Knowing How to Remove Mold from Wood and Drywall is something every owner should know how to fix. As a homeowner or property manager, mold is one of the last problems you would want to leave untreated.
Most building materials absorb moisture because they are porous. This action provides the perfect breeding ground for mold.
Beyond damaging your property, mold can endanger your family or co-workers’ health through spores and mycotoxins released into the air you breathe. So, learning to remove mold is important for your home and even more critical for your good health.
For these reasons, let’s learn how to remove mold from wood or drywall with proper cleaning methods – or, when mold has damaged a property, how to perform mold remediation as soon as you spot this fungus.
How To Remove Mold From Wood or Drywall:
While there are many different types of mold, and every infestation is unique, you can take some relatively simple steps to deal with common mold problems.
Suppose you’re ready and able to tackle the work yourself. In that case, we’ve put together this essential guide to deal with mold in your home or workplace and walk you through the two different mold scenarios:
Mold Removal (surface cleaning) and Mold Remediation (removal and disposal of building materials).
The first part of our DIY guide will cover Mold Removal (Cleaning), which addresses minor mold growth on surfaces that can be cleaned without removing the building material.
If you have a more serious problem, the second section of our guide discusses complete Mold Remediation.
In this process, building materials must be physically removed from the structure of your home or workplace, followed by chemical treatment of the remaining materials to eliminate the mold.
Step 1: Identify the Type of Mold
Before addressing your mold problem, you should know what kind of mold you’re dealing with. Some molds, such as Aspergillus, can damage your home but are unlikely to cause disease in healthy people.
The Mold you need to be particularly careful about is Black Mold. This mold can be toxic and create a variety of health complications. Black mold is easily identified by its characteristic black color, as seen in this photo:
Because black mold is the most critical type, you should prepare for removal as soon as you find it. This article will predominantly focus on how to remove it.
Step 2: Identify the “Source of Moisture”
This is critical. Since mold only grows with moisture, you must first identify the source of the water causing the mold to occur. Once you have eliminated the moisture intrusion, you can begin Mold Removal.
With your conditions, removing mold from wood and other materials may be much easier and less expensive without actually removing (remediating) the materials from your home.
Small-scale mold removal can make the difference between your mold problem requiring a few chemical treatments and turning it into a full-blown renovation project.
Check out this short “How To Remove Mold” video – to see these mold removal techniques in action:
Once you’ve determined you have a mold problem and have eliminated the source of moisture intrusion, here are four steps for cleaning surface mold before it becomes a significant problem.
“Surface Mold” Removal
Step 1: Identity The Mold Affected Surfaces
Treating all your mold growth at once will help ensure the mold doesn’t begin to spread again once you’re finished. Because If you have mold in one place, there’s a good chance you have it elsewhere.
For this step, place a small piece of painter’s tape near but not on each mold spot you locate. This will help you quickly identify them later when removing mold in your house.
If your mold problems are outside of your house, see our article on the best vinyl siding cleaner you can buy.
Step 2: Select Mold Cleaning Agent
There are several options for killing mold. But take note: using Bleach to kill black mold is a false statement. While bleach may inhibit mold growth, It does not kill mold spores.
Instead, use one of the DIY combinations of household ingredients we recommend below, or better yet, use any of the many mold-killing chemical sprays, such as RMR-86 Instant, for sale on Amazon. They are pre-mixed mold killers and come with their spray bottles.
For large-scale mold removal, you can also purchase a gallon Concentrate of Mold Killer, which you mix with water – and use in a garden sprayer.
Home Remedies: If you need to remove black mold from wood or drywall, you can use these home options:
1) mix 1 cup of Borax with 1 cup of water
2) baking soda with vinegar
3) Hydrogen peroxide with water
All of these are effective home product alternatives. Peroxide is a perfect option on drywall, as it can help to lighten the stains that mold creates when it populates a surface.
Other mold killers, such as Concrobium, are highly rated and proven chemical products for removing mold. Concrobium is available online at Amazon, Home Depot, or Lowes and can be used on porous (soft) and non-porous (hard) surfaces.
Step 3: Spray Mold covered surfaces thoroughly
You can begin cleaning off the mold after placing on rubber gloves and a safe, filtered face mask.
Thoroughness is crucial when removing mold from wood, drywall, or other porous surfaces. You want to be sure you are cleaning every spot affected by mold and the surrounding surface.
Spray and saturate all mold surfaces before moving to any other affected areas. Read and follow the directions carefully for using Chemical cleaners and taking safety precautions.
Mold spores can remain on a surface long after the mold is gone, so you should wash down everything around the moldy area.
Step 4: Use HEPA filtered Vacuum to Remove Mold Spores
Even with the most thorough cleaning, some mold spores remain near the moldy patch. For this reason, the final step of your cleanup should be vacuuming the room you were working in with a HEPA filter.
A HEPA filter should catch errant spores so mold growth doesn’t start again.
Note: If the mold-contaminated area you’ve encountered exceeds regular mold (surface) conditions and you need to remove mold-contaminated building materials such as drywall, insulation, studs, flooring, etc., then Mold Remediation will be required instead of a Mold chemical cleaning process.
See the Steps below on How to Remediate Mold
The Best Wet Dry Vacs for Mold – Read The Article Here
Mold Remediation: How To Remove Mold-Contaminated Materials.
