How to Eliminate Mold in Your Home

I’ve been wondering about how to eliminate mold — for good. How can I get rid of mold growth in my home?

Mold growth is an ever-present possibility in homes, and

though not all molds are dangerous, identifying which ones are harmful can be difficult. You should thus eliminate mold when you find it by addressing the root causes and then killing the dormant spores left behind.

Mold grows only when sufficient moisture encounters organic materials, so moisture control should always be the first step toward managing mold growth. Increase your home’s ventilation enough during winter to eradicate or greatly reduce window condensation that could trigger mold growth. Proper ventilation will also help curtail the moisture buildup in other places, too. A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is the best way to boost ventilation and will also improve indoor air quality.

A bleach-and-water solution is a traditional means of killing mold, but this method isn’t always effective. The best way I’ve found to get rid of mold is to use a fungicide called Concrobium Mold Control, which is registered by the Environmental Protection Agency. This product contains sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium carbonate (washing soda) and trisodium phosphate (TSP). It’s a transparent, odorless, non-sticky liquid that kills mold and mold spores as it dries. It also offers some residual mold control. Brush or spray it onto moldy surfaces. Professional mold-abatement workers employ fogging units to deliver this same product over large areas inside of buildings infested with mold. A companion product called Mold Stain Eraser uses oxygen-based bleaching to eliminate mold stains with little or no scrubbing