[Greenbuilding] Reducing mold

[Bob Klahn]

  Sacie,

There are some newer proprietary mildicides used in commercial 
remediation after flooding or other major water/mold damage.
  I haven't tried any of them and they are probably hard to get, 
especially on single residential scale.

On most surfaces (substrates), chlorine bleach solution is unnecessary 
overkill; toxic for the environment and, in many of the "easy" 
applications, toxic to the user.  It will not penetrate into any porous 
substrate to "kill" more than the surface bloom.

A  rag or sponge, dampened - not wet - with a solution of warm water and 
any mild surfactant (dish washing detergent works well).  Only enough 
surfactant to break the surface tension of the water - no suds needed.

Wipe from the top down, clearing away the surface bloom, then wring in 
the bucket or basin, leaving the mold in the water.
Dry as rapidly as possible - by blowing (room temperature or sightly 
warmer) air across the surface (heat will drive the moisture deeper into 
the material and slow real drying.  Instead, hot air or radiant heat can 
create an illusory surface drying.

No panaceas that I know of.  Most of the things toxic to mold are also 
toxic to us - and other living critters.

Bob Klahn

On 11/7/2010 7:22 PM, Sacie Lambertson wrote:
> /From Mike O'B;    Are you thinking about ways to reduce the mold?
> /
> Indeed, I would love something easy to reduce the black stuff that 
> appears in our shower.  Certainly it is enough of a problem here in 
> relatively humid NE Kansas that there are loads of products sold in 
> the stores to get rid of it.  A good spray of a vinegar solution 
> helps, as does clorox.  However, the water from our bathroom goes 
> straight outside into a small running- downhill-gray-water trench, so 
> using clorox isn't so great.
>
> I'm in fact looking for a solution that doesn't exist.  A good 
> scrubing lasts a long time.  The walk-in shower is 3'x5', not a stall 
> at all.  The room in which it lives is large for a bathroom; in the 
> winter the ambient temp is rather cool so I would love to enclose the 
> shower area like the Sunfrost site suggests but I'm afraid I would 
> only be asking for more mold problems.
>
> Wonder how the Turkish bath folks keep mold out?
>
> Sacie
>
>
>
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