So What's Your Best Way to Tackle Black Mould on Carpet and Walls?

AlienC on 10/03/2022 - 12:50
Last edited 10/03/2022 - 15:01

I have been looking online and the common verdict seems to be white vinegar in a spray bottle and spray the affected area or bleach with 4 parts water to 1 part bleach and the same spray on affected area and then use a scrubbing sponge or Scourer until completely gone.

For me my carpet seems really damaged so I might just have to get someone to rip the carpet out and dispose of it but might try the white vinegar solution first to see how effective it is.

How is everyone dealing with this problem now that it is sort of sunny.

Edit:
Bonus question: does double strength white vinegar work faster or better or the same or not at all for killing black mould or should you just stick with the normal white vinegar and that's all no water dilution needed?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • dust on 10/03/2022 - 12:58
    +2

    Carpet and other soft stuff is probably gone, would recommend replacing as quick as possible. Bleach is good.

    Would also recommend opening windows, putting on a fan and/or using a dehumidifier. Anything to get some more air circulation!

  • djones145 on 10/03/2022 - 13:06
    +1

    new air cons have dehumidifier settings
    its the water drop mode usually
    try that too

  • Whensday on 10/03/2022 - 13:12
    +11

    Bleach doesn't actually kill mould, just removes the colour. It could remove the colour from your carpet too. Vinegar is a better option, or even metho. Can treat with tea tree or clove oil to help keeping it away.

  • AndyC1 on 10/03/2022 - 13:12
    +8

    Bleach does NOT kill mould, it hides it by bleaching the black color to white.
    Vinegar kills mould.
    Tea tree oil and some other stuff also kills mould.

    • morse on 10/03/2022 - 13:33
      +2

      This is true, but the stain from the mould will often remain if you don’t bleach it. I tend to bleach (“domestic cleaner” in the blue bottle) it first, thoroughly rinse and let it dry then follow up with vinegar to kill spores and stop it coming back. Seems to work for me. Definitely don’t mix bleach and vinegar though - it will release toxic gases, the rinsing step is essential.

      • AdosHouse on 10/03/2022 - 13:51
        +1

        Only a bit of chlorine gas, just gives your house that clean pool smell.

    • Xizor on 30/01/2023 - 09:11

      Neither bleach or vinegar actually kill many moulds, let alone on porous surfaces. Massive myths. Both can have varying success treating though.

  • EightImmortals on 10/03/2022 - 13:54
    +1

    For the carpet, probably get it replaced.

    For the walls mix up some clove oil (about 1/4 teaspoon per litre) in a garden sprayer and spay it all over the mould. Leave it for a minimum of 24 hours, this will kill the mould. Then wipe off with warm water/bleach in a bucket. If you choose to repaint then get the stuff with the mould inhibitor in it. If high humidity and moisture is a constant thing mayby invest in a dehumidifer. We were empty 20-30 litres a day during the recent rainy weather.

    https://www.ausclimate.com.au/

  • Ghost47 on 10/03/2022 - 13:59

    Whenever spraying mould with vinegar you need to let the vinegar sit so the mould absorbs it and dies then wipe it off. Spraying and wiping immediately is not as effective.

    Walls are easy to do, but I don’t know how you’d clean mould out of carpet but you probably need it professionally done?

    I wouldn’t want to clean carpet myself, if you leave any sort of dampness mould and mildew could grow easily, especially if it’s humid (and Sydney is humid a lot). Either rip it out if it’s bad or get it professionally cleaned.

  • apsilon on 10/03/2022 - 14:39

    Spray bottle of vinegar with a few drops of clove oil have always worked well for me. Spray it on wet and scrub and let sit then wipe. For really bad mould you may want to also go over it with a bleach spray to hide any staining you can't get out. I've treated some really bad mould at a mates they found when moving out that was behind a wardrobe. Roof had been leaking into the wall we're pretty sure but couldn't be seen due to the wardrobe. Wall was black and the above method removed 95% of it. Alternative would've been to replace the plaster board it was that bad but got it cleaned up.

    Wear a proper respirator. Mould isn't good for you and a lot will become airborne while scrubbing.

    • AlienC on 10/03/2022 - 14:56

      Can it be any vinegar or does it have to be specifically white vinegar.

      I got this old vinegar from years ago but i think it was for food maybe a little spicy.

      And does double strength white vinegar work faster or better or the same?

      • morse on 10/03/2022 - 15:19

        I think if you don’t use white vinegar it might stain whatever you put it on. I just use the normal white vinegar from the cooking section of the supermarket, about $2 for 2l I think.

