How To Get Rid Of Black Mold Completely

Looking to get rid of black mold from your property or item? Here is a complete guide on dealing with mold issues.

One of the biggest issues with structural moisture is the growth of mold on the walls, clothes, floors, showers, and even on furniture.

And one of the most common mold species you will find in your home is black mold.

Besides giving your walls a terrible look, black mold can also be a health hazard.

It can cause allergic reactions and complicate pre-existing respiratory issues.  We have compiled common mold problems in many homes.

In this article, we will be revealing the best ways to remove household mold.

Toxic Black Mold Removal Options

Luckily, getting rid of the black mold isn’t as tough as you think. But if you have no idea how to go about it, then you’re reading the right article.

Here we’ll be discussing how to get rid of black mold in detail. Keep reading!

About Black Mold

To effectively get rid of black mold, you need to check these facts about them.

You will need to understand what it looks like, and what causes its growth in the first place.

Also known as Stachybotrys chartarum, black mold has a blackish-green color and thrives on surfaces that are moist and rich in cellulose. You can find them growing on your drywall, fireboard, and other habitable structures.

Since they are attracted to moisture, they can be found in areas that have leaking pipes or previously flooded rooms. The basement of your home is one such place where they thrive.

Here is a guide on mold inspection and testing.

How To Clean Black Mold

You can hire a professional to help you get rid of black mold in your home. They have all the experience needed for such a task.

If the mold infestation spans more than 10 square feet wide, then surely it’s a job for the pros. Anything less can be easily handled by the homeowner.

Be careful though, you shouldn’t come in direct contact with mold if you are allergic or have an existing respiratory issue.

Ensure that the contractors you hire hold insurance and the relevant licenses from the relevant bodies. A good example is the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certificate (IICRC).

Here are some guides focused on mold control.

  • Car Mold
  • Concrete Mold
  • Garage Mold
  • Leather Mold
  • Toilet Mold
  • Fridge Mold
  • AC Mold
  • Sink Mold
  • Wall Mold
  • Carpet Mold
  • Bathroom Mold
  • Wood Mold
  • Attic Mold
  • Cloth Mold
  • Basement Mold

If the mold patches are small enough for you to treat yourself, then follow the steps below.

  1. Wear Protective Gear

The first thing you should do when treating mold is to ensure that none of your body parts make direct contact with it. Since you’ll be using your hands, then wearing a pair of gloves is high on the list of things to put on.

Long rubber gloves will do just fine. You can also put on a pair of goggles to protect your eyes from any mold particles that may fly around during cleaning.

Wearing a facemask is also recommend, just so there’s no chance of you inhaling or ingesting any mold particles.

That would be chaotic!

  1. Ventilate The Room

Now that you’re all protected, you will need all the air you can get during cleaning. This is because black mold can produce musty odors which you can hardly stand, and some ventilation can help ease the inconvenience.

Open up your windows and doors to let air in. You can also turn on the fans for better results. If the odor is really strong, then you can spray an air freshener to ease the smell.

You can also use a dehumidifier to get rid of the moisture while you’re at it.

  1. Make A Bleach Mixture

Looking for reliable mold removal products?

One of the best ways to remove household mold is by using bleach or Lysol cleaners. All you need is to make a mixture in the right parts then use it to scrub off the black mold from your surfaces.

To make the perfect household mold cleaner mix, add a cup of bleach to one gallon of water and stir thoroughly to get a good blend. You can pour the mix into a spray bottle and shake again to perfect the blend.

  1. Apply The Bleach Mixture

Now you can visit the spots where the black mold has infested the spray the mix on them. Make sure you don’t miss any spot, or else you’ll still have some mold behind and they will grow again.

Be warned though, do not mix bleach with ammonia. Water is the best for mixing.

This is because a bleach and ammonia combination produces toxic fumes that are extremely dangerous to health.

In fact, the combination of both is more dangerous than the black mold itself.

For ease of application, you can make use of a mold fogger.

  1. Scrub Off The Black Mold

As you spray down your walls and other infested surfaces, get a hard-bristled brush and scrub off all the black mold you can find. Remember to keep your rubber gloves on so you don’t make direct contact with the mold.

  1. Use Water To Wash Off The Loosened Mold

After scrubbing, get as many buckets of water as you will need and pour it across the surfaces you have scrubbed. This will clear the areas of the mold and the bleach altogether.

After the wash, make sure you mop up the floors to keep them dry. You should also leave the doors and windows open for continued ventilation, as this will help the surfaces dry faster.

Toxic black mold removal can not be truly complete without watering down the walls and drying them out. Do not forget to take this simple but vital step.

  1. Remove Absorbent Materials

Removing black mold from hard non-absorbent materials is easy, but the same cannot be said of other materials that can really soak up moisture.

Absorbent materials like carpets, cushions, and fabric will need to be removed during treatment. Since it is hard to wash mold off such materials, your best choice may be to totally get rid of them and buy new ones as replacements.

This would mean losing some of your property, but it’s much better than having small patches of black mold left behind. Remember, even tiny bits of black mold only needs a little time to repopulate, so don’t give them a chance!

How To Kill Black Mold

To effectively kill black mold, you can either buy a commercial-grade mold killer or make a solution at home.

Mold killers can be purchased in most home improvement stores and can be sprayed across the affected surfaces to kill black mold.

  • Treating Black Mold

A bleach or ammonia solution can also be made to kill black mold. But as we have mentioned before, do not mix these two substances, as they can become very toxic.

Use them separately and mix with only water to kill mold spores. Follow the steps listed above to kill black mold using either bleach or ammonia.

Black Mold Prevention Strategies

Black mold treatment is one thing, preventing them from ever coming back is another. We can safely assume you don’t want to deal with mold the second time, so you should take preventive measures seriously.

There are simple and easy steps you can take to make sure black mold does not reappear in your home.

Let’s take a look at them below.

  1. Fix All Leakages And Water Issues

Just like other mold species, black mold cannot thrive in environments that lack moisture.

Since this is what attracts them in the first place, make sure you attend to all water problems you have in your basement or any other part of your home.

Be sure to check your plumbing for leakages and fix them. A leak can flow over to your basement walls and dampen them, which will create the perfect living environment for mold.

If your landscape is tilted towards your building, then rainwater or melted snow will flow towards your foundation. If this happens, the water will eventually seep through into the basement walls and dampen them.

To fix this, get a landscaper to re-grade your yard in a way that standing water flows away from your foundation and not towards it.

Pretty much any cause of water damage in your home must be fixed so there will be no breeding environment for the mold.

  1. Use Dehumidifiers

If the humidity in your basement or any other part of your home is above 60%, then there’s a big chance that mold will begin to grow there.

Thankfully, a humidity problem can be solved with a dehumidifier. You can buy one from a home improvement store and use it to keep the humidity levels in your home lower than 60%.

By doing so, the environment will become unconducive for mold to grow.

  1. Keep Your Spaces Ventilated

A properly ventilated room will reduce moisture and dampness, two elements that are vital to the growth of black mold.

Keep your windows and doors open as often as you can.

You should also keep your fans on to improve air circulation. Doing this alongside the use of a dehumidifier will ensure that there is no unwanted moisture in your home.

If your focus is on stopping mold, here is a practical mold prevention plan.

Conclusion

Having black mold on your surfaces is bad for several reasons. They look bad, they smell bad, and they are a health hazard.

SEE: Can You Stay At Home During Mold Remediation?

Removing and killing black mold is something you can do by yourself, but if the infestation is in large proportions, then you can hire a professional to do the job.

Here is the average cost of mold removal.

We hope this article on how to get rid of black mold has been helpful.

Take care!

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