The appearance of mold signals increased humidity in the area. Gray-green, black and white spots are not only annoying by their appearance, but also gradually seriously harm human health. Therefore, it is necessary to fight with them. Let’s consider how to remove mold from the wall in the apartment and how to avoid its appearance in the future.
Dampness is an environment for the appearance of mold. The best conditions for the reproduction of the fungus are low temperature (about 20 degrees) and high humidity (over 80-90%). In the conditions of a residential apartment, any plot can fall under such conditions. For example, a place under a bathtub or a sink, a wall near water pipes, a corner on an external wall, a section of a wall where rainwater flows from the outside or snow is lying. The list can be continued for a long time. But now we are concerned about how to get rid of mold. Let’s move from words to action.
Order of work
Look for the source of excessive moisture in the apartment. It may be necessary to repair the faucet and water pipes if the wall of the room gets wet due to leaks in the water supply system and sewage system. Sometimes the reason is rainwater or melted snow – then you need to improve the paving near the house or repair the roof.
Get rid of areas of wall covering already damaged by fungi:
- Wallpaper, putty, wood or plastic panels must be removed and disposed of thoroughly. If there is a strong desire, you can leave only the plastic decor for further use – if it is possible to thoroughly disinfect it. All the finishing made of other material is more porous and it is difficult to disinfect it flawlessly.
- After removing the finish, remove the mold mechanically from the wall using a putty knife and sandpaper. It is necessary to remove until we stop observing the infected places (in the worst case, we will have to remove the plaster to the concrete slab or brick). Don’t forget to wear a respirator and gloves (fungus getting on the skin or in the respiratory organs can be dangerous to health).
- Treat the wall with any means against mold, for example, a fungicidal solution. At the end, apply an antiseptic primer and renew the treatment.
Improve the ventilation in the apartment with the help of frequent airing.
If you do not take care of the prevention of the appearance of “domestic mushrooms”, then their colonies will continue to grow, no matter how hard you try to remove them. Therefore, take a good look at your daily habits. The appearance of mold on the walls in the bathroom can be caused by the lack of habit of householders to take out used towels for air and wipe the floors after hygienic procedures. Similarly with washing dishes and splashing water. Dry wet items by taking them out into the fresh air, especially bath and kitchen towels.
Home remedies to combat mold
It is not necessary to use professional antiseptics if for some reason you cannot buy them (for example, an allergic reaction to chemical preparations or the absence of them in a local store). You can treat the wall in the apartment from mold with improvised means:
- It is not necessary to spend money on the purchase of expensive drugs specifically for the fight against mold. Many of them have the same sodium hypochlorite as the main active ingredient, as in the familiar ” Bilyzna “.
- Bleach with chlorine. An affordable and easy-to-use tool will not only destroy mold, but also lighten most surfaces affected by fungus. Therefore, this liquid can be used as a finishing agent to improve the appearance of light surfaces.
- 6- or 9-percent food vinegar makes treated surfaces unsuitable for the development of mold for a long time. Its smell quickly evaporates, but it is not present in the atmosphere of the room for several days, as after the use of a liquid preparation with chlorine.
- Pure hydrogen peroxide will help remove fungi without irritating the respiratory tract.
- Ordinary baking soda is also not to the taste of the organisms that make up the mold. To prepare a working concentrated solution, you need a tablespoon of powder and 100 ml of warm water.
- Rubbing alcohol is so caustic that large surfaces can only be treated with a mask and gloves.
- Salt water does not destroy harmful colonies so quickly, but prevents them from growing. Therefore, a saline solution of water (1 teaspoon per 200 ml) is more suitable as a preventive measure.
Nuances of combating mold
You can use a fan or hair dryer to dry the problem area only after primary deep disinfection of the area – so as not to increase the spread of fungal spores.
It is necessary to work in gloves not only to protect the hands, but also to prevent contamination of clean areas of the apartment with mold spores. For the same purpose, it is better to dispose of all the rags used to remove stains by first soaking them in a disinfectant solution. It is not possible to reuse them for, for example, wet house cleaning.