Growing mold on basement walls is natural, a basement is a humid place and there is lots of moisture.
Not much sunlight can get through a basement because the room itself is underground.
In this article we will discuss how to remove the mold from basement walls using 3 steps: observe the room, prepare the things, and executing the plan.
Read also: How to Clean Concrete Floor in Basement?
1. Observe the Room
Mold only grows if there is water for it to feed on. Basements are lack of sunlight, causing the room temperature goes low and cold, which makes the walls get humid and full of moistures that later will be turned into water that feeds the mold, allowing it to grow.
Some basements are used for a place where plumbing pipes go down to, make it a great potential for mold to grow if any of the pipes is leaking. It would be disastrous and intensive precautions need to be made.
2. Prepare the Things
The things needed for removing the mold and cleaning the basement walls are bleach, detergent, anti-mold paint, water hose, water bucket, liquid soap, warm water, sponge/scrub brush, and dry cloth.
There are many chemicals that can be used to remove mold on walls like borax, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, baking soda, and vinegar.
But the one that has the strongest disinfectant and antibacterial is bleach, causing the fungus on mold to dissolve quickly.
For a humid place like a basement; it needs the strongest to keep the wall clean for a long period of time.
3. Executing the Plan
Next, let’s discuss about the steps to remove the mold. First, safety glasses, mask, rubber gloves and long sleeved jacket must be put on. Why? Because the fumes produced by bleach can be dangerous for health if touched or inhaled; it may cause dizziness and also respiratory problems (for asthmatics, get help immediately if it is inhaled).
After that, put liquid soap in the bucket, mix it with warm water. Use sponge to wipe dirt or debris on the wall, keep doing it until the wall is cleaned. Then, take out the soap water in the bucket and replace it with another warm water and mix one cup of bleach in it, do not forget to clean the sponge too. Soak the sponge or scrub brush in bleach water and use it to scrub the wall.
Let it sit for a while. After that, clean the wall with mixed water and detergent. Detergent is known to have a good effect in erasing fumes creating by bleach. Then, rinse the wall with water and then dry it using the dry cloth. For preventing the mold to grow, it is better to repaint the wall with anti-mold paint.
A basement is a humid place to begin with, so mold will keep growing eventually if there is no intensive precaution or cleaning routines. If there is any other way to prevent the mold from growing, it is to put some installments like windows or more ventilation so the sunlight can warm the room, killing the bacteria and decreasing humidity at the same time.
If you have a basement floor that is clean, you can decorate the room according to your wishes. Here are some interesting decor to a basement.
Originally posted 2021-02-24 00:03:00.
