DIYbanter - View Single Post - Mold

(T) wrote in message . com...
I am in the middle of a huge house cleaning right now.
I live in NY.

We usually run a dehumidifer in the basement, but not 24/7, a couple
of hours here and there.

The basement has wood walls.

I noticed that there is mold along the bottom of some of the walls.

Also, in another room of the basement (which has regular concret
walls) I noticed that on the ceiling (which is just wood-its just the
floor of the room upstairs, the ceiling is not finished) there is a
lot of mold, all over.

What is the best way to get rid of it? Just beach and water?

I saw a spray by Lysol that says "Kills germs, mold, mildew" should I
just buy a bottle and spray the mold. Would that work?

Are there cleaning crews that fix this, or are they really expensive?

Thanks

If you're not sick it's probably not the kind of mold we hear so much
of in the news today. Black mold can be serious enough to have a house
torn down. Your situation sounds common and pretty minor. You can
provide a sample of the mold and have it tested for how serious it is.
Call around to furnace and duct cleaning companies and ask for a
referral.
Most people clean simple basement mold with bleach and water. The job
stinks. Worse than that the concentration of chlorine can harm your
lungs. I would always use a respirator with a charcoal canister during
the work. You don't even smell the bleach with a mask on. Maybe you
can find something less toxic. After the area is cleaned you could
paint with a stain killer to finish the job.
Don't let some company scare you into expensive remediation until you
know what you have.
None of the above will keep the problem from returning. You have to
move more air in the basement. You need some fans or ventilation.