MOld repair ideas/treatment

[Victoria S.]

Anyone have a good mold company? Any ideas for mold treatment?

[Jeff Kehl]

@Victoria S. there are companies that specialize in mold remediation and you can likely find one in the KC area just by googling. It will likely be very expensive at they tend to rap everything in plastic and go in in hazmat suits.

But let me just say this. There is mildew and many types of molds that are completely harmless, but there are a few that are toxic and all of them can be dangerous to people with allergies which is why you need to be careful.

First thing you need to figure out is why you have it. Generally mold/mildew/fungus will only grow in a wet location without light and poor air circulation. That's why it was a problem so often in foreclosed houses where the water wasn't turned off but the electricity was. Bust a pipe in a dark crawlspace and you will probably find mold growing there if it sits for any length of time.

The good news is there are some things you can do yourself if the problem is not widespread.

Dry it out, turn on the lights and circulate air will kill most of it. A weak bleach solution will kill everything else.

You should test it to make sure it's not a toxic kind. There are contractors around that will just do that test for you. I've also seen self-test kits but haven't tried them.

I have only dealt with this in a small area like a bathroom with poor air circulation. Be careful of larger infestation. I once saw a house that had it everywhere and the problem was much of it was behind the walls. So you can end up demoing most of the house to get the mold out and at least around here it's not cost-effective so I generally pass on properties like that.