Hello,
I have an outbuilding with a black mold issue that I am now going to remediate. It was there when we bought the house and has been in the same condition for over 10 years. I don't know how it developed, but the two pipes in the picture are for water in and out. To my knowledge, the water inlet has never been connected, the hose lies unconnected in the crawl space waiting for the planned kitchen. The drainpipe is connected, but I don't understand why liquid would come up there. I'm not aware if the previous owner had problems with the sewage, and he is deceased, so there's no one to ask. There is water supplied on the other side of the wall where the pressure tank is located, but there are no signs of water damage there.
I have placed insulation in the crawl space to reduce the risk of moisture from below and installed two vents in the outbuilding. There is no excessive moisture in the framework, and now I'm going to clean off the mold. I will also cut away the drywall in the corner. The plan is to scrape off visible mold and clean with a sponge and bleach solution.
Now I wonder:
I have an outbuilding with a black mold issue that I am now going to remediate. It was there when we bought the house and has been in the same condition for over 10 years. I don't know how it developed, but the two pipes in the picture are for water in and out. To my knowledge, the water inlet has never been connected, the hose lies unconnected in the crawl space waiting for the planned kitchen. The drainpipe is connected, but I don't understand why liquid would come up there. I'm not aware if the previous owner had problems with the sewage, and he is deceased, so there's no one to ask. There is water supplied on the other side of the wall where the pressure tank is located, but there are no signs of water damage there.
I have placed insulation in the crawl space to reduce the risk of moisture from below and installed two vents in the outbuilding. There is no excessive moisture in the framework, and now I'm going to clean off the mold. I will also cut away the drywall in the corner. The plan is to scrape off visible mold and clean with a sponge and bleach solution.
Now I wonder:
- Should I also cut away a part of the particle board, or is it enough to clean it?
- Is it really enough to clean visible surfaces? There is likely mold under the floor joist and behind the side joist where I can't reach.
- Can/Should I treat with a special agent, or is bleach sufficient?
- The drywall in the corner, which I haven't yet cut away, will be difficult to put up a new one as there are no studs to screw into. The existing one is probably fixed behind the studs. Tips?
Member
· Västernorrland
· 12 009 posts
Actually, you don’t need to sanitize if you’ve addressed the root problem, i.e., why the growth occurred in the first place. If those conditions are gone, the growth dies, and it becomes just cosmetic, allowing you to wash it normally and repaint. You don't have to "remove" everything in that way. If you wash it off normally and it’s a bit black in spots, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t spread either. There are always mold spores in the air just waiting to settle where conditions are right, and they are far more than what's there anyway.
Thanks for the response!
What you write makes sense since it has looked like this for over 10 years, so there is no activity in it, and I have changed the conditions to make them less favorable for mold growth. So, I'll clean it up as best I can and apply new surface layers.
Wouldn't you even replace the drywall in the corner?
I just have to add that I asked the same questions to the Villaägarnas Riksförbund's Technical Building Advisory and was quite surprised by their response. It must have been an intern on duty.
Here is their response:
1: I have no deep knowledge about chipboards.
2: All damage must be addressed.
3: Attached a 72-page report from the Swedish Environmental Institute on mold remediation and referred to a book on the same subject.
4: Damaged drywall must be replaced, but I have no good tips on how to attach it. 🙄
Thanks, Stefan, for your response!S Stefan1972 said:
What you write makes sense since it has looked like this for over 10 years, so there is no activity in it, and I have changed the conditions to make them less favorable for mold growth. So, I'll clean it up as best I can and apply new surface layers.
Wouldn't you even replace the drywall in the corner?
I just have to add that I asked the same questions to the Villaägarnas Riksförbund's Technical Building Advisory and was quite surprised by their response. It must have been an intern on duty.
Here is their response:
1: I have no deep knowledge about chipboards.
2: All damage must be addressed.
3: Attached a 72-page report from the Swedish Environmental Institute on mold remediation and referred to a book on the same subject.
4: Damaged drywall must be replaced, but I have no good tips on how to attach it. 🙄
Member
· Västernorrland
· 12 009 posts
No, if it's difficult to change, it's probably easier to leave it and then just repaint.
The other response is quite general about how some people view mold.......it should be removed at all costs because otherwise, it spreads, eats the house, and makes everyone sick within a 200 km radius. Almost worse than nuclear waste.
It easily gets a bit exaggerated sometimes, and that in itself makes many people scared of it.......on entirely wrong grounds.
The other response is quite general about how some people view mold.......it should be removed at all costs because otherwise, it spreads, eats the house, and makes everyone sick within a 200 km radius. Almost worse than nuclear waste.
It easily gets a bit exaggerated sometimes, and that in itself makes many people scared of it.......on entirely wrong grounds.