Can Black Mold Damage My Deck
Black mold isnt just unsightly. If left unchecked, it can and will eventually destroy a deck as black mold is usually accompanied by wood-eating fungus.
Mold breaks down the wood fiber, leading to rot and decay. Rot will ultimately impact the structural integrity of the deck, requiring parts of the deck to be replaced.
How To Clean Your Deck The Right Way
Spring cleaning time is here, and while many homeowners focus on scuffed baseboards, dust bunnies, and smudgy windows around the house, its important to also remember the deck. Throughout the past year, your deck surface has faced many challenges: summer hot dogs rolled off the grill, fall leaves turned into tiny bits of grime in the crevices between deck boards, and winter weather assaulting your wood or composite decking.
Nows the time for a refresh. Weve got your guide to cleaning your deck the right way, just in time for warmer weather.
White Mold On Walls/drywall
White mold grows on your walls or drywall in the presence of moisture and low lights that breed its food. It can develop anywhere on your building walls, including the basement, bathrooms, laundry rooms, kitchens, and other poorly ventilated rooms. Surprisingly, you can also find white mold growing on your tiled walls.
You can see visible growth of this mold on your damp painted or wallpapered walls that are peeling. Accompany signs include stale smells, moist cracked paints, and dusty or swollen walls.
White mold growth on your drywall can be dangerous to the health of those with allergy symptoms. Its spores can spread from the walls to humans and cause health risks. So, before it strikes, act fast to strike it first.
Read Also: How To Clean Mold Off Canvas
What Factors Aid Algae Growth
Knowing what conditions cause algae to grow can help you prevent it from growing on your deck, patio, and wooden outdoor furniture.
Algae thrives in a dark, damp environment, but it doesnt grow overnight. That means with proper maintenance, its relatively easy to prevent your wood deck from turning green. The two main factors youll need to be mindful of are debris and moisture.
- Debris: As leaves, pine needles, and other debris accumulate on your deck, they block sunlight from reaching the woods surface and create an ideal breeding ground for algae, mold, and mildew. Sweep or blow debris from your deck often.
- Shade: If your deck is naturally shaded by trees or your home, sweeping alone may not be enough. Youll need to do an annual deep clean of your deck to keep algae and moss at bay.
- Moisture: When it rains, does water pool and sit on certain areas of your deck? While most decks have enough space between planks to allow for excess water to drain, your planks may be sealed or some may be uneven. In the winter, sweep snow off your deck to keep the surface as dry as possible.
How To Treat Mold With Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is commonly found in medicine cabinets since its antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. Apart from this, you can also use it in killing molds, especially in bathroom fixtures and tubs, hard flooring, kitchen appliances, and counters.
Youll need at least 3% of the solution in a spray bottle. Before applying, consider testing the solution on a different area to prevent discoloration.
The next step involves spraying the hydrogen peroxide on the affected zone and leaving it for at least 10 minutes before scrubbing. In the final step, youll have to clean the surface until it drys.
Don’t Miss: What Causes Mold In Bathroom Ceiling
White Mold In Bathroom
White mold in your bathroom can be unsightly, bringing in health risks to homeowners. Not sure whether white mold is in your bathroom? Check your ceiling the painted or wallpapered walls, caulk, and tile grout. These are the most common places where you can find mold fungus developing in your bathroom.
The bathroom has the perfect humid and temperature conditions for mold growth. Leaky plumbing pipes, sinks, and toilets can encourage fungus growth. Also, the absence of ventilation can cause lingering moisture. Considering the well-being of your household, you need to get rid of the white mold fungi as soon as you spot them.
How To Clean A Composite Or Wood Deck
Designing and building a deck suited to your wants and needs can be fun and exciting. But when it comes to care and maintenance, its important to know what youre getting yourself into beforehand. Examine the pros and cons of composite or wood decking — specifically when it comes to how to clean your decking. And in addition to routine cleaning, you should also be aware of other maintenance work you may need to do from time to time on your deck.
