Mold has been found. Now what?!
Advertisement Don’t panic! The first thing that needs to be determined is whether or not the infestation is large or small.
Ask yourself, is the area affected with mold small and contained? How much mold can be seen and how much more may be unseen?
If the answer is only small amounts and the area is indeed contained, there are 5 easy tips tips according to Vicki Lankarge in her book “What Every Home Owner Needs to Know About Mold & What to Do About It” that can help you to rid yourself of any further mold problems:
5 Easy Tips for Small Area Mold Remediation
- Make sure you’re free of allergy symptoms and/or asthma
- Wear a mask and rubber gloves during clean up
- Using water and detergent, scrub mold off nonporous surfaces and dry completely. (Perhaps a little bleach wouldn’t hurt as well)
- Absorbent materials may have to be discarded if they are moldy. It is likely that hidden mold lurks beneath the surface and will grow back and fill in the crevices
- Dispose of any sponges or rags used to clean the mold (It is best to double bag any mold contaminated items and remove them from the home entirely)
When do I need a mold professional?
If the area is small enough, there won’t be any need for professional help as it can be taken care of with do-it-yourself methods.
Advertisement Further Recommended Reading :
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger Team
Source: Lankarge, Vicki. “What Every Home Owner Needs to Know about Mold & What to Do About It.” 50-53.
Advertisement 
23 comments
I am 23 weeks pregnant and My bedroom window had ben leaking water from the rain and molded in the window sill. I cleaned that up with bleach. That was a couple weeks ago. I just found green white and brown mold on the wall carpet and head of my bed where it was pushed up against the wall under the window. I had my mom spray bleach on everything. am i and my unborn baby going to be okay having ben exposed to mold? do i need to throw away my bed or is there a way i can clean it?
Candace –
You have done the first steps already. Now that you’ve dealt with the symptoms, and removed the visible mold, the next step is repairing the problem that caused mold growth in the first place – the leaky window.
Once the window is repaired, your mold problems involving the window should be over with.
As far as your bed goes, you’ll need to be the judge of that. Was your bed heavily infected with mold? Remember that mattresses are very porous and soak up water easily. If your mattress was soaked with water and visible mold was seen on the surface, it would be a safe assumption to make that there is a bigger mold infestation within your mattress.
Have you experienced any of the common mold exposure symptoms? If yes, visit your doctor and ask him or her what should be done. If not, then you should definitely be fine, as long as you are not continually exposed to mold.
For some additional information regarding your pregnancy, I recommend reading the following Does Mold Affect Pregnancy?
If anyone else has anything to add, feel free to comment!
Thank you Candace and Have a Wonderful Day!
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger Team
[…] 5 Simple Tips for Cleaning a Small Mold Infestation […]
As a long time insurance broker specializing in mold and other environmental risks, please recognize nearly all contractors who “assess or respond to mold or bacteria in any way” have NO General Liability coverage. Meaning if they burn down the house or cause bodily injury while responding to or assessing mold, there is potential General Liability no coverage to respond to the claim. This huge coverage gap is the result of the Fungi or Bacteria exclusion found in not only all contractors coverage but building owners too. Insurers placed this exclusion in GL policies 3-4 years ago and nearly all insurance agents are unaware of its potentially dramatic impact.
Thank you Paul for your professional insight!
Do you know if anything is being done to correct this?
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger Team
So many penetrations are not properly flashed out there especially the windows. After seeing thousands of homes during my home inspection days, it amazes me that so many builders would rush through the flashing details. The poor homeowners then have to deal with the cost and turmoil of having to rip open walls, deal with mold and have to correct the problem when the builders had the opportunity to actually SEE problem areas from the start. If you’re looking to purchase a 1980’s built home, be extra observant. There was a lot of rush construction during that boom as well.
I e-mailed earlier re; the framed walls with moldy boards. I neglected to mention, that these boards were installed in the house in this condition. We live in the tropics and the boards were rained on, wet and sat covered in plastic for a few days before being used. I’m thinking maybe after being in a dry house for a while it might not come back if i put out the effort to bleach the boards. No? And is bleach the best product. It sure seems to disappear the mold. I am hoping it’s for good. I’m worried because the dry wall folks are coming soon, so i want to resolve this before we button up.
Thankyou, Susan
I have found mold UNDER my bathroom tiles in the shower. There is no obvious mold growing on the surface of these tiles. There was about 0.5 sq foot of paint peeling off near the edge of the tub What should I be doing? I just returned from IRaq. I appreciate any assistance in this matter as soon as possible.
