The discovery of mold in one’s living space is always an unwelcome find. Not only is it unsightly to look at, but there are potentially serious implications when a mold outbreak occurs. An estimated 48% of homes in the United States have at least some mold present, and the damage from that mold can take hold rapidly and be devastating to the families that live in those homes. Of the 21.8 million people reported to have asthma in the United States, 4.6 million cases could be attributed to mold.
These are all alarming figures that should have you racing to determine how best to take care of any kind of mold outbreak that makes its way into your living quarters. Luckily, we have solutions that can work for you no matter who you are or what your budget looks like. In particular, we often receive inquiries about the effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide in killing mold. That is something we want to address with you today so that you have the facts on your side.
Does Hydrogen Peroxide Kill Mold?
First and foremost, you need to know specifically what we are talking about when we talk about mold. Most people have had at least some experience dealing with it before, but you should have a definitive definition in hand. Healthline.com offers this insight into how to define what mold is:
Mold (mildew) is a type of fungus that thrives in damp environments. It commonly grows in moist areas in your home, like the basement and around leaks.
If you see something like this spring up in your home or place of work, you need to address it as soon as possible. The longer it is permitted to linger, the bigger the problem will become. The mold can spread to other areas and quickly become an infestation. Instead of allowing that to happen, you need to fight back with every tool that you have available in your arsenal, starting with hydrogen peroxide.
There is a good chance that you have some cleaning products around your home that contain hydrogen peroxide in them. Go ahead and pull those out of storage and start examining which ones contain hydrogen peroxide. You may be able to use some of them in this battle against mold. That said, you may need to call in the professionals for a mold problem that has grown out of proportion to what you can handle with simple household cleaners.
How Hydrogen Peroxide Can Kill Mold
The use of hydrogen peroxide to treat minor wounds is quite common. The antimicrobial properties that it has can be useful when trying to kill viruses and bacteria to help keep a wound clean. It may also be useful when your aim is to kill mold spores.
Researchers were curious about the abilities of hydrogen peroxide to kill mold and thus tested it against six different kinds of mold spores in a scientific study. What they discovered was interesting. They found that hydrogen peroxide does have the ability to kill mold on solid surfaces, but it is not nearly as effective when used against mold on porous or soft surfaces.
Mold has a nasty habit of trying to squeeze its way into any tiny space that it can find, and this means that it often gets into areas that simply aren’t hard surfaces. For example, it may seep into wood, tile, and even the foundation of your home. When that is the case, you will have no choice but to call in the experts. However, there are certain solid surfaces that you can eliminate mold from yourself (in most cases), such as:
- Walls
- Glass surfaces
- Around your tub/shower
- Counters and tabletops
These are all areas that are prone to mold outbreaks as well. The damp nature that many of these surfaces exist in at all times makes them prime targets for mold to grow. That said, you can battle back against this by using household hydrogen peroxide products to eliminate mold at its source.
When Will Hydrogen Peroxide Not Work?
Before you get too carried away and assume that hydrogen peroxide is the answer to every potential mold problem that you might encounter, consider the situations when it is not appropriate to use it. A few instances when you do not want to use hydrogen peroxide to take care of mold include:
- Mold on Bath Rugs – The porous nature of the bath rug means that hydrogen peroxide will be highly ineffective at eliminating the mold from a bath rug. Not only that, but the cost of bath rugs is generally quite low. You are far better off simply replacing the bath rug that you have purchased and disposing of the one that has been taken down by mold. Make sure you dispose of it safely so that you don’t run the risk of spreading mold further.
- Mold in Wooden Walls – If your structure is made with wooden walls, then a mold problem can pose an even bigger challenge for you than it would for someone with a building made of a different type of material. This is important to remember because you don’t want to start spraying hydrogen peroxide all over wooden walls and ultimately bleach those walls. Call in a professional if you have a mold problem within wooden walls.
These tips apply to any porous surface where mold might try to make a home. You may or may not be able to save the surface, but your best bet is to call in a professional at that point.
How to Safely Use Hydrogen Peroxide to Eliminate Mold
There are safe steps that one can take to use hydrogen peroxide in their home to eliminate a mold problem. Safety should be your top concern when dealing with something as serious as mold, and that is why it is recommended that you follow these safety procedures:
- Wear Protective Gear – You need to get suited up in protective gear before you start spraying down any surface with hydrogen peroxide. Wear gloves just like someone in the food service industry would, and take it a step further by also putting on goggles and a mask while you are working on eliminating mold. These measures will keep your body safe from the potential mold spores that will likely spread throughout the area while you are trying to spray down the area. The last thing in the world that you would want is for mold spores to get launched onto your unprotected skin. Always gear up.
- Add 3-Percent Hydrogen Peroxide to a Spray Bottle – Take your 3-percent hydrogen peroxide solution and add it to a clean and unused spray bottle. Always be sure that the bottle has not been used for other purposes before as you do not want to risk cross-contamination. Once you are certain that you are safe, you can begin to spray the mold that you can see on solid surfaces with this solution.
- Give it Approximately 10 Minutes – Wait for approximately 10 minutes while you allow the hydrogen peroxide solution to seep into the mold spores and start to do what it needs to do. You should see the hydrogen peroxide begin to bubble as it cleans away the mold in the area.
- Scrub Away the Mold Gently – Take a damp rag and gently scrub away the mold that you can see. Make sure you don’t get overly aggressive with your scrubbing as you don’t want to risk damaging the surface that you are attempting to clear of mold.
- Wipe the Surface Clean – Once you have rubbed away any surface-level mold that you can see, take your damp rag and wipe the surface clean of any debris that you might see. You want that surface to look its best after you have finished this process.
- Repeat as Needed – Don’t be afraid to repeat the process as many times as necessary. If mold has been permitted to fester on a surface for some time, then it may take a few cycles of this process before you are able to truly declare that the surface is fully clean.
These are the steps that have been trial-tested and proven to produce results. Again, you only want to clean off surfaces that are solid in nature and that you believe you can safely clean with hydrogen peroxide.
Call in a Team of Experts
Although using hydrogen peroxide from household cleaning products might seem like the quickest and easiest solution, that isn’t always the case. If your mold issue is particularly widespread or if mold exists on porous surfaces, you will need to call in the experts.
Here at Dry Out Daddy Restoration, we seek to restore calm and peace to your life once again by helping you take care of mold and other water damage issues. When mold has forced its way into areas where it shouldn’t be, give us a call. We will send our friendly experts who can help you take care of the problem once and for all. No more worrying about the damage that mold is causing to your home and body. Grab the phone and contact us now to set up an appointment and start to put this mold issue behind you.