Mold Remediation and Chemical Cleaners. Do You Need Them?
Posted in Air Quality, on October 24, 2016
There are numerous mold remediation companies that either use chemicals during their mold cleaning or mold remediation procedures. We have a number of clients that call us all the time to ask if there chemicals are really necessary to get rid of their mold problem.
There are a number of chemical cleaning agents on the market that claim to be designed to kill mold growth and that they should be used to get rid of an existing mold issue. We wont need to mention these by name in this blog. A simple trip to your local hardware store should suffice. There you will see a number of products with all sorts of claims.
The most common claim of these chemical cleaners is that they kill mold…therefore no more mold issue. However, is this really fact? Yes chemical cleaners and even bleach or hydrogen peroxide can kill a living organism such as mold growth and can also kill mold spores. But is it necessary? What other potential toxic problems are you introducing into your home? Most of these chemical cleaners were invented for sewage related problems or sewer back ups that lead to a bacterial issue in the home or basement such as E.coli. Killing E.coli and other coliforms is an important step to preventing illness and disease in humans or occupants of a building. Once the bacterial organism is killed by the chemical it can no longer cause disease when we inhale or ingest the bacteria…because it’s dead.
However, this may not have the same desired effect with a mold growth issue. Yes, the chemical or bleach solution will kill mold growth on walls, floors, contents, etc. It will also kill the spore itself which will in turn prevent more mold growth from forming. So what is the problem? Besides the chemical residue now in your home, (which is a separate indoor air quality issues such as VOC’s), killing mold may actually not prevent illness or disease. Most people get a little confused at this point. If the mold growth is dead and the mold spores are dead…then what is the problem? Dead is dead!
The problem is that the mold growth and the mold spore is not necessarily what causes illness or disease in humans. It’s actually the mycotoxins created by the mold growth that is the real danger. Certain species of mold growth create mycotoxins as mother natures way of arming or protecting these species of mold. The mycotoxins are used to battle other molds. It’s the mycotoxin that can be harmful to humans. To date no chemical cleaning solution has been clinically proven to not only kill the mold growth and mold spores but to also neutralize mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are created by the mold growth and these mycotoxins exist on the mold spore. Unless, the chemical used for mold remediation also neutralizes the mycotoxins…using chemicals are essentially useless.
The important thing to remember is that proper mold remediation involves cleaning up the actual mold growth and removal of the mold spores from surfaces as well as the breathable air. If this is done properly, then there is no remaining mold growth issue. If then there is no remaining mold growth issue, then no chemicals are needed! Call us today, we can help you identify and solve your mold growth issues properly.