Instead Use Disinfectant Spray
Using a disinfectant spray, like Lysol, kills up to 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and other germsincluding fungi and moldon most surfaces. It works great on small areas where mold is common window sills, shower tiles, and around the bathroom exhaust fan. Simply choose the scent you like best and spray it directly on any surface without diluting it with water. The Lysol will not evaporate and instead will penetrate the surface to get down to the root system, killing the mold, and preventing it from coming back.
Clean the surface with a household cleaner before applying the Lysol. Once sprayed, allow it to remain on the surface for three minutes, and then air dry. Its recommended to repeat the process once a week or whenever you see mold or mildew growth returning. It may take several treatments to see the mold completely disappear.
Larger areas require more intensive treatment. If you suspect you have mold in your attic, roof, or walls, please call a professional for help. Mold can be persistent and toxic.
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Mold Removal Using Bleach
Bleach kills virtually every species of indoor mold that it comes into contact with including mold spores which leaves a sanitized surface making it resistant to future mold growth. However, bleach is only effective if the mold is growing on non-porous materials such as tiles, bathrubs, glass and countertops.
Bleach is unable to penetrate into porous materials such as wood and drywall which means it cannot get rid of mold growing beneath the surface of these materials. If you use bleach to kill mold on these surfaces it will only kill the mold above the surface. It will be unable to reach the mold within the material and the mold will soon return.
Bleach is a harsh, corrosive chemical which means it can damage the materials it is used on. It also gives off harsh fumes and produces toxic gases when mixed with ammonia. There are safer alternatives such as borax or vinegar which dont produce the dangerous fumes or leave behind toxic residue.
How to Kill Mold Using Bleach
Is There A Safer And More Effectivealternative Than Bleach To Remove Mold
There sure is! In fact, there are quite a few. Head over to my article on the Best Mold Removers where I break down the pros and cons of the most popular products out there.
In case you were wondering about the effectiveness of other common household products that are used to clean mold, you can learn why they do or do not really work in these posts:
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Tilex Mold & Mildew Remover
Mold & Mildew Remover
Kills 99.9% of mold & mildew. Contains Bleach. Spray every drop! Whitens brilliantly. Contains no phosphorus. Smart tube technology. Works on: Glazed and unglazed ceramic tile, grout, tubs, shower doors, vinyl curtains. Fiberglass, counters, sinks, plastic. www.clorox.com. www.smartlabel.org. how2recycle.info. Questions or comments? Visit www.clorox.com or call 227-1860. For more product ingredient information, visit www.smartlabel.org. For Spanish translation of product information, visit www.clorox.com. Made in USA of global components.
Mold Damages To Your Property And Health
Mold eats the materials it grows on,breaks down the material bit by bit. Its presence can result in extensivestructural property damage. Mold is also a threat to spread to new areas bydispersing its spores.
Mold produces allergens, irritants andtoxins. Another source of irritation is microbial volatile organic compounds ormVOCs. These compounds are produced via fungal metabolism and are releaseddirectly into the air, often giving off strong and unpleasant odor. So whileproperty damage is a major concern, the possible health effects for those whoare exposed are a bigger cause of alarm. Health risks associated with airbornemold spores exposure range from mild to severe including the fungal allergy,respiratory infections, eye and nose irritations, throat and skin irritations,mood swings, headaches, memory loss and worse wheezing and asthma attacks.
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Its Very Easy To Use Bleach Improperly
Using too much can render the bleach ineffective and mixing it with certain products can be quite hazardous, creating dangerous vapors/gases.
While it is understandable that youd like to give it a try to clean up mold yourself, the savings isnt worth it when you consider the risk youre taking. Improper cleanup techniques and tools are unlikely to work and can actually spread the mold!
Mold clean up is a complex procedure that needs to be done correctly. To be effective, the process should involve these steps/tools:
- A High-Efficiency Particulate Air vacuum to remediate the area .
- Proper sealing off of an area to ensure corrosive, dangerous disinfectants dont get into other areas in the home.
- High-quality disinfectant solutions that are non-toxic.
Dont take a chance. Hire AOA Cleaning and Restoration for your mold cleanup project. Were a licensed and bonded mold remediation contractor, certified by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, the American BioRecovery Association and the Restoration Science Academy. We can provide a mold assessment of your home and let you know the best course of action. Call us at 201-848-8600 to learn more about our mold remediation services and how we can help get your home back to normal.
Spray Lysol In Home Air Conditioner Duct
The floor registers and air vents are important to generate proper airflow all over your house. Unfortunately, these parts tend to accumulate excess dust, debris, and dirt.
