wall mold

[ma-skis.com]

So as I was trying to regrout my shower, I noticed a couple loose tiles and pulled them off and found mold and water behind my shower wall.

Any advice, tips or people you would recommend calling. I think this type of job is a bit out of my league now. Unless there's overwhleming support in how easy it really is to fix this.

Might be a good time to remodel?

[Locke]

Bleach and a flamethrower?

[transplant99]

http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/IAQ/GOT_Mold.html

[wooohooo]

You'll probably have to rip everything apart and re-do everything. Clean with bleach and whatever else.

Just don't have Mike Holmes come in. He'll tear your whole damn house down

[Methanolic]

Remove all the tile and all the drywall. Clean all the studs thouroughly with a heavy duty cleanser or at least bleach. Let everything dry thoroughly before rebuilding.

Re-Sheet the wall with cement board, not "blue board". Re-tile.


....And yes, I would say this is an excellent time to remodel the whole thing.

You definitely need to take care of this though. It'll eventually rot your sil plates and even through the floor.

[GoinAllTheWay]

You are just replacing a few tiles? No need to call someone in for that. If you can re-grout, you can certainly do this. You would obviously need to keep removing tiles until you find where the damage stops. Get some bleach on the mold to kill it. Replacing a small amount of tile is actually not bad. You just need to make sure you get rid of the mold, clean out the old adhesive. You should have wetboard in there, pretty tough stuff it can take a bit of a beating. When all cleaned out, put in new adhesive, insert new tiles, regrout, seal, and done!

[Methanolic]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

You are just replacing a few tiles? No need to call someone in for that. If you can re-grout, you can certainly do this. You would obviously need to keep removing tiles until you find where the damage stops. Get some bleach on the mold to kill it. Replacing a small amount of tile is actually not bad. You just need to make sure you get rid of the mold, clean out the old adhesive. You should have wetboard in there, pretty tough stuff it can take a bit of a beating. When all cleaned out, put in new adhesive, insert new tiles, regrout, seal, and done!

Thing is, If he has water in the wall cavity, this is no time for a band-aid repair. he needs to rip it all out,clean it and let it dry.

[DuffMan]

tear it down. redo.
Hopefully you don't uncover a bunch of other chit like al wiring etc. that all needs to be replaced like I did.

[ma-skis.com]

thanks for the help, now I've only removed a couple tiles, is it worth my while to remove more tiles to expose the mold and dry it out?

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Methanolic

Thing is, If he has water in the wall cavity, this is no time for a band-aid repair. he needs to rip it all out,clean it and let it dry.

Whoops! Missed that part, sorry. I only read mold. My bad.

[Bill Bumface]

Mold can go a foot or two past where it's visible. Get that crap out of there, especially with a little guy around. It can be really vicious for your health. Take it from a guy who was out of his place for SEVEN MONTHS while they repaired the mold problem in my bathroom. Before that I was on antibiotics near constantly for about 6 months with sinus infections and colds that I could never shake and couldn't figure out why.

If you are going to tackle this yourself buy a proper mask that can actually filter mold spores (not just the usual painters masks). As you disturb it, the spores are going to go everywhere. The pros have to build a tarped off containment area with a negative air exchanger to scrub everything out of the air. Even if the mold dries out and dies, the spores are still there, and that is what causes health problems. If you are doing it yourself, seal off the door when you tear it all down and keep the ceiling fan on. Rip all of it down, put it in some heavy duty poly bags and seal the crap out of them. Strip down when you are done and put all your clothes in a bag and wash them right away and put them in the dryer which will grab the spores out of your clothes.

If you have moldy wood studs you might be able to use this special chemical (can't remember the name) to clean them. I wouldn't go for just bleach because you want to nuke it all while you have the wall down. Make sure you find the source of the water too, hopefully it was just getting in through the tiles.

Nasty stuff... I feel bad for you, that won't be fun.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by ma-skis.com

thanks for the help, now I've only removed a couple tiles, is it worth my while to remove more tiles to expose the mold and dry it out?

If you find mold, you want to expose it all and get rid of it. Mold will make you sick, especially kids.
Treat it with bleach or mold remover, drying it out leaves spores floating around.

[DuffMan]

before we totally freak you out, here is a good read. I don't think you need to be signed in to read it, let me know, and I'll C&P if you do.

http://www.mikeholmesfanforum.com/ph...hp?f=10&t=6048

[Rhettzky]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Mold can go a foot or two past where it's visible. Get that crap out of there, especially with a little guy around. It can be really vicious for your health. Take it from a guy who was out of his place for SEVEN MONTHS while they repaired the mold problem in my bathroom. Before that I was on antibiotics near constantly for about 6 months with sinus infections and colds that I could never shake and couldn't figure out why.

Woah, that's too eerie. I have the same symptoms but have had them for over a year. How can you get your house tested for mold?