The following seven steps will show you how to remove mold-affected building materials.
However, if the contaminated material is more extensive than 10 square feet, you’re likely better off calling a professional to handle it. Please read the EPA guidelines for mold removal here.
Step 1: How To Identify the Source of “Moisture Intrusion”
Your efforts to remediate (remove) mold-contaminated materials will be in vain unless you first Identify and Repair the Source that caused moisture to intrude into your finished space.
Once the repair work has been completed, Test the area (roof, walls, plumbing) to ensure you have remedied the moisture problem.
Step 2: Wearing Mold Protection Equipment (PPE)
Black mold removal can be hazardous to your health once a room has enough mold concentration. If you’re at the point of remediation, you will need to get some Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
This starts with a Tyvek cover-up, a professional-grade respirator, safety goggles, and thick rubber gloves.
Also, don’t forget to run a fan to exhaust air out of the room you’re working in to direct airborne mold spores outside and prevent them from spreading to other areas of your house.
Step 3: How To Quarantine Area With Mold
Before you begin to work on Black mold-affected areas, Close off all the vents leading to and from the space. Plastic wrap and painter’s tape should prevent air from moving into other non-contaminated areas of the house.
Then, Use a shop vac with a HEPA filter to remove loose mold spores before you begin work.
Step 4: How to Remove Mold from Building Materials
Once you have the proper safety protection in place, use a shop vac and manually remove the flooring, drywall, or other material that has become mold-infested. Go slow, and be careful not to kick up too much dust, as the dust can carry spores with it.
Also, be sure you have a safe and environmentally friendly way of disposing of the material you remove.
The Best Wet Dry Vacs for Mold – See Here >
Step 5: Spraying Chemical Cleaners on the Remaining Surfaces
Just because the surfaces with mold are gone doesn’t mean all mold spores have been eliminated.
Before proceeding, you should wash down studs or other surfaces previously in contact with the material you removed with a mold-killing chemical.
If the affected material surface allows it, use one of the mold-killing chemicals discussed under “Mold Cleaning Agents” above. Again, our highest-rated suggestion for chemical mold killers is “Concrobium Mold Control.”
If you’re removing mold from drywall, check and remove or treat any wet or affected insulation and studs underneath, as these materials may also be contaminated by mold.
Step 6: Install New Building Materials and Cleaning Up:
Once the full remediation has been completed, you can replace the materials you removed from your house with new building materials and clean up any rooms you’ve worked in.
As a final precaution, lightly wash all new surfaces once after installation to ensure you’ve killed all mold spores.
As with typical mold removal, you should use a HEPA vacuum with “remediation” to catch spores that weren’t hit with the chemical wash. For added peace of mind, you can also leave an air purifier in the room for a few days to catch any remaining mold spores.
Step 7: How to Confirm Mold Has Been Removed:
Once the full mold remediation has been completed and the site has been thoroughly cleaned up, you should monitor the work for a few weeks afterward to confirm your mold remediation work was a complete success:
Has the original cause for moisture intrusion been permanently repaired?
Has any mold, mildew, moldy odors, or moldy material re-appeared anywhere?
Of course, this does not include natural floods. However, consider ways to control and prevent moisture intrusion and resulting mold in the future.
Check out this short video on Mold Remediation before getting started:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How Do You Get Rid Of Mold?
A: Knowing how to get rid of mold starts with identifying the source of water intrusion. The following steps involve wearing proper PPE equipment, removing mold with effective mold cleaners, replacing (if required) building materials, and confirming mold has been eradicated.
Q: How Do You Remove Mold from Walls?
A: The best way to remove mold from walls, whether concrete or drywall, is to spray a proven mold remover/cleaner on the affected area. Our favorite is RMR-86 Mold Remover because it removes mold in less than 60 seconds
Q: What is The Best Way to Remove Mold From Vinyl Fences?
A: The best way to remove vinyl fences or deck railing is to spray a mold remover onto all the surfaces and let it work its magic. Some mold removal sprays, such as RMR-86, work almost instantly but can be more detrimental to plants and lawns.
Other mold removal sprays like Wet-And-Forget work to remove mold permanently for 30 days without any additional application.
With any mold removal spray, spray down any foliage or grass before and after applying it.
Conclusion:
Now that you know how to remove black mold from wood, drywall, or tile, you should be ready to tackle mold patches in your house or office. However, remember to be extremely careful when dealing with black mold, as it can be toxic and harmful to your health.
Contact a mold remediation specialist if your mold problem is widespread and too much to handle. Google it – there is one in just about every community.
Finally, always deal with mold as soon as you discover it. If left alone, fungi will only grow, and the problem will rapidly worsen.
Using a mild cleaning agent to remove small patches of mold on your drywall now can save you the significant cost and effort of tearing out entire sections a year or two down the line.
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Additional Resources & Reading:
- EPA Mold Guidelines For Removing or Remediating Mold – EPA.Gov
- Toilet running? Check out this DIY Guide for Simple Toilet Repairs
- How To Clean Stained Grout – 3 Simple Remedies – Besthomegear.com
- The Best Wet Dry Shop Vacs to Help with Your Cleanup – BestHomeGear.Com
- How To Remove a Tree Stump – Besthomegear.com
