If you have wet walls, you’ll surely get mold. Wallboard, drywall, plywood, paper and cardboard give mold a perfect place to grow. The material made in the construction of your walls is porous, so it offers the mold a great place to live.
Stachybotrys chartarum, an infamous type of toxic black mold that has a slightly greenish-black color, is often found in wet walls. Unlike your shower mold, which is non-toxic, this mold grows often in building materials.
If you have wet walls in your house, you should remove the material immediately and make sure the black mold doesn’t come back.
Getting Rid Of The Moldy Walls
One huge mistake people often make is trying to paint over the water damaged spots on their walls. This won’t do anything! In face, mold can grow really well on paint.
What you have to do is take off the wet portions of the wall. Remove all the wet wall as quickly as possible, before mold has a chance to grow. Before you take it off, spray it with water from a spray bottle. All the porous wall material should be wet when you remove it, so that you won’t be spreading mold spores everywhere.
Wear protective clothes, make sure the area has plenty of circulation and dispose of the moldy wall material safely. Put all the moldy stuff in plastic bags for safe removal. It’s important to not let the mold spores contaminate the rest of the house.
Look closely at the dry parts to see if there’s mold hiding out behind it. You can just take off a small piece of the wall near the moldy area and check. In areas where the walls are wet, there is a good chance that the adjacent dry walls will also have mold growing.
After the wet walls have been removed, spray the walls with a bleach solution. Be careful with the bleach. Mixing it with any other cleaning products can cause toxic fumes. You should only use water in your bleach solution. Make it weak; no more than 1 part bleach to 1 part water. Bleach can irritate your nose, eyes and ears. For more info see http://www.toxicblackmoldhelp.org/removing/removing_Black_Mold_On_Shirts.html
Use a scrub brush for the wall and make sure you get rid of all the mold. If some of the muck runs down to the floor, clean it up with a vacuum.
If possible, dispose of everything that has been in contact with mold. This includes drop clothes, but also the clothes that you were wearing. If you don’t want to get rid of your clothes, wash them well in hot water and bleach.
Keeping The Mold Out Of Your Walls
Before you install any new stuff, make sure the wall has dried out completely. You can run a dehumidifier in your basement or wherever the wet walls were to speed up the process. Just make sure it’s totally dry before you begin construction again.
When building again, there are a few materials that will help keep mold away, depending on what you plan on putting there. A concrete backer board might be helpful to keep the wall dry. If you want to use tile, put up a 1/2 inch concrete backer board. If you want to put a surround, get a green board rock. You can find concrete backer board and green board rocks at your local home supply or hardware store.
The most important thing you can do to keep mold from growing again is to keep the room dry and well-ventilated. Remember that mold likes wet, dark places and grows well on porous material. After you’ve cleaned up and put in new walls, check from time to time to make sure the mold hasn’t come back.
Amanda Fain
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/how-to-repair-black-mold-on-wet-walls-132456.html
Read more on How To Repair Black Mold On Wet Walls…
Black mold is dangerous to breathe, so if black mold is seen anywhere besides a bathtub, it’s advisable to call professionals to clean it. Find out how to clean black mold with a toothbrush, baking soda and vinegar with help from a professional house cleaner in this free video on black mold and cleaning tips.
Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan
