Spotting mold in the home will send shivers up the spine of any homeowner. It could mean a great deal of expense, especially if it calls for removing everything contaminated by it. Fumigating for mold is best when the visible spores are removed or for surfaces that mold can’t penetrate. How do you fumigate for mold?
Always read the MSDS on the product to prepare yourself, your family, and your pets. Cover everything that could be damaged or that you want to protect. Vacate the premises while the fumigation is in progress and wait at least 24 hours before returning to the room for cleanup.
Fumigation is typically a process among several other steps when dealing with mold. It’s often not necessary, not applicable, or has a very diminishing return, depending on how it’s used and when.
Does Fogging For Mold Really Work?
Fogging works in a limited fashion. It’s like attacking rusty metal with a toothbrush. While a toothbrush will be effective at removing the surface, loose rust, it can’t penetrate the mil scale and remove the rust down to the shiny metal surface.
Since mold spores are invisible, when you see mold, that means that the surface and—more often than not—the layers beneath are also contaminated by millions of microscopic spores. Tri-State Restoration recommends fogging to improve air quality and clean surfaces, nothing more.
Fogging for mold is effective when the visible mold has been removed, as a sort of clean-up and preventative measure combined. It’s also effective against mold spores that are clinging to surfaces that it can’t penetrate, such as metal, porcelain, or similar materials.
Can You Fog Mold Yourself?
Fogging for mold is no more difficult than using a bug bomb or other DIY fumigation foggers or bombs. You can use just about any aerosol bottle foggers on the market for small rooms or crawl spaces.
However, it’s usually best to purchase or rent a Concrobium cold fogger for larger rooms such as bedrooms, dens, living rooms, large basements, etc.
Cold foggers will atomize and dispense the liquid, anti-microbial agent between 30 to 40 feet in the air, filling the room and coating the surfaces quickly. They’re not difficult to operate and fall easily into the DIY category.
Home Depot and Lowes both rent cold foggers at a decent rate. For small jobs, it’s probably better than purchasing outright.
What If Mold Is Behind Drywall?
Fogging is useless in a scenario where the mold is growing behind the walls. Also, you would first have to discover it. There’s no way of knowing if it’s behind your walls unless you can smell the distinct, musty odor through an outlet, or physically cut a hole in the wall and sniff around that.
If mold is growing behind your walls, it will require cutting and removing the contaminated pieces. It can be done yourself if you know what you’re doing. Most likely, however, it will require a professional service to come out, inspect, determine the level of contamination, and remove it.
Of course, once everything is done, before calling in drywallers to restore what was removed, you can fog the area as a preventative measure or just to cover any possible microscopic spores.
Will Mold Come Back After Remediation And Fogging?
Mold can come back, even if professionals remove everything and the area has been thoroughly inspected and fogged. Can doesn’t mean will, fortunately. Your best bet is to understand what caused it in the first place and fix it.
Mold loves humidity and warmth. Moist areas at higher than room temperatures are places that have essentially thrown out the welcome mat for mold invasions.
After remediation and fogging, be sure to keep the area dry. Also, keep it cool if possible, but keeping it dry and clean is a priority.
Will A Dehumidifier Kill Mold After Fogging Or Before Fogging?
Using a dehumidifier before fogging would be a case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.
A dehumidifier is a great way to rob mold of its primary resource, which is moisture. However, it won’t kill mold, or even reduce it in any way after the mold spores have taken hold.
A dehumidifier is best once remediation and fogging are complete, to help control and prevent future mold infestations.
What Can I Put In My Dehumidifier To Prevent Mold?
Vinegar is one of the best household items to use in a dehumidifier to prevent mold. Also, vinegar contains both antimicrobial and antibacterial properties that help it kill mold effectively.
Not only will it work on dehumidifiers, but it’s also great for spraying directly on moldy surfaces. It will even kill black mold, the archvillain in a homeowner’s worst nightmares.
Is Mold Bomb Fogger Safe For Pets?
It depends on the fogger. Bio Cide Laboratories manufactures a plant-based, environmentally safe formula for mold fogging that is supposedly safe for kids and pets.
Most foggers, however, have some chemicals and/or pesticides in them that shouldn’t be inhaled by pets or people.
Even with the Bio Cide formula, the house should be vacated until it is finished dispensing the fog and it has had a chance to settle down.
In most cases, the mold is more dangerous than the fogger and neither should come into contact with your pet’s skin or be inhaled by it or children.
How Do Professionals Remove Mold?
After determining that mold is present and the type, they will generally use chemical cleaning agents to sanitize surfaces and remove all of the mold spores. Moldman Services advise not to accept services from mold removers that want to test for clearly visible mold.
If the mold has heavily infested sheetrock or other porous material, they’ll cut it out and remove it. During the process, they will use HEPA filters and vacuums and dehumidify the area.
They’ll also seal the area off from the rest of the home with plastic sheeting or herculite. Finally, some professional mold removers will use a special sealant to protect the surfaces from recontamination.
What Kills Black Mold Instantly?
Vinegar is one of the best products—household or professional grade—for killing black mold instantly.
Better yet, distilled, white vinegar is the best choice because of its antimicrobial and acidic properties. It’s applicable as a spray and doesn’t need to be diluted.
Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda will also kill black mold instantly, though maybe a shade slower than white vinegar. Hydrogen Peroxide is an antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial substance that kills on contact.
Baking soda, diluted 50/50 with water, will kill black mold quickly and has the helpful side effect of freshening the air by removing the musty odor prevalent around mold and mildew.
Will Fumigation Kill Mold Permanently?
Fumigation will kill mold spores and sanitize surfaces. Unfortunately, it’s not a permanent solution. It won’t kill all of the molds and it certainly won’t remove it.
Fumigation is best when it is combined with highly effective cleaning chemicals, mold-contaminated material removal, dehumidifiers, and frequent maintenance and sanitation.
Think of fumigation as a single step in the process of mold elimination and removal rather than the definitive remedy.
