MOLD found on Wood Subfloor under Fridge-HELP!!!

krissyp19

Hello All!
Just lifted 2 layers of laminate flooring in kitchen. Large area under 3 yr old fridge covered in Black MOLD. Can't get to Home store at this time, no stores open. Worried about Mold spores. What do we do rite now? And than do we treat mold or replace all infected wood?? Did you use a mold spray or bleach? HELP! Thank you in advance for advice!!

Gary in WA

Welcome to the forums!

I would not use household bleach/water around my kids or my lungs. Abate it with laundry soap/water first, wearing a respirator if possible: http://www.toxic-black-mold-info.com/moldclean.htm

Keep the area contained and the kids away; http://www.buildingscience.com/docum...occupied-homes

Moved you for more responses.

Gary

__________________

Maintenance 6

Since you've already opened this up, you now have mold spores travelling around the air in your house. Lots of them. First thing is to wet it down with a detergent solution and scrub it as best you can. If possible put a window fan in place and exhaust the air to the outside while you work. Wear an N95 rated respirator. When you have scrubbed everything off that will come off, then let it completely dry. Evaluate the material that was moldy. If it is solid and has not been compromised by the moisture, then you can treat it with a fungicide. If it is permanently damaged and can't be salvaged, then replace it. As far as fungicides, there are some commercially available that are effective as is a 10% bleach solution. As far as bleach, DO NOT exceed 10%. No fungicide is particularly effective at penetrating porous materials, regardless of what they may claim. Keep your ventilation in place while you treat. When everything has completely dried, seal the area that was effected with something like Kilz or Zinser. This will lock down any stray spores and mold fragments. Absolutely the most important thing is to figure out what caused the moisture problem that allowed the mold to thrive in the first place. All of your work will be for nothing if you don't eliminate the moisture. Scrub, Dry, Treat, Dry, Seal. Go 12" past the last signs of mold. The final effectiveness of your work is related to your diligence in carrying it out.

P.S. Laundry detergent would fall close to the bottom of my list of cleaners. Use Lestoil, Top Job or Lysol. If you don't have any of those, then dishwashing liquid would come next.

oodssoo

Yes. Do what he says!

How big is your entire kitchen floor?

krissyp19

Thank you for your responses. It is a 3'x3' area, only under my fridge. It was suggested to go to Home Depot and buy a spray bottle of some sort of Mold killer. We are going to replace the entire piece of infected wood.

ccarlisle

Well, not once did you mention what you plan on doing to prevent further mold problems - and that, to me anyway, is step #1. May be an icemaker leak or a faulty pan if your fridge has one. Either way, check the leak first before you go and replace the subfloor.

That's probably "Concrobium' from HD that you are talking about - a mold killer...not bad a choice compared to, say, bleach. Leave it on to dry...

carpdad

Mold is found everywhere. It's in the air all the time. If that is all you found in the house, you don't have to panic.
I read that vinegar will kill the spores.
In addition to already listed water source, frige defroster drain may be blocked or the tub under it may be overflowing. It is possible that refrigerator is not level and defrosted water is not draining properly. It happened to me.
Check the ice maker for water supply connections inside and outside, also.

jagans

This is the new panic button for Lawyers, and its a load of Bull

Just open the windows, take household bleach at 3 to 1 with water in a pump sprayer and spray the d--- mold, and you will watch it disappear. Then fix the leak. I don't know why everybody makes such a big deal out of mold, its all around us all the time. Oh yeah, I do know why. Its because the Lawyers ran out of Asbestos cases.

HONEST, THATS THE TRUTH. I have been to several pro seminars on mold and that is about the size of it.

Now its a different problem if you have a dew point problem and chronic mold, but that is much different than a leaky fridge pan, or ice maker line.

Give the poor lady a break.

krissyp19

Thank you Jagans. Was not looking for any judgement on my end. Strictly asking for advice on how to treat Mold until I'm able to remove the diseased wood. Obviously my 1st PRIORITY would be to find the culprit-didn't think I needed to give an explanation on that. Thank you to everyone who did give positive feedback. The area is currently sprayed with a Mold spray & am letting it dry! Thanks again!

Dean CRCNA

Krissy,

I know you like the feel good answer that jagans gave you, but GBR & Maintenance 6 gave a lot better advice.

Just for future reference ...

1. Dead spores are many times just as dangerous as live spores. Live spores hang on to the substrate more than dead spores, which go floating in vast numbers into the air. You were better off leaving the mold alive.

2. Bleach and such doesn't kill the mold on porous surfaces. It does kill the flower part of the mold, but not the stem and roots. In fact, you may have given the roots what they were craving ... water.

jagans

I never meant to imply that mold is never a problem. Where buildings are designed wrong wherein water is developed in the presence of water, heat and organic matter, a chronic problem can occur. This became a very big problem in the southern states where motels with vinyl wallpaper applied with wheat based paste were air conditioned, and the dew point fell right behind the vinyl wallpaper. The use of high grade vinyl wallpaper raised the ratings of the motels and hotels, so they insisted on its use. Extensive mold problems were the result.

This young ladies problem is not like that. This is a one off leak, in a small, isolated case. Killing with bleach and water, and making sure that the leak is solved, removing the molds ability to live, and replacing the subfloor, if it is rotten will solve her problem.

As I said in my previous post, we have been living with mold since the beginning of time. They are part of life. The last thing this country needs is another carcass for the lawyers to chew on, but that seems to be the way things happen here. We regulate based on Mania to the point where we scare everybody for no reason. How many people die from stress related issues compared to mold related issues?

Maintenance 6

FWIW, Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach) will not only kill mold, but will disolve the glucan bonds that hold the cell walls together. And it only takes 2.4% concentration to do it and less than 5 minutes of dwell time. That means that the mold is not only dead, but has been broken down to it's component parts to an extent that it is not even considered an allergen. Never exceed 10% concentration of bleach. Breathing chlorine and chloroform compound gases is far more dangerous than any of the stuff that mold produces. Dead mold spores and mold fragments can still be allergens to some people, that is why you need to clean up the mold, then treat it and finally seal it to lock down any stray fragments or spores.

Gary in WA

Does anyone have anything more current than this 10 year old study of bleach on Doug-fir?

http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xm...pdf?sequence=1

Thanks, Gary

__________________

Dean CRCNA

Sure … bleach kills mold when it can reach the root, steam and flower, like on hard surfaces. Anti-freeze will also do this along with 100s of other products. The problem comes with it working on porous surfaces. Anyone who has ever tried to get rid of mold in their shower by using bleach and is frustrated at the inevitable return of mold within a very short time, knows that bleach does not kill mold on porous surfaces.

Many falsely assume that it works, because they remove the moisture problem … pour bleach on … and the mold problem ends. However, if you continue the moisture source … pour bleach on … the mold will return. This is because the bleach did not reach the roots and thus … did not really kill the mold after all. It is the removal of water that does the trick. Not using bleach.

EPA, CDC & OSHA use to recommend bleach, but they even have wised up and have removed bleach as a problem solver.

Just my 2 cents

krissyp19

I appreciate everyone's responses. The Area where the Mold is/was is being completely replaced on Saturday. I'm sure if it was severely bad all 4 of us would be showing respiratory symptoms. Thanks again! Will post final picture of Tile floor!