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

before we totally freak you out, here is a good read. I don't think you need to be signed in to read it, let me know, and I'll C&P if you do.

http://www.mikeholmesfanforum.com/ph...hp?f=10&t=6048

yeah i need to sign in a cp would be greatly appreciated

[DuffMan]

a) Safety precautions

* Wear a disposable dust mask (for example, 3M 8210 or equivalent), glasses or safety goggles and household rubber gloves.

* Isolate the area to be cleaned with plastic sheeting, taped to walls and ceiling.

* Infants and other family members suffering from asthma, allergies or other health problems should not be in the work area or adjacent room during the cleaning.

A small clean up should take minutes (not hours) to finish. When the clean up takes hours to a day to finish, it is suggested that you upgrade to a better filter, such as a half-face respirator with charcoal cartridges. An exhaust fan installed in a window in the room being cleaned would prevent contamination of other areas of the house as well as provide ventilation.

b) General cleaning

Vacuum surfaces with a vacuum cleaner which has a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter or is externally exhausted. Scrub or brush the moldy area with a mild unscented detergent solution. Rinse by sponging with a clean, wet rag. Repeat. Dry quickly.

HEPA vacuum the surfaces that were cleaned as well as surrounding areas.

c) Cleaning wood surfaces

Vacuum loose mold from wood surfaces using a HEPA or externally exhausted vacuum. Try cleaning the surface of the wood with detergent and water. Rinse with a clean, damp rag and dry quickly. If the staining does not come off, sand and vacuum the surface of the wood with a vacuum/sander combination. It is important to vacuum at the same time to prevent mold spores from being dispersed into the air. Note that wood affected by rot may need to be replaced.

d) Cleaning concrete surfaces

Vacuum the concrete surfaces to be cleaned with a HEPA or externally exhausted vacuum cleaner. Clean up surfaces with detergent and water. If the surfaces are still visibly moldy, use TSP (trisodium phosphate). Dissolve one cup of TSP in two gallons of warm water. Stir for two minutes. Note: TSP must not be allowed to come in contact with skin or eyes. Saturate the moldy concrete surface with the TSP solution using a sponge or rag. Keep the surface wetted for at least 15 minutes. Rinse the concrete surface twice with clean water. Dry thoroughly, as quickly as possible.

e) Moldy drywall

The paper facings of gypsum wallboard (drywall) grow mold when they get wet or repeatedly wet and donít dry quickly. Cleaning with water containing detergent not only adds moisture to the paper but also can eventually damage the facing. If the mold is located only on top of the painted surface, remove it by general cleaning (See above). If the mold is underneath the paint, the moldy patch and other moldy material behind it are best cut out and the surrounding areas also cleaned. This should be done by a mold clean-up contractor. New materials may become moldy if the moisture entry has not been stopped. If this is the case, replacement of the materials should be deferred until the source of the moisture is corrected. The affected areas should be temporarily covered with plastic sheeting and sealed at the edges.

[DuffMan]

Primary cleanup should be dry - hepa filtered shop vac and good old elbow grease. Any time that you introduce moisture into the cleaning process, you have to dry the structure or you will contribute to regrowth.

A dust mask is NOT effective protedctive equipment, you should be using a p100 filter mask - p100 is hepa

When dealing with a cleanup, we use water based biocides ( fungicides and sporicides) but we use structural lgr dehumidifiers and when moisture meter says wood and block is dry, we seal and we're done

Always ensure that waste is double bagged before it leaves the dirty zone and make sure that you hvac is not drawing the dirty air into the rest of your house

For non porous, hepa vac and then wet clean with what ever tickles your fancy.

Spraying tear out materials will only make a nice mess and now the spores are on the floor for you to disturb everytime you walk. Dryvac those materials first, double bag and remove. Let's face it, the spores are already in the air. You can setup an exhaust fan so that anything airborne goes outside for your safety. You should also setup a containment area to prevent airborne migration. This is a common practise in the industry but usually only applies to moderate to severe contamination which is NOT for DIY cleanup.

[DuffMan]

Here are more links providing information with regard to Mould.

http://www.canada-home-mould-inspection-inspector.com/

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/biol_haz ... .html#_1_6

http://www.moulddog.ca

http://www.cca-acc.com/mould/

http://www.toronto.ca/health/mould.htm

http://www.epa.gov/

http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldresources.html

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HE633

Mould Analysis & Testing:

http://www.pinchin.net

Mould Abatement:

http://www.terrasan.com

http://www.inspect-ny.com/sickhouse.htm

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Rhettzky

Woah, that's too eerie. I have the same symptoms but have had them for over a year. How can you get your house tested for mold?

I used AirVironment Canada. They specialize in this stuff. It's expensive, but it's honestly worth it. You don't even realize how crappy you were constantly feeling until you're better again.

I actually am having symptoms again, and I'm not sure if it's from the place I moved to or things I might have forgotten to clean or need to throw out (bedding/pillows).

http://www.airvironment.com/

[ma-skis.com]

ugh... on the horn right now to contractors and a bank to score a LOC to pay for this, any reccomemendations for guys who can do this?