Good thing that there are now different ways for removing grime and gunk from your registers. The simplest and easiest of these techniques is lifting the registers, wiping them down, and vacuuming every individual vent in the most thorough way possible. A brush with a long handle or a vacuum hose can also be used for loosening up the dirt and cleaning those hard-to-reach parts in the return air registers of your AC unit.
However, it is important to take note that Lysol shouldnt be used for sanitizing the return vents of your AC system. Keep in mind that there is a high concentration of ethanol alcohol in Lysol, which makes it highly flammable.
If you spray the disinfectant to your air conditioner system, it can come into contact with its electric motor, creating a flash explosion that can damage the ductwork of your house and even result in a fire. You must avoid the frequent use of Lysol as a sanitizer for your AC unit.
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Never Use Bleach To Treat Clean Or Kill Mold Read Why
The first thing that comes to mind when you notice you have mold in the house is how to get rid of it. For most homeowners, bleach seems to be the answer to all of their mold problems. It is easily accessible and visibly removes the mold once you apply it. However, is bleach really effective in mold remediation? Should you use bleach to clean mold at all?
This article provides the answer to these questions and explains why you should never consider using bleach in cleaning mold.
- Does bleach really kill Mold?
- Should you use bleach to clean mold at all?
- What is the best way to get rid of mold?
Let us dive straight into these points.
What Kills Mold Bleach Vs Vinegar
· Updated 09/27/2019
Nobody likes finding mold in their home because it is an ugly sight and it is potentially dangerous. The presence of mold can result in extensive property damage as well as serious health effects for those who are exposed. Mold causes structural damage by feeding on common building materials including wood and drywall. These building materials contain cellulose which is an organic material that mold uses as a food source. As the mold eats away at these materials, they become weakened which greatly increases the risk of structural damage. Mold is also a threat to spread to new areas by dispersing its spores.
While property damage is a major concern when dealing with mold, the possible health effects are a bigger cause for alarm. Exposure to the mold spores can lead to negative health effects such as allergic reactions and even asthma or lung infections in extreme cases. The longer you and your family are exposed to mold, the more likely you are to experience health effects and the worse they will become until the mold is removed. Quick mold removal will help protect your health and limit the damage to your property.
When it comes to removing mold, the most common household remedies include bleach and vinegar. Most homeowners will think to use one of these products for cleaning mold but only one of these options is effective. This guide takes a close look at each option to help you remove small amounts of mold more effectively.
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Mold Removal: Lysol And Water
If you know how to use a carpet cleaning machine, you can add a solution of Lysol and water to kill the mold and extract the spores and dirt out of the carpet. If not, a spray bottle and wet vacuum should do it. Just mix a cup of the cleaner and water, spray it onto the affected area, and let it sit for about 20 minutes. You should then be able to vacuum up the debris.
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How Do You Get Mildew Out Of Fabric
To get mildew out of fabric, feel free to use distilled white vinegar or borax. Avoid bleach, it can harm and/or discolor the fabric. Once you rub or spray your chosen cleaning product into the fabric, youll need to wash said fabric at the highest temperature possible.
Once done, let the fabric dry. Dont throw the fabric in the dryer. After that process, all the mildew should be out of the fabric.
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Can You Use Bleach To Kill Mold
Mold and its spores can be found almost anywhere, but active mold growth requires moisture. You may initially notice the presence of mold due to its musty scent, or by spotting patches of black, brown, yellow, pink, green, fuzzy growths.
You can use bleach to remove traces of mold on tub and tile surfaces, which are hard and impermeable. However, bleach cant kill mold on porous surfaces, such as those made of wood.
Thats because mold spreads its roots deep into porous surfaces. Even after applying bleach and wiping away mold from these surfaces, the mold will continue to grow beneath the surface and will return to the area you cleaned in a short amount of time.
While it may be impossible to fully remove mold from porous surfaces with bleach, you can still use it to eliminate mold from nonporous surfaces. Here are some steps you can take:
Best For Fabric: Star Brite Mold & Mildew Stain Remover
Courtesy of Amazon
You might not think of mildew popping up on fabric, but if youve got outdoor furniture that gets wet , its possible. Unfortunately, its really hard to get rid ofunless you use a great mildew remover, like this Star Brite spray. Itll remove mildew on contact without heavy scrubbing, and its easy to use. Simply spray it on your stain, scrub it in lightly, then rinse off once you see the stain has disappeared.
