Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I stumbled upon a surprising controversy We had a heavy rain that dropped a ton of water within just 10 minutes. I got some water in the back room of my basement. That's not unusual. What was unusual was the basement had an odor. Even though moisture is a problem in this region, our basement has never smelled. We've never had mold. It's not sewage. The sewer line is on the other side of the property. This is water that directly resulted from surface runoff and the earth not being able to absorb the water as fast as it fell. (Don't bother with posts about waterproofing because I have a 100 year old sandstone foundation.)
As a preemptive strike, I decided to mix some Clorox in the water on the floor. I swept the water out and moved the dehumidifier into that room. Now the basement had the stench of Clorox. Ugh. The dehumidifier removed most of the moisture overnight, but there's still some there today. I'd say the moisture will be gone by the end of today. Since I had a fear that my basement would smell like Clorox forever, I started google researching how to remove Clorox smell from concrete so I'd be prepared if the smell remained. Low and behold, I discovered there is a controversy about Clorox and mold. Many people are saying that Clorox/bleach does NOT kill mold. It just discolors it and the mold will return to the very same place once the conditions are right in the future.
I'm blown away. Is this true? I remember when I was a flood disaster relief volunteer, my local government distributed a special mold killer, not bleach.
I started looking for a reputable source that stated bleach doesn't kill mold, and I found this at the National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors. But that's not really an unbiased source, right?
FEMA recommends bleach. The CDC does too but specifies hard surfaces.
Who are we supposed to believe? How can we get to the bottom of this?
The best I can figure out is that bleach only kills mold on hard nonporous surfaces. Since basements are made of porous services---concrete, concrete block, stones, etc., Clorox/bleach wouldn't be appropriate.
I remember reading something similar when we had a mold problem in a rental - the explanation of why not to use chlorine bleach was something to do with a reaction between the mold and the bleach, can't remember the details, but I think it doesn't kill the actual spores. I DO remember that hydrogen peroxide was suggested as an alternative, that it did kill mold spores. However that is more expensive per gallon. Also as you mentioned there are specific products professionals use that you can find online or your local box store.
I think bleach is still recommended because it's cheap and relatively easy for a quick cleanup - you can see how it would be good to stabilize things after a disaster, but long term a more intensive cleanup would be needed.
If you use vacuum to remove dust, it is no guarantee that dust will not return and settle on the same surface.
If you kill a walnut sapling that has grown from a nut by using brush killer, you won't be killing the unsprouted walnuts sitting next to it.
Chlorine (household solutions are from 4 to 7% commonly) will kill the ACTIVE mold, which is the immediate concern. It won't kill all the spores. It does so by being highly reactive chemically. Hydrogen peroxide is also highly reactive chemically.
In greenhouses, there are other solutions used to kill and control mold. Physan 20 Home
Bleach will kill the mold it gets to, but sometimes it can be a false sense of security, as on a porous material (such as wood or wallboard for instance), the bleach can't get into every nook and cranny, and those materials may need to be removed if they get moldy. Also, bleach needs some surface time to kill, so don't just wipe with bleach and immediately dry. Bleach can cause its own health issues in sensitive people.
Some people will react even to dead mold. So you've killed it, but it's still there being allergenic. So what you really want to do is remove the mold altogether, which the EPA says is best done with detergent and water, at least on smooth, non-porous surfaces.
After that, keeping moisture out in the future is most impt of all. Mold spores are everywhere, so no matter how well you clean up, if you have a water problem in the future, mold will return.
(I feel I must add that despite knowing this, and despite working for 5 years in the EPA's indoor air program, I will spray bleach when I have mold! I let it sit at least 5 minutes, then I usually wipe everything down with soap and water after that.)
Couple of days later and after two bottles of Clorox dispensed with a garden sprayer (actually had to put a respirator mask on) was left to dry.
It still looks just like that and smells great and it's about 3 years later, if you see where the cinder blocks look wet that is how high the water was.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
