Clean it with harsh chemicals. Cleaning it with an unnatural chemical, such as bleach, can cause the mold to “freak out” and spread. Yes, your Clorox can take care of the situation momentarily but cleaning with such a harsh chemical can have a negative effect on your, your family, and the surface.
Exposure to mold can cause health effects in some people. Mold spores are always found in the air we breathe, but extensive mold contamination may cause health problems. Breathing mold can cause allergic and respiratory symptoms.
Mold will grow in places with a lot of moisture, such as around leaks in roofs, windows, or pipes, or where there has been flooding. Mold grows well on paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, and wood products. Mold can also grow in dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery.
If you use cleaning products, do not mix cleaning products together. DO NOT mix bleach and ammonia because it can create toxic vapors. Painting or caulking over mold will not prevent mold from growing. Fix the water problem completely and clean up all the mold before you paint or caulk.
Don't Touch Mold. Some varieties of mold are serious and infectious. These can cause skin rashes, irritation, and fungal infections on open wounds. Even further, one should never touch mold with bare hands or get it on your skin.
Protect your skin — Avoid touching mold with your bare hands. Ordinary household rubber gloves will work to keep the spores from your skin. Wear long sleeves and long pants to keep mold spores away from your body.
Toxic mold can also have a grayish, soot-like texture, or a slimy, wet surface. In some cases, you may even notice furry orange or brown spots. If you find mold with any of these qualities in your home, don't get too close, and call a professional right away.
Damaged items should be thrown away without question, and items that are easy to replace or inexpensive (i.e. clothes, food) should be tossed as a precautionary measure.
An N95 or cloth mask, gloves, and eye-wear are necessary when cleaning mold to avoid prolonged mold exposure and illness.
It's dangerous
Taking matters into your hands in removing active mold growth makes the situation even worse. Active mold growth on walls, papers, wood, or any substance also releases spores when triggered. So while cleaning mold, you risk breathing in air filled with dispersed mold spores.
Vinegar is natural and safe mild acid that can kill 82% of mold species. Plus it doesn't give off dangerous fumes like bleach. If you want to use vinegar to prevent mold growth on surfaces, spray vinegar on the surface and leave it. Repeat every few days to keep the surface mold-free.
To Prevent Mold Growth in Your Home
Keep humidity levels in your home as low as you can—no higher than 50%–all day long. An air conditioner or dehumidifier will help you keep the level low. You can buy a meter to check your home's humidity at a home improvement store.
Mold hates light. Other than moisture there's nothing mold loves more than dark places.
As you might've guessed, opening windows can help reduce mold. Doing so lets excess moisture flow outside instead of settling on your walls, floors, and ceiling. Without the proper amount of moisture indoors, mold won't be able to grow. Opening windows can be helpful.
Yes, if you have damp and mould in your home you're more likely to have respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergies or asthma. Damp and mould can also affect the immune system.
In general, studies suggest that airborne mold spores can stay in the air for between 24-48 hours if environmental conditions remain consistent. It is also likely that mold spores on a surface will become aerosolized after being disturbed, leading to a renewed cycle of airborne transmission.
Use undiluted regular white vinegar (adding water will make it less effective). Look for a solution with at least 5% acidity or a cleaning solution that has 6% acidity. Spray the vinegar onto the surface, wait an hour, and then voila! Your mold problems will soon be a thing of the past.
These symptoms usually first appear 2 to 9 hours after exposure and last for 1 to 3 days. Other affected persons have progressive shortness of breath and cough, as well as weight loss. Work-relatedness may only become apparent over long holidays if symptoms resolve and then recur on return to work.
If you suspect that you or someone else has been exposed to mold, call your doctor immediately. The symptoms of mold exposure can mimic allergic reactions, include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, skin rashes, eye irritation, and nosebleeds.
Treatment: Skin exposure: Wash the exposed area immediately with soap and water. Inhalation of spores: If you inhale mold spores, you may suffer from an allergic reaction or respiratory problems. In order to combat this breathing in of the spores, these symptoms should subside with proper treatment.
Mold generally looks slimy or fuzzy, tends to have a raised texture, and can come in a rainbow of colors, including deep green and black. Mildew is powdery, looks white or gray, always appears flat, and grows on surfaces.
It isn't just black or dark green mold you have to look out for. Some toxic mold is gray, and may even have an ash-like texture. Contrastingly, it may have a slimy or wet surface.
Black mold is toxic, so it is usually safer to ask professionals to remove it, especially if people in the household have respiratory conditions like asthma or allergies.
Visually, it may be greenish-black, grayish-black, slimy, or more furry than other forms of mold or mildew. If you try to clean it with a heavy-duty cleaner, you might find that it remains on the surface and doesn't completely wipe away.