Not only does this work on fabric, but its also safe to use on rubber, fiberglass, plastic, tile, and more. It can tackle mildew stains on vinyl or canvas seats, tops, cushions, or bolsters. It wont harm stitching, either, so its ideal for outdoor furniture, boats, or outdoor canopies. It can even clean tents after camping! If youve got a stubborn stain that just wont quit, a second application will usually get the job done.
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Is There Another Way To Kill Mold
You may want other non-toxic ways to kill mold without endangering your health and the health of your loved ones. Here are some of the natural methods we recommend.
Try Vinegar
As we said, vinegar is one of the most effective, natural, and non-toxic methods to kill mold.
In a clean and dry spray bottle, pour some distilled vinegar. Spray the moldy area and let the vinegar work its magic for one hour. Proceed to clean the area with water and let the area dry.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide has properties that kill bacteria, viruses, and fungus.
Pour hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle. Spray abundantly on the mold area and leave for 10 minutes. Then proceed to clean the area with a scrub brush and then wipe.
Baking Soda
Known also as sodium bicarbonate, baking soda can be used to kill mold. Its a safe, natural option.
Take a spray bottle filled with water and add a quarter of a tablespoon of baking soda. Shake the bottle until the baking soda dissolves completely. Spray the moldy surface.
Proceed to clean the area with a scrub brush and then wipe. Spray the area again and leave it dry to prevent the mold from returning.
Getting Rid Of Mold With Grapefruit Seed Extract
Grapefruit seed extract is an effective natural mold killer. It has almost no odor and you can buy it from most health food stores. The citric acid from the grapefruit attacks the mold. It also disinfects the area and deodorizes the area.
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How Do You Get Rid Of Toxic Black Mold
To get rid of toxic black mold, you first need to wear a protective face mask to keep yourself from inhaling the mold. After that, you need to choose your product of choice to kill the black mold, whether that be hydrogen peroxide or distilled white vinegar.
Find the area infected with black mold and use the product in the area. If the mold is in a hard-to-reach place, you may need to use something like a fogger to reach the mold.
How To Kill Black Mold With Bleach
Killing Black Mold with Bleach on a hard, non-porous surface will kill nearly any type of mold spore that it comes in contact with.
Eliminating Black Mold with Bleach is also very inexpensive and readily available. Many, if not most food markets, grocery outlets, and hardware stores will carry a number of mold killing cleaners.
However, bleach has a heck-of-a time reaching the root level of mold growth in porous type items such as tile grout , wood and cement block. To name a few. Thus, it is very important to pay attention to the type of surface you are intending to clean.
The mold killing agent in the bleach simply does not reach the root and instead, leaves the moisture content of the bleach behind in its wake. This same moisture is what promotes additional mold growth to the area just cleaned.
Have you ever wondered why mold stains keep coming back to the same area of your outside patio or wooden deck after killing the mold growth with bleach? Hmmm..,
Never mix bleach with ammonia This is extremely dangerous and will likely produce Toxic Chloramine Fumes or Vapors.
Never mix bleach with vinegar Combining these two mold cleaners together will not give you a better cleaning agent to work with.
While vinegar will lower the pH in the bleach and in turn make the bleach a better disinfectant, the trade-off for safety purposes is not worth it. And, the vinegar-bleach combo could be lethal as Toxic Chlorine Gases will be discharged into the surrounding airspace.
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Does Bleach Kill Mold
Finding mold growing in your home can be a jarring experience. What now?
Killing mold is a concern for so many people since it can cause structural damage. Worse still, mold can be harmful to those with allergies and weaker immune systems .
Bleach is known as the ultimate mold-killer. If youre hesitant and dont know if this is the right course of action, keep reading and find out when bleach is the solution for you and when you should use another product instead.
Killing Mold And The Bleach Myth
Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of bleach when proposed as a cleaner or sanitizing agent is that its effectiveness is greatly reduced in the presence of organic material. To be a successful sanitizer, bleach must be used on clean materials and surfaces. This is why bleach products are used in the laundry after the wash cycle or in a commercial kitchen as a component in the third sink after the dishes have been washed and rinsed. The efficacy of bleach as a sanitizer is also compromised by heat and light. Despite the fact that the chlorine odor may linger for some time after use, bleach loses strength so quickly that it is not considered to have a residual effect that would prevent future bacterial or fungal growth.
The Internet is a great source of information, but unfortunately there are still websites that recommend bleach. Main stream online publications like the Huffington Post and even the CDC recommend that bleach can be used to kill mold.
Fortunately, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency no longer recommend the use of bleach because using chlorine bleach to kill mold is one of the worst things you can do.
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