An extensive guide to cleaning mold and mildew from walls

Getting rid of mold and mildew is something that we all want but know your tools for a successful operation clean-up

The ruination of households caused by mold and mildew is a difficult thing to digest, especially for those who have put a lot of love and effort in building their dream house from scratch. The exact depiction of someone’s feeling is not possible in this situation but saving that house from damnation, surely is.

Tackling the presence

Presence of mold and mildew in any part of the house, be it floor, carpets, or walls, is not a pleasant sight for the eyes and is detrimental to your health. Luckily, usage of household cleaning products can keep mold out of your house and ban it from entering your humble abode again. However, acting early is the key to avoid any erroneous judgement that might ultimately end up jeopardizing your health and household both, later on.

We all strive to maintain impeccable home hygiene but completing this task requires not only unfailing effort but patience of a saint too – which we all know is in itself a mammoth task. There is one thing though that you should know before you go all vacuum-blazing, cleaner-popping to terminate the mildew and that is safety precautions.

More than often the usual practice is to call up professional cleaners to get the job done but if you have decided to bear the burden of completing this agonizing task then make sure that you are up to the challenge.

Take your precautions

Make sure that you wearing protective eye gear and facemask and gloves. Also carry out a pilot project by testing out the cleaning product such as surface cleaner in a small area of the house before applying all over the place. You should also understand the slithering science behind formation of mold and mildew prior to starting the process.

Though mold and mildew have some matching features but it’s not completely impossible to tell them apart. Both are a type of fungus that love to sit and proliferate on moisture and they can grow on nearly every surface from your sock, shower, to a piece of paper.

Mildew

Mildew can be regarded as a surface fungus with a white or even gray coloration that loves to stay on walls. In order to find out if you are dealing with mildew or just a patch of dirt, take a clean damp cloth and carry out the bleach test. Apply bleach with the help of that cloth on the dark area, if the dark area fades after some time then its mildew but if it doesn’t then its only dirt that you are dealing with.

Mold

Mold is definitely a fungus that can spread through spores via air. This type of fungus can usually be found in damp and dark areas and that is why areas with poor air ventilation such as bathrooms and house attic spaces are the perfect place for it to grow.

Mold needs water and moisture to grow and therefore plumbing leaks, within and outside the walls may aid mold spread on the walls. Heat pipes that are suffering from a insulation problem might also lead to moisture accumulation behind the walls ultimately providing home to such fungi.

Mold is a known allergen and may trigger an allergic reaction in those prone to allergies while cleaning so it’s very important to take all the precautions. Make sure that you are working in a good ventilated area by opening up the windows and doors and letting the sunlight in, if possible.

Prepare a solution by adding 1 part of bleach to 3 parts of water or you can also use a Dettol surface cleaner to act as an active cleaner. Take a hard bristled brush, scrub off dark area, wash it and then let it dry. Close and seal off the area where you are working to avoid the spread of mold spores by air. Ask your family to move out of the house for the time being and then work with determination.

In order to close all doors on mold, fortify your insulation regime, fix the leaks, use an antibacterial surface cleaner frequently, setting up a dehumidifier in worst impacted areas is a good idea too. You can also utilize an anti-mildew paint to rethink your defenses against future invasion. Make sure that you are keeping those damp and dark areas, well ventilated.

So this all about keeping mold and mildew out of your humble abode. If you still have any questions, then let us know. We’ll be more than happy to help you out.