Here is the document I have on my hard drive; maybe there will be something helpful in it. With tenants, I now use the word "mildew" instead of "mold."
(Mold is a air born spore and mildew is the black stuff you are tying to get rid of.)
Mildew can flourish wherever it is damp, warm, poorly lighted and/or where air is not circulated. It can also be found on draperies, rugs, shower curtains and on damp clothes rolled up for ironing. Two major ways of preventing mildew are with proper air circulation and light filtration. If you have a window keep it open as often as possible, turn on a fan to keep the air moving, and also let some light into the room.
Get rid of any dampness in a room by opening doors and windows to let out the heat-laden air. Air movement is excellent at removing moisture in the air. Poorly ventilated rooms get damp and musty.
Eradicating mildew on surfaces (see below for eradicating mildew on wood/painted wood):
Lemon juice and salt
Moisten stain with a mixture of lemon juice and salt. Spread in the sun to bleach. Rinse thoroughly.
Hydrogen Peroxide do not expose hydrogen peroxide to sunlight as it renders it inert
Open windows, turn on a fan. Make a solution that is one part hydrogen peroxide and three parts water and put it into a spray bottle. Spray on the mildew. Let it set for a couple minutes. Wipe. Re-apply spray. Let set for a couple of minutes. Wipe. Rinse well. Be sure to protect areas below & around the area you are treating.
This is an excerpt from a thread about mold--
Ques: what works? According to the instructor of the mold class I attended, try a spray bottle with the following in it:
1/2 gal. white vinegar
1/2 gal. hydrogen peroxide--common peroxide available from your drugstore
1 cup boric acid
keep closed tightly
mix well - use in a spray bottle on a dry surface.
Shake well and spray area well. The vinegar/peroxide kills active live mold and the boric acid keeps them that way. (Note: uncapped peroxide loses it's oxygen molecules to the air when not capped tight and becomes H2O [water], so keep this solution in a bottle that can be capped off tight).
Instructor stated that boric acid works on mold bodies like it does on roach bodies - cuts them and they bleed to death because they cannot "coagulate" (snakes and snails and puppydog tails).
One last note on the above solution. This solution will not "bleach" out the mold stain. After mold is under control, then you can bring out the bleach and whiten the mold stains.'
What may be helpful--get at Home Depot etc
Spray Nine MultiPurpose Cleaner and Disinfectant/ Mildew Remover or Mold Armor Mildew Stain Remover or Zep Mold and Mildew Stain Remover
Open windows, turn on a fan. Wear gloves. Spray some onto whatever surface you need to clean--and wipe it off with a clean, damp cloth. If you are cleaning mildew, let Spray Nine sit for about three minutes before you wipe it off. Wipe. Rinse well. Rinse again. Keep the fan on & windows open for a while.Be sure to protect areas below & around the area you are treating.
Concrobium Mold Control from Home Depot
TSP--Thoroughly clean mildewed surfaces, woodwork and other wooden parts by scrubbing them with a mild alkali, such as TSP (8 to 10 tablespoons to a gallon (3.8 liters) of water)—you can also add some bleach to make it a bit more effective. Follow up with a mildewcide.
Boric Acid Mix
3 parts water
1 part hydrogen peroxide (available at many pharmacies/drug stores)
1 cup boric acid for each one-half gallon of mixture (water and hydrogen peroxide)
You can substitute 1 part water with 1 part white vinegar. Some professionals (including mold expert Phillip Fry) believe that vinegar increases the long term killing effect of the absorbed boric acid.
Wear Proper Protective Gear
When you are removing mold growth, you need to protect yourself against breathing in, or ingesting, airborne mold spores.
Step Three: Use Boric To Remove Surface Mold Growth
Keep the formula mix always mixed well by frequent shaking of the unused mix. Apply the formula by spraying a wet coating of boric acid formula onto moldy surfaces. Use a $40 hand pump garden sprayer or a hand-held electric sprayers (with a big through-put tube so as not to be clogged by the boric crystals). Each mixed gallon of boric acid formula will cover approximately 200 square feet of spray area. As an alternative to spraying, you can apply it onto moldy surfaces with a paint brush and/or paint roller.
After applying the boric formula, let it work on the mold for at least 15 minutes. Then use a power or manual brush scrubber to physically remove the mold growth.
If the mold is too deeply in grown into the building materials to be removed by the above procedures, you need to remove and discard the moldy materials. When you remove the moldy materials, you may find that there is actually mold growth requiring removal INSIDE the wall, ceiling, or floor.
