I am working on a house that had some prior moisture issues. Those moisture issues have been resolved but what is left has to be cleaned up. There is what appears to be Mildew (greenish in color) all over the basement floor joists and the underside of the sub-flooring. The customer was told by an inspector that it was mildew. She is primarily concerned with getting rid of the musty, wet basement smell. She purchased a product that supposedly eats/kills mold and mildew and I am wondering the best way to tackle this. We discussed going about it one of two ways: using a long handled scrub brush and working the solution all over the joists/sub floor which would be very time consuming considering all of the obstructions: wiring, bracing, ducts. The other consideration would be using a pressure washer (easier to get into all of the nooks and crannies) but I am concerned about the water migrating into places it shouldn’t.
Anyone have any sort of similar experience? Maybe a different product? Different technique? Thanks
Replies
I think the way the professionals do it is with a vacuum.
Good luck !
Pump sprayer?
Caution. If this mixture is corrosive to galvanized metal, plastic off any galv. ductwork. I saw an application of what I thought might have been a bleach mixture in an attempt to deal with mold. Corroded the #### out of the ductwork. Not sure if it was the cause but this is what I suspect.
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Saw this at True Value, meant for exterior but might work. Looks interesting. Plan on getting some for my exterior.
http://www.sprayandforget.com/
Have it tested to see what it is - that may determine the method. Professional remediators usually handle problems that have gotten to this degree. Do not use bleach.
You might also want to look at http://www.traskresearch.com
Jeff
What would you do if you found mold in carpeting in a basement?The easy answer is just to tear it out.
Yup.
Chris,
I decided to tackle rebuilding a 37 foot 5th wheel RV. One that had been through a flood.
This trailer had been 3/4 under water for a couple of weeks.
It already had rot, mold and mildew problems, even before the flood.
What was in the black tank came up through the toilet and mixed with the water that was inside the trailer.
What was left, once it mostly dried out... was disneyland for mold, mildew, fungus, and even worse, biological contaminants. This stuff ran the gamut. Thick. Black, white, brown, green, reddish, hairlike, clotted, actual fungus growths, green/black slime, grey powder, black dots/clumps, you name it, it was there.
--==The ultimate cleanup was a thorough washdown with TSP and hot water.==--
Over a matter of months, while the cleanup is done, little by little, I have discovered some things.
Bleach... If just mixed with water and sprayed on, does not work. (Or works so badly that it really made no difference, except to burn my eyes, mouth, throat and sinuses.) "Wiped", works for a while, but if there is any possibility of "re-infection", it happens faster than I would have thought.
Washing thoroughly with TSP and hot water killed EVERYTHING and it STAYED killed and the surfaces clean.
Here's the surprise...
Lysol. The amber liquid that looks and smells like pine sol...
I bought a gallon and a half bottle of that at Costco. I discovered that if I mixed it 50/50 with water... and ALL I DID was to spray surfaces with this... (Using a spray bottle like is used to wash windows with.) It killed everything. Mist it long enough to thoroughly wet the surface, then just walk away from it.
These surfaces have gotten wet again, several times, from condensation. I actually picked the worst area I could find, to test this. There is ample opportunity for re-infection, and regrowth. And none of that has happened. These surfaces were never washed. Never wiped down. Yet, they have remained clean of the contaminants, mold, mildew, etc.... for several months.
Just plain old lysol and water, 50/50. Spray it and leave it.
Granted, it doesn't bleach out the black appearance of the mold and mildew, but the actual mold and mildew are dead.
For your basement problem, you could use a garden sprayer, to spray the mixture, as Calvin suggested.
Life doesn't often leave a very easy trail to follow.
By the way, if you read the MSDS for some of the Lysol products - for example: http://www.hescoinc.com/Msds/ly74392.pdf you will find that the active ingredient is as small % (like 2.5%) of DBAC (Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride) - this is also the primary ingredient in the product by Trask Research - http://traskresearch.com/Oxy-Mold_MX-500_MSDS.htm
Jeff
That's interesting.I remember you talking about DBAC in other discussions about mold and mildew.Looks like the amount of DBAC in lysol, (2.4% according to the msds.), is actually more than in the 'professional' cleaner. (In the trask stuff it is just 0.781%)They say one quart makes up to 16 gallons of 'product'. That makes it economical.But if there is more DBAC in the lysol, and I am cutting it 50/50, it seems my mix is a super version of their 'product'.=0)I'll experiment in other places with a more dilute solution...Thank you for this information.
Life doesn't often leave a very easy trail to follow.
I apologize for the brief hijack - but have you had any luck taking mold out of carpet?
No.I don't think it's possible.That is, it's not possible with the carpet still installed.No matter how well you clean it, it is going to harbor dust, dirt, mold, mildew, etc, way down in the fibers. And in, and under the mesh that holds all the fibers.I don't care how well you clean it, you will never get it truly clean, as long as it is left installed.If you pull the carpet, and soak it in something like lysol, then steam clean it, you might be successful.We are talking, soaking the carpet. As in, make a great big container, line it with plastic, put the carpet in it, (Flat, not rolled up. Maybe folded once would be ok.), and fill the container with lysol/water mixture. Completely covering the carpet. Let soak for a day or two. Then clean.Bottom line, it would cost so much, and be such an effort, you might as well replace the carpet.If you do that, then thoroughly clean the entire room, before installing new carpet. And install new padding, and all the extras, as well.
Life doesn't often leave a very easy trail to follow.
There is a new weapon in the battle against mold.
It is a fogger. Yes It's a machine which fogs the crawl space with a mold killing chemical.
Home Depot has the fogging machine and you rent it for $25 a day.
I looked at one today.
The chemical is expensive. $150 for five gallon
This is the chemical
http://www.concrobium.com/US/using_pro.html
Which is sold at HD
Has anyone used a fogger?
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2008 Recipient of Mr T - Brownbag One Liner Award
This is a picture of the fogger they have at HD
http://www.concrobium.com/US/using_pro.html
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2008 Recipient of Mr T - Brownbag One Liner Award
http://traskresearch.com/mold_fogger.htm
I have one of these - works well.
Jeff
Have you used it in a crawl space?Thanks for the info.I assumed foggers were something brand new and on the cutting edge?Thanks again..$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$2008 Recipient of Mr T - Brownbag One Liner Award
Yes, both in a crawl and full basement.
Fog is dangerous - you need full P-100 protection.
Jeff
The fogger may be another option for you to consider.
They rent them at Home Depot
Seems like it would be an option for getting into hard to reach places.
Good luck !
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2008 Recipient of Mr T - Brownbag One Liner Award
Here is a 20 page pamphlet from the EPA which talks about mold
http://www.epa.gov/mold/pdfs/moldguide.pdf
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2008 Recipient of Mr T - Brownbag One Liner Award