A few days ago, I wrote an article about the dangers of mold, and the response I received was overwhelming. Everybody wanted to know more about mold. In fact, within a few days of publishing the post, I got a couple dozen emails asking how to get rid of mold.
So, I wanted to share my personal tips that I use at my home, as well as here in the office. Please feel free to drop your tips in the comment section below.
How to Get Rid of Mold:
- Investigate your home or office for moisture leakage. If you find any moisture leaks, clean them up with a dry towel immediately and find the source of the leak. Consider hiring a professional if the leak does not stop or if you are dealing with a plumbing issue. Controlling moisture leaks in your home or place of work will reduce the mold’s ability to thrive.
- Mold loves warm and wet places. If you live in a place with humidity levels of 70% or more, you must particularly take heed to prevent toxic moldy air. Invest in a high-quality dehumidifier and test your home for mold over-growth.
- Temperatures above 75° F, as well as poorly lit rooms and unmoving air, can actually create more mold. Keep fresh air moving in your home, as well as bright sunlight coming in through your windows. This will help reduce toxic mold.
- Open a window while you take a shower, if possible.
- Change air filters regularly in heating and air-conditioning vents.
- Invest in a good quality air purification system that employs both a HEPA filter and UV & negative ion technologies. In my opinion, this will give you the best results when cleaning your air.
- Keep your home at a moderate temperature, at around 69-73° F and keep the humidity level at 54% and below.
- Make sure your clothes dryer has an anti-humidity vent.
- Check closets for mold growth. This is especially important if you have ever placed wet or damp clothing in your closets. If you find mold in your closet, wash your clothes immediately to help clean any possible mold spores. I would recommend using Soap Nuts.
- Protect your breathing passages when removing active or dead mold. Wear a mask, eye protection and protective gloves that filter mold.
- When cleaning, slightly wet the mold to lessen the amount of airborne spores in the breathing atmosphere while you are cleaning. This can be done with a wet cloth.
- Scrub hard surfaces infested in mold with a non-ammonia soap. Non-toxic, organic soap is best for the environment.
- Porous surface cannot be cleaned of mold. Things like moldy carpeting, drywall, wall-paper, fabric, or other porous surfaces, must be completely removed and replaced from your home or office.
- If you have mold on the structural support of your home or office building, it may not be cleaned out by scrubbing alone. It may have to be sanded. Don’t forget to wear the appropriate protective coverings.
- Remember, the best prevention for mold is to KEEP THINGS DRY and always use a good air purification system!
Do you of any other ways to get rid of mold? Please add any mold removal tips in the comment section below.
~Dr. Group
Related Blogposts:
- The Health Dangers of Mold & Mildew
- The Health Dangers of Aspartame
- The Hidden Formaldehyde in Everyday Products
- Fluoride Dangers: Just how safe is it for us?
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:22 pm
You most likely will have to ozonate the room and find a local person to do this.
Thanks!
- Dr. G
[Reply to this comment]
Dr. Edward Group replied on January 24th, 2012:
Initially it may be best to gather more information about this concerns and then go from there.
Mold requires nutrients, water, oxygen and favorable temperatures to grow. Nutrients for mold are present in dead organic material such as wood, paper or fabrics; mold can also derive nutrients from some synthetic products such as paints and adhesives. Mold requires moisture, although some mold species can obtain that moisture from moist air when the relative humidity is above 70 per cent. Many molds thrive at normal indoor temperatures; few if any molds are able to grow below 40 F or above 100 F. Outside this range molds may remain dormant or inactive; they may begin to grow again when the temperature is more favorable. Temperatures well above 100 F will kill mold and mold spores, but the exact temperature required to kill specific species is not well established.
If mold is present, what’s the best way to get rid of it?
The answer depends on how much mold is present and where it is located. If the mold is on furnishings or boxes simply discard the materials. Moldy materials are not considered hazardous waste; they can be sent to a regular landfill. However, it is smart to seal the mold material in heavy plastic to protect the people who handle it in transit and prevent spreading large amounts of the mold into the building as you carry the material out of it.
If the mold is on a hard surface but occupies less than 10 square feet wash the area with soapy water (scrubbing with a brush may be necessary), rinse and allow the area to dry before repainting. If you have asthma, severe allergies and a weaken immune system get someone else to do the clean up.
Larger areas (greater than 10 square feet in area) should be cleaned by someone with experience in doing this type of work. Remember, determine what caused the moisture problem and correct that problem. Otherwise, mold is likely to recur.
Is it possible to completely eliminate mold from the inside of a home or office building?
The answer depends upon what is meant by “completely eliminate mold.” To keep a building completely free of mold spores requires very efficient air filtration and is only accomplished in special situations such as hospital operating rooms and manufacturing “clean rooms.” Remember, mold spores are in the outside air virtually all the time and some of them will get inside buildings.
However, it is possible to keep mold from growing inside a building. Moisture control is the key to controlling mold in interior spaces. Air filtration can contribute to lowering mold spores in the air but is secondary to moisture control.
