Ronald Cliborn wrote:
I did a google and the sites I found that said bleach didn't kill
wanted were sites that for just a few $$$ would tell you what would
kill mold.
I work in a microbiology lab and we use a bleach solution to clean and
kill everything.
But I think the problem is of a different nature. Take a nice fertile
garden and you kill all the plants. They are all dead. But the
garden is fertile. Other plants will grow back. So while bleach is
very effective at killing the mold, it is not effective in preventing
its return.
The borax might be good for preventing it from coming back. It will
also make the wood fire resistant.

Ronin

On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 14:28:43 GMT, – Colonel –
wrote:


On 2005-11-30 16:58:09 -0500, "Jack" said:


I am planning an attic mold cleanup-- Conventional wisdom is to use
bleach and water, but when I google it... I get a lot of hits saying
that it is a myth that Bleach kills mold.

The EPA brochure does little to clear it up.

Anyone with any real-world experience or other good info.

I would use borates/borax and/or ethylene glycol (anti-freeze) before I
used bleach. Anti-freeze kills pretty much every living thing, and it
has an afinity for water, which means it'll soak into wet/damp wood
really well.


Bleach is inappropriate for an attic cleanup due to the extreme
respiratory hazards involved. You are talking about large areas
and large volumes of solution producing chlorine vapors.
Unless great care is taken in using a respirator, you can set
yourself up for lung damage. GOOGLE that.

http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page1641.html
is one supplier of a borax/glycol mix. Diluted, it is
sprayable with a garden sprayer and easy to use in an attic.
A respirator is still a good idea.

If there is extensive active mold growth, you may need to kill
that first.

Some helpful sites on attic mold and attic ventilation:
http://www.ronhungarter.com/ventilation_repairs.html
http://www.hardyservices.com/remediation_2.dws
http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/faqs/moldy-attic.shtml
http://www.findingthemold.com/photos.html