Addy the Environmentalist in Training

Finding mold in your home should not lead to a knee-jerk call to a mold abatement service. Your first move should be to assess how much mold you have. If you have less than ten-square feet of mold growth, you can take care of the problem on your own. If you have a lot of mold growth, you will want to call in reinforcements, like ENVIROTECH Inc. Once you have determined that you have a manageable amount of mold, you need to determine toxicity. As long as you don't have toxic mold, you can move on to removing the mold growth. 

Clean and Kill Mold

Cleaning mold off of your walls is not as easy as scrubbing away with a damp dish cloth, but it is doable as long as you follow the right steps:

1. Put on safety gear, which should include a disposable jumpsuit, a respirator, goggles, and gloves.

2. Seal off the room that you will be working in. This means covering doorways that lead to other areas of your home by taping a plastic sheet over them. You should also tape over any HVAC vents in the room. 

3. Vacuum up any loose mold using a vacuum that has a HEPA filter. This should prevent any dry mold spores from getting airborne during the cleaning process.

4. Spray the fold with a borax-solution or with vinegar. Either cleaner should kill the mold, but if you use vinegar, you should let it sit for about an hour before you start cleaning. 

5. Keep the mold damp while you scrub it off or your walls, or other surfaces to prevent the spores from spreading. 

6. Once you have removed all the mold, wipe down all surfaces in the room with the borax-solution or vinegar. This will help to kill any spores on the surfaces, but it will also help to prevent future mold growths. 

7. Thoroughly vacuum any carpet using the same vacuum you used to clean up dry mold. 

8. Remove the bag from the vacuum and throw it and all other cleaning supplies into a plastic bag, then seal the bag.

9. Remove the plastic sheeting and place it in a plastic bag then seal it.

10. Pass these bags out of your home through a window. 

Cleaning up a mold growth can be an involved process, but it is doable for a homeowner as long as you catch mold before it spreads too much. On the other hand, if you want to be completely sure that you have dealt with the problem, you should consider calling a mold abatement service.