Fixing the problem would require locating the source of the moisture and correcting the issue, this may require the help of a professional to really get to the bottom of the concern. Once the moisture is under control I would suggest the use of a good Air Purifier in order to filter out the mold that may be circulating through out the home.
Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will be more than happy to help you.
Thanks!
-Dr. G
[Reply to this comment]
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:33 am
Hi we have just moved into a rented property, we are having a mold problem in our spare bedroom. The mould is only on one wall, it started off just on the skirting board and is traveling up the wall. We have pulled all the furniture into the middle of the room to let the air to it, however this is not helping.
what can we do? do you know what could be causing this?
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October 20th, 2011 at 11:49 am
These are good tips about getting rid of mold. We just had to clean the mold out of our air ducts. Wasn’t a fun process. But we needed to do it for our 3-month-old.
driveway cleaning
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August 29th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Make sure everything can breath like couches and mattresses. Avoid moisture built-up.
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February 11th, 2011 at 8:05 am
I would definitely recommend considering an organic crib mattress for your home. There are countless benefits.
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January 20th, 2011 at 5:02 am
Wonderful and very helpful tip! Thanks for posting this article! Dehumidifiers are really one of the best way to prevent and get rid of molds at home.
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November 3rd, 2010 at 11:27 am
These are good tips about getting rid of mold. We just had to clean the mold out of our air ducts. Wasn’t a fun process. But we needed to do it for our 3-month-old.
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June 29th, 2010 at 9:33 am
has anybody had any success treating an entire house with heat to get rid of mold? because rather than chemicals i would like to treat the whole house rathar than a room or two, just to be safe.
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May 2nd, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Molds also grow in mattresses. It is imperative that you clean your mattress every month. Dry clean only. If there are spills, immediately wipe the excess moisture and sprinkle baking soda. This will help absorb excess moisture. Completely dry the mattress before putting bed sheets.
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April 3rd, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Has anyone used the enzyme products to get rid of mold in plumbing?
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March 2nd, 2010 at 12:50 am
The two things I have found that will eleminate mold is to clean with vinegar, or you can use a solution of tea tree oil and water.
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December 25th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Speaking of dryers, (#8 above), make sure the dryer vents to the outside of the home and NOT the crawl space or attic. Along these lines, all exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom should vent to the outside and NOT the attic.
If you have venting that terminates in the crawl space or attic, moisture can form in these places and lead to mold growth.
Greg
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December 19th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I had a broken faucet in the second floor bathroom. Faucet has been fixed 2 months ago. Since than I have this odor in my bathroom, it seems like it’s coming from the wall. I am affraid I have mold groving in there. Any remedy will be greatly appreciated..
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July 28th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Greetings!
The two best methods I know of for killing/removing mold is:
1) Use an ionizer (generates negative ions in the air)
2) Hospitals use Chlorine Dioxide (It kills all pathogens, including the deadly MRSA) It kills all molds, etc. with extra oxygen ions.
Make your own Clorine Dioxide:
28% Sodium Chlorite
10% Citric Acid
Perform a search for these words:
Jim Humble
Miracle Mineral Solution
Thanks for being there to serve us Dr. Group!
[Reply to this comment]
Roxanna replied on February 25th, 2010:
I just wanted to let you know i used MMS and sprayed it in our crawl space, because it smelled musty. and we also had black stuff on our window panes. we sprayed on MMS and no more black stuff and the house doesnt smell musty
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Karen Gipin replied on December 7th, 2010:
what is MMS and where can you get it?
Thanks,
Karen
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William replied on July 28th, 2009:
I just wanted to clarify that negative ions in the air is called ozone. Ozone kills molds, mildew and will remove odors from anything!
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July 24th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
We were told to scrub the window frames and then paint them with a paint that supposedly kills the mold. We have tried it on a few windows but the mold grew back on top of the paint. Also, I am wondering if that paint is really safe to have in the home, but it seems like it must be better than the alternative if that is the only way to get rid of the mold.
Any advice on this (apart from the great tips above) would be great, especially about the paint.
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July 1st, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Thanks for all the info. I was able to correct a mold problem I had last summer using two of these ideas —using a dehumidifier and using a HEPA filter. It really seems to make a good difference. During the time when the mold issue was there, I was getting a lot of colds/flu. This cleared up after the remedies.
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June 30th, 2009 at 7:07 am
My mold-removal tip:
I get my air-ducts in my house cleaned at least once a year, preferably twice a year. Plus I use a HEPA filter for my AC unit, this helps me clean any possible mold spores in the air. I also have numerous air purifiers scattered around my house.
Great article! Glad that somebody is trying to show homeowners how to get rid of mold.
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June 29th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
This is a good list of tips on how to get rid of mold. As a homeowner, I can’t even begin to tell you how often I have run into water damage, that ultimately turns into mold damage.
I never thought about getting a dehumidifier.. That would probably work wonders. Thanks!
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