VANCOUVER, CANADA. For safe and effective toxic mold removal,
remediation, and abatement, DangerBusters™ recommends that
homeowners, landlords, other property owners, and employers
follow 25 steps to kill, remove, and prevent toxic mold.
Toxic molds and fungi are a significant source of airborne
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that create indoor air-quality
problems. Toxic mold growth produces dangerous mycotoxins and
infectious airborne mold spores which often cause serious health
problems to residents and workers.
Eliminating and preventing toxic mold infestation should include
these 25 steps:
1. Learn the techniques and procedures recommended for safe and
successful toxic mold inspection, testing, and remediation---
whether the property owner prefers “do it yourself” or to hire a
Certified Mold Remediator (CMR). How? Read mold remediation self-
help books and internet mold advice websites, plus get
professional guidance.
2. Locate and fix all sources of mold-causing water intrusion
such as recurring flooding, plumbing leaks, leaky roofs or
siding, blocked air-conditioning condensation drain lines, and
high indoor humidity (e.g., above 50 to 60%).
3. Inspect and mold test inside, above, and below each water-
penetrated ceiling, wall, and floor with a fiber optics
inspection device, a hidden moisture meter, do-it-yourself mold
test kits or inspection by a Certified Mold Inspector (CMI), and
by cutting out small core dry wall samples from the water-
impacted surfaces. Look in the middle and back of each core for
visible mold growth.
4. Find and locate all toxic mold infestations (visible and
hidden) in the entire home or building by thorough, all-around
mold inspection and mold testing (with mold laboratory analysis
and mold species identification of collected mold samples).
5. Test the outward airflow from each heating/cooling duct
register for elevated levels of airborne mold spores. If there is
a serious toxic mold infestation anywhere in a building, airborne
mold spores from such mold locations will usually enter and
contaminate the heating/cooling equipment and ducts, as well as
the rest of the building.
6. Replace toxic mold-infested heating/cooling equipment and
ducts if the owner can afford to do so. Otherwise, do repeated
mold fogging with a mold fogging machine and an EPA-registered
fungicide or an effective mold home remedy into the return air
duct while the system is running on fan ventilation to deliver
the fungicide to internal surfaces.
7. If any residents or workers are experiencing any possible
toxic mold health symptoms, or if there is a strong smell of
mold, or if there are visible signs of major mold growth anywhere
in the building, or if the building tests positive for elevated
levels of airborne mold spores, the occupants should move
temporarily to a mold-safe place until after successful mold
remediation and clearance testing.
8. Occupants moving out should not take any clothing, personal
possessions, furnishings, furniture, or equipment until after
such items have been effectively mold decontaminated outdoors [or
in a clean room built from plastic sheeting] to avoid mold cross
contamination of the temporary living or working quarters.
9. Do not paint over mold problems. Mold loves to eat paint as a
snack food. Don’t expect to kill mold successfully by using paint
containing a mildicide [too mild to kill existing toxic mold
infestation] or with a paint primer sold to hide water damage
stains.
10. Before beginning to work in the mold-contaminated areas,
contain the moldy work area (and thus contain the toxic mold
spores that will be released into the air by opening up mold-
infested walls and ceilings) by using wall-to-wall, floor-to-
ceiling plastic sheeting as containment walls.
11. After the installation of air tight mold containment walls,
dry the work area (especially if still wet from flooding or a now
fixed water leak or roof leak) with one or more large
dehumidifiers. Improper fan drying can spread mold spores to
cross contaminate an entire building and its heating/cooling
system.
12. Inside the mold containment area, use a large fan in the
window to exhaust air directly outside on a continuous basis to
expel airborne mold spores and remediation-caused dust---or
better yet, use an industrial hepa filter to filter out mold,
with a flexible hose directly venting the exhaust air flow to the
outdoors.
13. While working inside the mold containment area, always wear
effective protective gear such as protective biohazard suit. ($10
at safety stores) or painter's coveralls and booties or a long
sleeve shirt and pants; gloves; and a one piece, full face
breathing respirator mask with an organic vapor cartridge
filtration, available from local safety, hardware, and home
improvement stores.
14. Spray or fog visible mold with one or two wet sprayings or
foggings of either an EPA-registered mold fungicide or with an
effective mold home remedy if the mold remediation funds are low.
While spraying or fogging a fungicide no one else should be
inside until the spray or fog has dried.
15. Do not use chlorine bleach to kill mold or disinfect moldy
areas. Bleach is not an effective or lasting killer of toxic mold
growth and mold spores on and inside porous, cellulose building
materials such as wood timbers, drywall, plasterboard,
particleboard, plywood, plywood substitutes, ceiling tiles, and
carpeting/padding.
16. After the killing of all visible surface mold, the next step
is to clean off as much surface mold growth as possible. Scrub
and clean moldy surfaces and mold growth areas with either Borax
laundry detergent (a natural mold cleaner) in warm water or TSP
(trisodium phosphate) from a hardware or home improvement store.
17. Except for wood support timbers and building materials to be
saved, remove and safely discard all other mold-contaminated
building materials in doubled up construction trash bags (double
bagging) having a 6 mil thickness.
18. Remove all mold growth from the mold-infested wood surfaces.
All wood beams, wall timbers, roof trusses, floor joists, plywood
surfaces, and other lumber to be saved need to be totally cleaned
of mold growth by using power tools such as a planer, grinder
with wire brush attachment, and sander---or replace the moldy
timbers.
19. Re-spray twice the cleaned out area with another wet spraying
of an EPA-registered mold fungicide or an effective mold home
remedy to kill any remaining, living toxic mold spores or mold
growths.
20. Spray a protective fungicidal coating on all remediated-
surfaces prior to rebuilding and closing in the mold-remediated
area. The fungicidal coating helps to protect the wood and other
cellulose-based building materials against future mold growth.
21. After the final drying of the fungicidal coat spraying, it
would be helpful to spray all cleaned timbers and other wood
surfaces with a clear, liquid, plastic coating (available from a
local paint dealer or hardware store) to make a hard,
impenetrable water barrier (upon drying) to protect the wood from
future high humidity and water leaks.
22. After the toxic mold remediation is completed, mold test
(clearance testing) all of the remediated surfaces plus the air
of each room, attic, basement, crawl space, garage, and the
outward air flow from each heating/cooling duct register to find
out if those areas are now mold safe prior to rebuilding the
cleaned out areas with new building materials.
23. Remove mold from all personal property, furnishings,
furniture, and equipment that have been exposed to building mold
by washing the items outdoors or in a plastic-sheet-built clean
room with Borax laundry detergent (a natural mold cleaner) in
warm water. In addition, spray a fungicide on all surfaces.
24. Close in the mold-remediated area with mold-free, new
building materials which have been carefully inspected to be
mold-growth-free, and which have been pre-treated by spraying
with one to two wet coatings of both an EPA-registered mold
fungicide and an EPA-registered fungicidal coating.
25. On-going cleaning, building maintenance, mold maintenance,
and all-around building inspection on a regular basis (including
air conditioning/heating equipment and ducts, plumbing, roof,
siding, windows, and water supply/sewer lines) are required to
help prevent the regrowth of toxic mold infestation problems. A
mold-safe building is not a one-time effort.
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