Step Four: Spray or Apply a Protective Coating of Boric Formula To Help Prevent Future Mold Growth
Once you have removed all mold growth, it is a good idea to spray or otherwise apply a wet coating of boric formula. Let the formula dry, leaving a coating of boric crystals onto the surface as a strong anti-mold protection.
Boric Acid and Vinegar:
Mix one teaspoon borax, three tablespoons vinegar and two cups hot water in a spray bottle as another alternative. Shake to mix. Spray on problem areas and scrub to remove the mold. After mold is removed, spray more solution on area to prevent new mold from growing. If mold is resistant to solution, apply pure borax. Allow borax to rest of problem area for a few minutes before scrubbing. Dispose of left over mixture.
More on Boric Acid
Where To Buy Boric Acid--You can buy boric acid for delivery anywhere in the USA at Mold Mart,
After the killing all of visible surface mold with surface spraying, the next step is to remove and to clean off as much surface mold growth, mold stains, and mold odors as possible. "Dead mold may still cause allergic reactions in some people, so it is not enough to simply kill the mold, it must also be removed," recommends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A good first step is to use a hepa vacuum cleaner to remove dust, dirt, and loose (invisible to the eye) airborne mold spores and mold growths deposited on all surfaces such as ceilings, walls, floors, and upholstered furniture. Vacuum at least twice, going in a different movement direction each time you do the vacuuming---e.g., horizontally the first time and vertically the second time.
Scrub and clean thoroughly and completely all moldy or mold-exposed surfaces [including furniture and appliances] with a good mold cleaner such as boric acid formula.
The cleaned area should then be thoroughly dried with dehumidifiers and/or fans. Dispose of any sponges or rags used to clean mold.
If you cannot clean off the mold growth and mold stains with intensive and thorough mold cleaning, then your next step is to physically remove remaining mold growth with a wire brush attached to an electric drill, power planer, power sander, and manual tools with the same functions.
Your goal is to clean the wood to a visibly mold-free condition. If the mold growth is too deeply embedded/grown into the wood to be removed readily with the above tools, you need to replace the building materials themselves with new ones---preventively-treated with boric acid formula as a mold protectant. "If you are unsure about how to clean an item, or if the item is expensive or of sentimental value, you may wish to consult a specialist. Specialists in furniture repair, restoration, painting, art restoration and conservation, carpet and rug cleaning, water damage, and fire or water restoration are commonly listed in phone books. Be sure to ask for and check references. Look for specialists who are affiliated with professional organizations," recommends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Chlorine bleach NOTE —bleach is not an effective or long-lasting killer of mold. Clean first with TSP. Existing mildew on most surfaces can be killed with a mixture of 50% household chlorine bleach with 50% water. Use a hand sprayer to apply the bleach mixture to the surface, allow it to remain for a few minutes or until the blackish, dirty-looking mildew color disappears and then rinse thoroughly with water.
Open windows, turn on a fan. Use a 50-50 chlorine bleach to water mix, or for larger areas, mix 2 tablespoons of liquid chlorine bleach with 1 quart (0.95 liters) of warm water. Sponge the stain or soak the stained area in the solution. Allow the bleach to remain on surface from 5 to 15 minutes, then rinse. An additional soaking in weak vinegar (2 tablespoons to a cup of water) will stop further bleach action. Rinse well. Be sure to protect areas below & around the area you are treating. The most affordable and most effective safe, non-toxic mold cleaner, mold killer, and mold remover which is boric acid.
For Mildewed Wood/Painted Surfaces:
Open windows, turn on a fan. Use heat and increase the air circulation to get mildewed wood as dry as possible. Badly mildewed wood may need to be replaced, preferably with wood that has been treated or that is naturally mildew-resistant.
Thoroughly clean mildewed surfaces, woodwork and other wooden parts by scrubbing them with a mild alkali, such as TSP (8 to 10 tablespoons to a gallon (3.8 liters) of water).
Painted surfaces can also be scrubbed with a solution of 1 qt chlorine bleach, 1 T of liquid dishwashing detergent and 9 qts of water. Use a sponge to treat the affected area and rinse with plenty of water. Dry the area thoroughly when all traces of mildew have been removed.
Rinse the wood well with clear water and allow the wood to dry thoroughly. Be sure to protect areas below & around the area you are treating.
Mildew on Wallpaper: Open windows, turn on a fan. If wallpaper shows signs of mildew, get some air circulating to thoroughly dry the wallpaper. Sponge the affected areas with a bleach solution as noted above and rinse and dry thoroughly.
--68.8.xxx.xxx
mold (by kathy [ID]) Aug 8, 2012 2:47 PM
mold (by Reid [KS]) Aug 8, 2012 3:24 PM