Mildew On Walls
Your walls and ceiling are major hang-outs for nasty mildew that stinks, looks bad and can cause health problems. Here’s how you take care of the problem.
What Is Mildew?
How do you know you’ve got a mildew problem? Sometimes you’ll see fuzzy stuff growing on the walls or ceiling. This means that it’s growing out of control inside your walls where you can’t see it. Sometimes it won’t show at all; it may be your nose that tells you. If you smell a musty, wet smell when you step up to the wall, you’ve probably got mildew inside.
Wash Away It Away
Cleaning the mildew on the outside of the wall is easy. First, try scrubbing with soap and water. You should be able to see the mildew coming right off. Scrub repeatedly until you can’t see anything at all. This is only the first step; next we have to disinfect.
A great way to disinfect in a natural, non-toxic way is to use household vinegar. Mix vinegar and water, and put it into a spray bottle. The mixture should be mostly water. Try about one part vinegar to two parts water. You might want to increase the vinegar content if you’re really concerned about wall mildew growing back. Now, spray the trouble area and let it dry on the wall.
Cleaning Mildew Inside Walls
Once you’ve cleaned outside your wall, you might be in the clear. But, if the smell still hangs around, that means you’ve got a much bigger problem. In this case, you’ve got a mildew infestation inside the walls, and there is no easy way to clean it.
The only way to clean mildew inside walls is to remove the wallboard, and spray inside with an industrial strength cleaner and disinfectant.
It’s bad news, but all the mildew-covered wallboard must be removed and thrown away. Mildew can’t be cleaned out of wood because it is a porous material, so it all has to be tossed.
If you are unable to successfully remove all the mold and mildew from your home you may have to renovate. There are many companies such as this junk removal Kitchener business which specialize in the removal of mold and toxic cleanups.
