comes into even just indirect contact with it, since the spores float in the air that we breathe every single day. Larger quantities are noted indoors than outdoors only in environments where there is an excess growth of mold somewhere in the property that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. If you discover a growth that is large and appears to be more than you can handle, do not be afraid to hire a professional to get rid of it for you.

However, if you cannot afford a professional mold remediation, then there are a number of things that you can do to get rid of the mold in your home. If you discover it on a non-porous surface, then you can get rid of it using normal chemicals that are advertised as killing mold, such as Tilex.

Most of the time, though, you will find it growing on items like drywall or on organic materials like floor joists or papers and cardboard boxes that have gotten wet. Standing water in your home will be one of the worst areas for mold to grow in, since species such as the deadly Stachybotrys atra enjoy this level of moisture and thrive heavily on it. Remove standing water from your home wherever it may occur, even if it is just a slow drip underneath the kitchen or bathroom sink. It is these slow leaks that cause the majority of the problems, not the huge bathtub or toilet overflows.

If you have experience in interior remodeling, you can perform the removal of materials contaminated by mold yourself. Hiring a professional to do this for you can be expensive, but as long as you take the proper safety measures, doing it yourself is much less so.

Purchase some protective, disposable clothing made of plastic and a respirator from a local hardware or department store. Purchase them online if you need to, but do not continue the remediation without them. Breathing in or coming into contact with mold and its spores can be hazardous and bring about long term health problems.