One of the most comfortable and favorite places in the house is a bathroom. But it appears, not only people have chosen this warm and humid place.
Constant temperature above 68 degrees Fahrenheit, humidity level more than 70 percent, the limited inflow of fresh air – all these factors make the bathroom an ideal place for the development of mold. After settling here, mold spores are easily carried and may infect the neighboring areas, spreading not only in the bathroom, but also in other rooms.
It is extremely necessary to fight against mold. It does not only spoil the appearance of the premises, this fungus is extremely dangerous and destructive both for building materials, and for people. Once in the human respiratory tract, mold causes respiratory disease, allergy and even bronchial asthma. Especially dangerous mold fungus is for the child’s body, as well as for elderly and frequently ill people.
What are the causes of mold occurrence?
• Increased moisture content in the room;
• Always warm and heated air;
• Insufficient ventilation;
• Lack of or limited amount of natural light.
What to do if the mold has appeared?
1. First and foremost, you need to thoroughly clean the already affected areas: scrape off the plaster and paint from the walls or ceiling, remove wallpaper, if the joints are treated with silicone sealant, you should also remove it.
2. Dry all the surfaces. Hot air gun or an ordinary heater will be useful for these purposes.
3. Treat the affected areas with mold preventative. While carrying out the work make sure to use a respirator and rubber gloves, they will protect your body against the penetration of spores and toxic chemicals.
In the DIY stores and household chemicals departments a lot of antifungal agents are offered. Before using them in the work, first read the instructions carefully, and secondly strictly follow them.
• The surfaces damaged by mold can be treated by the agents with the chlorine content. For this purpose, one liter of bleach should be added to the ten liter water container. The solution is applied to the affected areas with a brush or a sponge. After such treatment, the mixture is not washed off but it should be allowed to dry thoroughly. The room must be ventilated.
• If some mold occurred in the joints between tiles, treat it with water-chlorine solution (in one to one ratio). Use a spray gut to spread the solution on the joints, wait for five minutes and rinse thoroughly.
• Copper Sulfate is a great agent in the fight against mold. The recommended ratio is one hundred grams per ten liters of water. The solution should be applied to the affected areas with a brush. After two-three hours the treated areas should be thoroughly rinsed with water. The same way as during treatment with other materials, the surfaces then should be well-dried and the room should be ventilated.
Such aggressive ways of dealing with black mold, like those that we have described above, are not suitable if there are allergic individuals or kids in an apartment. In this case, use more gentle traditional methods.
• Put a thick layer of baking soda on the affected area then pour a good deal of vinegar. When the formed foam settles, wash everything with soap solution. Then wash these areas with clean water and allow to dry.
• Treat the tiles with the tea tree oil (one tablespoon of oil per cup of water). Use the spray gun to apply the solution. Do not wash the solution off.
• Treat the areas affected by mold with such a solution: into a container filled with a quarter of water, add two parts of vinegar, two parts of hydrogen peroxide and one part of boric acid.
Mold occurrence can and should be prevented. For this purpose:
• Provide adequate ventilation in the bathroom; install a fan in the exhaust duct opening.
• Ensure the room drying, a heated towel rail should be powerful and should operate all year round. You can also mount the floor heating.
• Keep the pipes and the taps free from condensate.
• If there is a significant temperature difference, for example when a bathroom wall faces the landing, warm the outer side of such wall.
• While doing the major overhaul, treat all the surfaces by special agent against mold.
• Choose the sanitary silicone sealant with anti-fungal additives for the treatment of joints.
Sometimes it is very difficult to remove the mold in any room of an apartment on your own. If you have tried several methods, but still cannot see the desired result, you can use the assistance of “heavy artillery” – cleaning service workers, who with the help of special means and special equipment will help you to clean the room from mold.