One of the reasons I started this blog was to provide opinions, hopefully commonsense practical advice on mold investigation and remediation.
While reading through some well meaning articles about mold, I found one site suggesting “ all you need to remove mold is bleach and water.” In fact the article suggested a 3 to 1 water bleach ratio. In some instances this is probably fair advice, in a lot of cases it could make your mold problem much worse.
When applying a water- bleach solution to a substrate (surface) with mold, you are in fact wetting and adding water content. The bleach solution may kill superficial mold, but not penetrate to mold embedded in the substrate. After a day or so the concentration of bleach may be low enough for the mold to begin to regrow on the surface, and thanks to the water you added it may come back worse than before. In fact by increasing the moisture content of the material you may actually bias the substrate to be more conducive to more diverse mold growth.
Each species of mold seems to have a favored moisture level. By increasing the moisture content you may unwittingly be “farming” potential more hazardous types of mold.
Tertiary note bleach may kill the mold, but barring thorough vacuuming the spores and mycellar fragments will remain in place. Even dead mold in sufficient quantity can create allergic responses.
Adding a surfactant or detergent to the bleach solution may help to complete remove the mold from the substrate. Where possible ventilation should be increased to the area (after cleaning) to arrest or minimize subsequent mold growth.
Some caution should be taken with orienting a fan directly on a poorly cleaned surface, as you may cause airborne dispersal of mold. When conducting a rigorous mold abatement or cleanup, removal contractor generally take special care to not inadvertantly distribute mold to the adacent areas of the building, or property.
A bleach and detergent solution is likely a good mixture for small sections of impermeable (non porous) materials like: Tile, counter-tops, vinyl — etc.
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