I bought a house a couple years ago. It is about 50 years old, and the Kitchen taps were a little leaky, I never really thought anything of it. It is an old house and it needed SOOOO MANY other things first I would just wipe it up and left a rag behind the tap. Under my sink I keep a bucket of cleaners and a bunch of other cleaners so I never really see under there I reach in and get what I need. Well last night I went to do the dishes and the through rug was soaked. They finally gave out. So I took everything out from under the sink to find mold. We replaced the taps but itis all wood under there and to take out the wood would mean to take out my counter top and all my cuboards what would the best way to clean this? Javex? Spray 9? Help please.
Thanks
Hilda
I have developed allergies and the Dr said that my bed could possibly have mold in it. I have young children, so I’m sure stuff has been spilled on it. Is there a way to tell if mold is in our bed???
Gross, Thanks,
Trish.
[…] remove the mold, but it’s still a good idea to be aware of how much something might cost you. If the area is a small one (we’ve got 5 tips for fighting a small infestation), you can remove the mold yourself with […]
I have a stone house with a basement, I have owned it for at least 20 years and the only time there has been any leaking into the basement was when we had 13.5″ of rain in a short time. The basenment was dried out except for a matress and other items that were left there by tenants. Now I have a signs of mold. I have scrubed the areas and moved out the materials. I sprayed the mold with bleach and scrubed it with a broom. I think this has taken care of the mold. Any coments are appreciated.
“As far as your bed goes, you’ll need to be the judge of that. Was your bed heavily infected with mold? Remember that mattresses are very porous and soak up water easily. If your mattress was soaked with water and visible mold was seen on the surface, it would be a safe assumption to make that there is a bigger mold infestation within your mattress.”
Thanks to the author for the article!
This kind of problem mugot be everyone, but we can take for example podstrahovatsya and mattress that does not permit moisture and are less protected from mold …. well, for example – stearns and foster
my pillow top mattress i had wrapped up and tucked away has over the time that it was packed away has got mold all over it so i brought it out into the sun and put some gloves on and grabbed some carpet cleaner and and scrubbed at it first then i took my vacuum and sucked all the mold and dirt water off then sprayed some mold control onto it and left it in the sun to dry is there anything else i can do to save my bed ? i dont want to get rid of it its only a year old
what else could i do?
I apologize if this is a duplicate. I received an error message on earlier post. We found a 2×2 mold spot on our mattress. We treated with a beach solution. We are not sure if the mold was limited to the cover of mattress or if it went into pad. How will I know if the mattress is safe to use? How do we know if the mold was killed? I will also mention that the mattress is a mattress for a bed cabin.
We often hear the saying ‘prevention is better than cure’ and that is not just applicable for diseases but also with cleaning as well. Mold can cause allergic reactions to some and they are signs that the household is not regularly cleaned. Thank you for sharing your knowledge on how to get rid of molds.
My water heater had started leaking in my laundry room and I’ve been so busy I have not had time to repair it, I assume that the humid climate created the mold but now it is on the walls and part of the ceiling. The room is only about 5 x 12 with a 7′ ceiling, can I remove it my self or should I have it removed professionally
Hello! I have just noticed mold coming from a corner where my shower and wall meet. The wall is pretty degraded now from what we thought was water damage. It may only be around 6 inches. I don’t think bleach will help the look of the wall but may get rid of the mold. I am not sure if the mold has spread. Do you suggest a professional to get rid of the mold and fix the wall? If so, how much would it cost? We are looking to list our house for sale and want to fix all problems before. Thanks!
In preparation for selling a house, I can fully understand your desire to fix this problem once and for all. The shower is a very common place for mold to develop. I recommend you read this article about bleach before using it to get rid of mold. Given that this issue is under the EPA’s recommended 10 square feet, I would recommend that you cut out and replace the sheet rock if you carefully do the research. To make sure the mold doesn’t come back again, I recommend you install a stronger bathroom fan. If you’re not comfortable doing this on your own, I recommend that you seek a couple quotes from professionals.
The mold is IN the stone floor in a small area. It does not clean up with bleach, or scraping or anything.
A contractor tried to clean it as well. Since I am renting my concern is whether it can cause health problems?
Hi I have been experiencing problems with my nose for the past few months ! I have discovered some mold in the timber framing below my kitchen sink ! The area is small but it has seeped deep into the wood- I can’t clean it as it’s hard to get to ! It’s not a large amount so I’m unsure if this is the cause of my health prob
We have a cold storage room with concrete block walls. They have mold on them – fuzzy white mold. Can I somehow remove it myself or should I hire somebody?
My roof was leaking due to a broken tile. There is a small patch of mold on the ceiling now. I live in a section title complex. Reported it to the body corp and they sent someone to fix the roof. I received an email regarding the ceiling and they want to charge me for the excess now before they can fix it. They are talking about a new ceiling but its really just a small patch. What can I do myself to clean the mold. I don’t have that kind of money to pay for excess. My goodness R2500 is a lot!