For natural wood lovers, properly cleaning a wood deck requires annual care. You can buy deck cleaning solution at your local hardware store or make your own homemade concoctions from various household products that are effective in fighting mildew, algae, oil and debris.
In addition to cleaning, youll also need to routinely stain or seal your natural deck to keep it looking fresh and protect it from the harsh effects of elemental damage — mainly heat and moisture. In some cases, your natural wood deck may also splinter, requiring sanding or replacing loose boards from time to time.
Composite decks on the other hand, offer a lower level of all-around maintenance they wont splinter and you dont need to worry about periodic staining, painting or sealing projects.
Lets learn more about tackling cleaning and keeping your deck in great shape!
Recommended Reading: How To Clean Mold Off Plastic Cutting Board
How Do You Kill Mold On Wood Furniture
How to remove mold from wood furniture and particle board Stop the spread of mold. Items that have been near a fungus colony are often covered in spores and dirt. Remove existing mold from wood. Once you stop spreading the fungus to other surfaces, such as a new plank I bought at 10, replace the damaged wood. Prevents mold growth.
Causes Of Black Mold Growth
In order for mold to grow on any surface, but especially wood, moisture must be present. In homes and other buildings, moisture build up can be caused by many different things. If you have a large household, you have a better chance of finding the black fungus when we breath we give off moisture. Additionally, hot showers and even cooking can contribute to the moisture-level in homes. However, moisture build-up can also occur from certain malfunctions in your home. Black mold can show up after youve had a leaky roof or pipes as any moisture that is trapped can turn into black mold.
Don’t Miss: How To Mold Leather Holster
Remove Everything From The Deck
One of the first things you will need to do before you start cleaning is to remove everything from the deck. All your decorations, chairs, tables, and anything else you can find. It is important to open up the space to allow you to clean more efficiently and to find all those black spots that allude to mold. You will need to be very intricate because you can easily skip a few spots which could lead to a serious problem in the future.
You are also doing this to protect your furniture and your decorations from any damage. The cleaning solution you are going to use might be dangerous for other types of materials.
What Is The Best Way To Clean Decking
As already mentioned, the best way to clean decking depends on whether you have wood or composite boards. However, there are six basic steps for cleaning all decks.
A few helpful notes:
You May Like: How To Clean Mold Off Bathroom Ceiling
How To Clean Mold From Composite Decking:
White Mold In Basement
Basement is one of the most ideal habitats for white mold. Darkness, humidity, and warm temperature are characteristics that white mold loves.
Also, since the basement is dark, the growth of white mold is often unseen until it reaches a serious level of infestation.
If you often do your laundry in the basement, or store a lot of wet objects, the white mold may grow on certain spots.
The growth can happen in hidden places, such as behind furniture item or in the corner of the floor. This is why homeowners must invest in proper basement management to prevent mold from growing.
The same problem can happen in other dark places at home. Ceiling, storage, under the sink, or behind the walls can become an ideal place for white mold to grow. The problem can get worse if there is undetected leakage or plumbing problem.
Also Check: How To Clean Mold Off Bathroom Ceiling
Cleaning The Deck With A Pressure Washer
How To Clean A Composite Deck
On the other hand, when it comes to the best way to clean composite decking, the answer looks quite different from cleaning methods for natural decking. To maintain the beauty and functionality that you want from your deck, a little care and cleaning can go a long way. The first step in your composite decking and care maintenance routine, is to stay away from certain household chemicals that a natural wood deck requires to stay looking new. Some of these harsher chemicals can damage the composite material, and no one wants to do more harm than good to their deck.
While composite deck cleaners are available, the actual composite deck cleaning process is convenient and simple enough that you can just as easily keep it looking fresh and clean with your own homemade composite deck cleaner.
All you need to make your eco-friendly composite deck cleaner is a little soap, water, vinegar and baking soda and a gentle pressure power washer and/or soft bristle brush to remove dirt, debris and other grime. Its recommended that you administer a semiannual cleaning on your composite deck to preserve its longevity.
