Mold Archives

Cleaning Up Mold – Mold 101

We have been getting plenty of calls from people who were flooded as a result of the recent rains on top of the deluge from Irene and Lee.

Mold in basements, mold on docks, mold on decks, in kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms…..mold is everywhere! They all want help in cleaning up mold.

Sounds like a good time to review Mold 101.

Mold Wants Water – Stop the Water

Mold wants moisture This is not hard to come by lately, especially if you are in the mid-Atlantic, Northeast or Deep South. The first step to cleaning any mold problem is to get rid of the moisture. If there is a leak, fit it! You are wasting your time and money if you are cleaning up mold and not stopping the source of water. The mold will just return when the water returns.

Mold Wants Food – Cut Off the Food Supply

The second step is removing water-damaged materials. If this includes taking down walls or removing cabinets, make sure that you set up a containment area and run a HEPA air cleaner for mold to keep from spreading the spores. Cleaning up mold also means containing mold. When we did mold remediation, we removed drywall in 4 foot sections. If the furring strips and studs are in good condition, they can be HEPA vacuumed with a sealed vacuum (such as made by Nilfisk) to remove any spores. By removing the water damaged areas, you are removing the food source for the mold. If you are cleaning up mold and not removing the food source, you are wasting your time and energy.

Kill The Spores – Die Mold Die!

The entire area needs to be treated with an antimicrobial agent to kill any remaining mold. We recommend Vital-Oxide antimicrobial spray over bleach. The active ingredient in Vital-Oxide is chlorine dioxide. It will kill the mold spores without the pungent odor and corrosive properties associated with chlorine beach. It is also much safer to use than bleach. Vital Oxide is vital to cleaning up mold to keep it from returning.

Keep the Mold from Coming Back

Once the treated area has dried, you might want to use a sealant like SureCote if the area is going to continue to be exposed to the elements (like an outside deck or patio). The SureCote will provide a clear, protective coating that resists mold growth. If the area is not outside, you can skip the SureCote. Just proceed to rebuilding.

Remember, Mold 101, first stop the moisture, then clean up, then treat with an anti-microbial.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

Vital Oxide Saves the Day (and Car)

Wow, Vital Oxide just saved the interior of my daughter’s car! I can’t believe it.

I’ve told you before how Vital Oxide is an amazing antimicrobial spray. Well, in this case, it saved replacing the interior of the car.

My daughter recently moved to Texas from Florida. Just before she left, she accidentally left a window down and the interior of her car got wet. We didn’t know this, and it just sat in the driveway in the hot sun.

Then a few days later it was towed across the country, in the heat. The smell, when we opened the car door, was almost enough to make you vomit. The warm, moist environment was perfect for the growth of mold. Ewwwww.

Thank goodness it is a convertible and we were able to put the top down to help speed up the drying process. It took over a quart of Vital Oxide, but the mold was killed and the odor was vanquished.

The car is drivable again, the new neighbors won’t think she is harboring a dead body in her trunk, and Mom and Dad didn’t have to spring for a new interior and graduate school all at once.

Vital Oxide saved the day again. It is one amazing antimicrobial spray and mold slayer!

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

Send Germs and Molds Packing with Antimicrobial Spray

Vital-Oxide is an antimicrobial spray with many household uses.

The bulk of the product we sell is for someone that has had some type of mold contamination and they are looking for a way to safely and effectively clean up the problem. Vital-Oxide is great for that. But as an all-purpose antimicrobial spray, Vital-Oxide does more.

The active ingredient is chlorine dioxide. Now don’t let the word “chlorine” make you think of chlorine bleach like you use in the laundry or put in your swimming pool. The Clorox stuff is sodium hypochlorite, which is totally different. Sodium hypochlorite is a skin and mucous membrane irritant and can damage the respiratory system. It breaks down into trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids.

Chlorine dioxide breaks down into chlorites and sodium chloride (table salt) and is not a metabolic toxin. It reacts with the amino acids in the microbial cells to eliminate bacteria and viruses but is relatively un-reactive to other organic materials.

As a bonus, it also denatures proteins, and proteins are the source of allergic reactions. Vital-Oxide will work on Der f1 and Der p1 (the dust mite allergens) as well as Can d1 and Fel d1 (animal allergens)

Because it works at the microbial level, it will get rid of odors at the source. I have found many uses for the product in my house. We often take advantage of sales on chicken breast. Our local butcher will run a special on chicken breasts that must come from birds the size of Tim Tebow.

These birds would make Loni Anderson and Dolly Parton feel inadequate. They are the largest breasts I have ever seen. They require further butchering and trimming down to become meal size for our household of 2.

Needless to say, after cutting up 10 to 15 pounds of chicken the cutting board, your hands, and the knife is a bit of a mess. I clean up with Vital-Oxide and let the antimicrobial spray go to work killing any salmonella or other germs that may have come home with the chicken.

After someone has had a cold, I like to wipe down door handles, knobs, and remote controls to keep germs in check. When we briefly had a cat that had litter box issues, the odor-eliminating properties of the antimicrobial spray were put to use. Just wipe up the urine, spray the area, then a little squirt in the air and the smell was gone.

We have a family member that is an MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) carrier. We have to be very careful that it does not spread. Vital-Oxide is great for killing this bacteria and we put it to work in the bathroom, wiping down surfaces to take care of any germs that might be left behind. Because it is not a metabolic toxin, it won’t contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. As anyone who deals with MRSA knows, this is an important health issue today.

Of course, Vital-Oxide works well on mold. Because it doesn’t produce chlorine gas, it can be used indoors without fear of respiratory damage. It was EPA approved for use to combat norovirus back in 2007 and has been used to clean up the cruise ships here in Miami.

So whether it is mold, chicken mess, cat pee, bacteria, or viruses, Vital-Oxide is a great all-purpose antimicrobial spray.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store