One of the most concerning things during the cleanup of Hurricane Harvey is the number of people we have seen and heard using bleach to clean up flooded areas, and even spraying bleach to kill mold. Bleach will not remedy a mold problem it can, however, mask a mold problem and create an environment for mold to multiply.
The character of bleach is such that it should never be used for the treatment of mold, here’s why…
Bleach Won’t Reach.
Bleach is made to be used on hard surface only. It is not designed to be used on a porous surfaces, bleach does not penetrate. Mold however does penetrate, it grows finger like roots and can burry down deep into porous surfaces like wood. Surface cleaning can never get mold out of the pores.
Bleach Bleaches.
If you have ever made a mishap in the laundry room then you know all too well that bleach bleaches. The problem when trying to get rid of mold is that if you bleach it, you can’t see it but it is still there. The same as with all horror movies you can’t kill it if you can’t see it. The surface may have been bleached but the mold that has penetrated is still alive and growing.
Bleach is Water
Wait a second, weren’t we trying to clean up the damage of water? Exactly! Bleach contains 90% water. And Mold loves Water, it uses it to flourish. When bleach is applied, the chlorine evaporates quickly on the surface and leaves water to penetrate into the pores and gives mold a perfect breeding ground. Because of this, using bleach can often cause mold to be worse than it was originally.
Bleach is Caustic
What is Caustic? It means that it is able to burn or corrode. Have you ever bleached a whole in something? Or left bleach sitting on a surface? It starts to deteriorate the surface, just look at the shelf where you keep your bleach and you can start to see some of the effects and that’s from a small amount. People are spraying bleach and leaving it to sit on surfaces, Bleach will do what bleach does and begin to break down what it’s in contact with. So if you have sprayed this on your wood, it’s going to weaken wood by breaking down the wood fibers. We need the wood that frames and supports our homes to be sound and strong, not weakened.
Bleach is Toxic
There is a reason why the picture associated with Toxic is the skull and crossbones. It’s Deadly. Bleach is known to cause brain damage just from exposure. At room temperature bleach emits Dioxins which is known to cause cancer. And we haven’t started on the damage if it is inhaled, ingested, or gets into your eyes. You may have experienced and oily feeling on your fingers if you’ve ever touched bleach, that’s just the layers of skin dissolving. Bleach is Toxic. Mold is Toxic. You need to get rid of both.
So now that you’ve thrown bleach in the trash, how exactly can you get rid of Mold? Well, I am glad you asked.
First you need a cleaner that has the ability to disinfect and kill mold, one that is made for porous surfaces so it can reach down and grab the mold at the root. We offer several different options at Ridley’s for this, BoraCare, Millenium 64, Micro-Chem Plus, Halt, Dis-Arm, or any of the Quat's would be a great option. Another thing to think about in applying these products is how you are going to get the product to stick to the surface. All of these are liquid and liquid follows the flow (pun intended), Instead of having your mold killer pooled on the floor you may want to rent or buy one of our E-sprayers. An E sprayer charges the product with static electricity so that it will stick to the surface! The more product sticks to the surface the more it has a chance to penetrate, kill and clean.
I hope some of these tips have been helpful, if we can help any of you in any way don't hesitate to reach out to us.
The character of bleach is such that it should never be used for the treatment of mold, here’s why…
Bleach Won’t Reach.
Bleach is made to be used on hard surface only. It is not designed to be used on a porous surfaces, bleach does not penetrate. Mold however does penetrate, it grows finger like roots and can burry down deep into porous surfaces like wood. Surface cleaning can never get mold out of the pores.
Bleach Bleaches.
If you have ever made a mishap in the laundry room then you know all too well that bleach bleaches. The problem when trying to get rid of mold is that if you bleach it, you can’t see it but it is still there. The same as with all horror movies you can’t kill it if you can’t see it. The surface may have been bleached but the mold that has penetrated is still alive and growing.
Bleach is Water
Wait a second, weren’t we trying to clean up the damage of water? Exactly! Bleach contains 90% water. And Mold loves Water, it uses it to flourish. When bleach is applied, the chlorine evaporates quickly on the surface and leaves water to penetrate into the pores and gives mold a perfect breeding ground. Because of this, using bleach can often cause mold to be worse than it was originally.
Bleach is Caustic
What is Caustic? It means that it is able to burn or corrode. Have you ever bleached a whole in something? Or left bleach sitting on a surface? It starts to deteriorate the surface, just look at the shelf where you keep your bleach and you can start to see some of the effects and that’s from a small amount. People are spraying bleach and leaving it to sit on surfaces, Bleach will do what bleach does and begin to break down what it’s in contact with. So if you have sprayed this on your wood, it’s going to weaken wood by breaking down the wood fibers. We need the wood that frames and supports our homes to be sound and strong, not weakened.
Bleach is Toxic
There is a reason why the picture associated with Toxic is the skull and crossbones. It’s Deadly. Bleach is known to cause brain damage just from exposure. At room temperature bleach emits Dioxins which is known to cause cancer. And we haven’t started on the damage if it is inhaled, ingested, or gets into your eyes. You may have experienced and oily feeling on your fingers if you’ve ever touched bleach, that’s just the layers of skin dissolving. Bleach is Toxic. Mold is Toxic. You need to get rid of both.
So now that you’ve thrown bleach in the trash, how exactly can you get rid of Mold? Well, I am glad you asked.
First you need a cleaner that has the ability to disinfect and kill mold, one that is made for porous surfaces so it can reach down and grab the mold at the root. We offer several different options at Ridley’s for this, BoraCare, Millenium 64, Micro-Chem Plus, Halt, Dis-Arm, or any of the Quat's would be a great option. Another thing to think about in applying these products is how you are going to get the product to stick to the surface. All of these are liquid and liquid follows the flow (pun intended), Instead of having your mold killer pooled on the floor you may want to rent or buy one of our E-sprayers. An E sprayer charges the product with static electricity so that it will stick to the surface! The more product sticks to the surface the more it has a chance to penetrate, kill and clean.
I hope some of these tips have been helpful, if we can help any of you in any way don't hesitate to reach out to us.
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