You May Like: Mold On Hot Tub Cover
Is Mold In An Attic A Big Deal
Some attic mold may not be harmful, it is generally considered woody mold, but it can be dangerous if it infects drywall and building materials in individual rooms. There are several reasons why this is so important. The dangerous fungus can be harmful to health. If the attic and facade are ventilated, mold build-up is unlikely. Some may have allergies.
How To Clean A Wood Deck
Natural wood decks have the potential to look great if theyre well-maintained. But the amount of summer wear and tear from cookouts and backyard fun combined with the harsh winter cold and frost can really do a number on a real wood deck over time, unless you stay on top of cleaning and caring for it.
Check out the steps below for how to properly clean wood decking:
- Step 1: Pre-rinse your deckFirst, spritz the deck with water to soften the dried cellulose fibers. This ‘pre-rinse’ will also allow for the cleaning solution to be more easily dispersed throughout the deck.
- Step 2: Mix your chosen solutionMix your cleaning solution in a 5-gallon bucket with water following the instructions on the container.
- Step 3: Scrub with the grainNext you can begin to scrub the deck with the grain using your stiff bristle brush to remove dirt, mildew, mold, stains etc. TIP: If the deck surface is large, mix and divide multiple batches of cleaning solution. The concentration of the cleaning solution should remain consistent throughout the project.
- Step 4: Rinse thoroughlyYou can then use your garden hose or a pressure washer to rinse the surface of the deck. Try to time your deck cleaning project for nice weather. It is best if you can allow your deck to dry for 24-48 hours before staining and sealing.
Read Also: How To Clean Mold Between Pavers
How To Remove Mold From Wood
Mold commonly grows on wooden surfaces, as wood is very good at absorbing water. Add to this moisture warm temperatures and mold spores , and its the perfect storm for a mold infestation. Read our guide to learn how to easily remove mold from wood.
The good news is that if the affected area is no larger than ten square feet and you arent dealing with toxic black mold, you can eliminate the mold yourself using everyday household cleaners. But dont delayholding off on this project will give the mold colony a chance to expand, and prolonged exposure can be bad for your health.
What if youre dealing with black mold? It can be difficult to distinguish toxic black mold from other species that are black in color, so its best to call in a professional in this situation. Toxic black mold is particularly harmful when inhaled, so you shouldnt touch it.
How To Identify White Mold
Most of the time, you can identify white mold by examining its colour, texture, and odour. If it is fluffy, white, slimy and carries a specific musty odour, its likely white mold. Meanwhile, black or olive green discoloration will most likely be black mold.
However, mold doesnt always grow in plain sight, which is why it is important to get your home tested for mold as soon as you suspect a problem.
Read Also: Homemade Vinyl Cleaner For Boat Seats
How To Get Mold Off Wood Floors And Other Surfaces
If you find traces of any type of fungi on your ceiling, floor, or another surface, follow these steps:
-
Wear Protective Clothing
Its a good idea to wear protective clothing when you spray against mold, as well as an N-95 respirator, gloves, and safety goggles.
-
Find the Source of the Mold
Because of the high percentage of humidity, its very probable that mold comes from the bathroom, particularly sinks and toilets. Also, its good to check if there are any broken pipes or some kind of water damage. Keep an eye out for any water leaks or cracks on the walls of your house.
-
Clear the Entire Room So You Can Clean It Off
To get the best results when setting out to clean the mold off wood, get as many furniture items out of the infested room as you can. Its important to have free space, so you can maneuver more effectively.
-
Make a Cleaning Product
You can use some of the recipes I provided in the article, Borax, strong alcohol like vodka, a powerful detergent solution, a vinegar mixture, or hydrogen peroxide.
-
Start Wiping the Room With Wet Cloth Material
After using any of the solutions, you should wash off the spot with a wet cloth, and later use a dry one to remove the water.
-
Alternatively, Use Some Other Product and Spray It on the Surface
If the infestation is particularly large, the best way to kill mold on wood would be to use the disinfectant Sporicidin or a chemical mold blocker like Mold Armor.
-
Sanding the Area
