In the world of mold removal, it might seem like we only focus on removing mold from the walls or permanent fixtures in your house, but what about the items that aren’t anchored to the walls or floors?
That’s right. I’m talking about the furniture in your home and, unfortunately, it can host mold just like the walls of your basement or the ceiling in your attic.
Mold doesn’t mind where it lives as long as it hides the two things it needs: moisture and a food source. This means your couch, your coffee table or even your painted picture frames are potential homes for mold if you aren’t careful, but don’t panic.
We’re here to help.
Mold Growth in General
Mold spores are all around us. It’s a naturally occurring organism and when you walk outside your door every morning, there’s almost a 100% chance there’s some mold growing somewhere within walking distance.
The problem occurs when mold gets a little pushy and moves in on your turf and inside your house.
Mold can grow on any porous surface and the wooden legs of your favorite chair are no exception. It can feast on the wood itself and survive off the moisture held in the wood if it’s ever been wet.
So, in an attempt to make this section brief, here are the two things mold requires to live: A food source (this can be anything from wood to clothes to paper to dust and debris) and moisture.
If you have those two things, you’ve got the perfect home for mold. Now, let’s get to the part on how to remove it.
Mold Removal
Any time you’re handling mold, the right safety precautions should always be your first priority. If you’ve discovered mold on your furniture, do a thorough check of the surrounding area to see if the mold has spread to other areas. If you discover more mold than originally thought, you shouldn’t attempt removing it on your own unless it’s less than ten square feet in size.
Since this article is focusing on mold removal from furniture, we’re going to assume you’re dealing with small patches of mold.
Make sure you take the proper precautions with masks, gloves and goggles before you start the removal process. Then, gather the supplies you’ll need for the project. This includes a couple of washcloths, a bucket with warm water, and a mold removal solution you can mix up right in your own kitchen.
For the solution, take warm water, baking soda and vinegar and mix it together in a clean spray bottle. It’s a very mild solution but it’s incredibly effective. Since we’re dealing with furniture in this post, we don’t want to use any sort of harsh chemicals to remove the mold.
Many people suggest using bleach to remove mold but we tend to stay away from bleach. For one, bleach is filled with chemicals that aren’t great for your respiratory system. Secondly, bleach evaporates very quickly and it often doesn’t have enough time to soak in and kill all of the mold spores before it evaporates.
Next, take the furniture outside the home. This helps reduce the chances of the mold spores going airborne and latching on to other surfaces inside the home. Thoroughly soak the area affected by mold with the solution in your spray bottle. Give it time to begin to work and then gently begin to wipe away the patches of mold. If you’ve got some stubborn areas of mold, you can use a scrub brush to really get into the area and remove the mold.
As you scrub (or wipe) you should be able to see the mold begin to dissipate. Make sure you rid the furniture of all visible traces of mold because you don’t want to have to repeat this process again in a few weeks if at all possible. Before you move the furniture back into the home, verify that it’s completely dry. Being so porous, wood has a tendency to take a lot longer to dry so if you’re handling all wood furniture, make sure you give it suffice to time to completely dry out.
Once it’s dry, feel free to place the items back inside to enjoy at your leisure.
Larger Projects
I mentioned earlier in the article that any mold patches larger than ten square feet in i size need to be taken care of by a professional mold removal service. You’re in luck, however, because we have an entire team of mold removal specialists who are more than happy to answer any questions you might have. Give us a call today!