      • apsilon on 10/03/2022 - 15:46

        I've only ever used standard white vinegar but I don't see why double strength wouldn't work but you're paying a few cents more.

      • indemnity on 06/02/2023 - 21:15

        Most effective concentration is 1% acetic acid in water. The intent is only to drop the pH to be hostile to microbes.

        Higher concentrations do nothing but waste money. It's the acidic water that is killing, the limit is how fast water can wet a surface.

        Standard eating vinegar is ~4%, so dilution is 1:4.

        Double strength is ~8% so dilution is 1:8.

        Distilled white vinegar is preferred because fermented vinegar such as apple cider contains some sugar, salt and colour. Those will leave residue on walls, but are fine for tasks like laundry.

  • Quantumcat on 10/03/2022 - 15:40
    +4

    Make sure to address the problem causing the mould in the first place before you try and remove the symptoms. Otherwise it will just come back.

    • AlienC on 11/03/2022 - 01:20

      Well the carpet is gone now and I also removed the underlay so only concrete remains so I'm just getting to sanitise that and a few mould that has popped up on the walls.

      So it's a ground and wall job but mainly floor first then I'm gonna mop with floor cleaner till no more visible mould or dirt.

      The carpet I'm cutting up and just putting it in the waste bin bit by bit each week.. It's a lost cause so just gonna trash it sadly and get a new piece of carpet later down the line after I clean the floor area properly.

      Just trying to stop the mould in its tracks now and completely destroy it from the house.

      So going to try white vinegar spray and also ordering a bunch of some mould Killers from Coles.

      • Quantumcat on 11/03/2022 - 06:13

        Did you find out why there is moisture coming into your floor and walls?

  • sagrules on 11/03/2022 - 11:44

    I'm having similar issues but on ceiling, any suggestions?

    • AlienC on 11/03/2022 - 17:41

      So far a normal dish washing scrub and some dish washing soap seems to take it off.. It's gone for now but who knows if it will grow back.

      I have ordered some mould killer from Coles so will be trying that when it arrives.

      But yeah a Scourer and some cleaner liquid or soap is good for now.

  • Euphemistic on 11/03/2022 - 19:22

    Bleach just changes the colour. Vinegar or specialist enzyme based mould killers are the only thing that will kill it.

    • AlienC on 11/03/2022 - 22:26

      I'm learning this now.. So does bleach have any effect in cleaning say surfaces or toilets or is it just to change the colour no sanitising or germ bacteria or virus killing effect?

      • Euphemistic on 12/03/2022 - 06:55

        They use bleach in hospitals. Other than that I just heard a mould expert on radio a few days ago and she said bleach doesn’t kill mould. You need vinegar or enzyme based products suited for mould.

        • AlienC on 12/03/2022 - 13:00

          That's interesting about bleach.. I wonder if it has any uses then for like toilets or bathroom areas.

          I'm going to be using white vinegar and mould killing sprays from Coles ordered a bunch.

          • indemnity on 06/02/2023 - 21:24

            @AlienC: Bleach is fantastic at killing mold but it can't penetrate surfaces.

            Think of mold like grass. It's has roots.

            It's similar to mowing your lawn. Bleach cuts off and kills the top. Compare that to Roundup which leaves the lawn intact but penetrates the plant to kill the roots.

            Bleach is fantastic at hard non porous surfaces like bathroom and kitchen areas. It almost instantly kills the mold, whitens stains and contains/makes soap for easy cleaning. However, it's awful at soft porous surfaces such as timber, paper faced plaster board, clothing, bricks, grout and masonry.

            Non-bleach mold sprays differ in that they take hours-days to kill mold, they don't affect the stain and don't have soap for easy removal. However, they do kill the mold down to it's roots, don't damage the substrate, safe in dyed textiles like your curtains, and are usually non-toxic to people. They are also more expensive.

  • BillyStm on 12/03/2022 - 07:04

    Fire, seriously you won't even know its there afterwards…

  • Ori0n on 25/03/2022 - 17:43

    You've done the right thing by ripping up the carpets - they are a lost cause as soon as there is ANY mould on them.

    Recently had water ingress during a storm, woke up to a nice splish splash in the living room. Insurance assessors pulled up a corner of the carpet and noticed some mould along the edges and that was it - must replace the whole room. Once it's in there, you just can't get rid of it and it can be terrible for your health and that of your family and pets.

    As others have pointed out - bleach is useful for surface mould, it will help wipe it off and discolour it but it wont penetrate into a surface to actually kill it, so it will grow back after time. Vinegar solutions much better to penetrate, but usually less good at treating surface stains. Some recommend using both methods, one for surface, one for killing it but do not ever use bleach and vinegar together because that creates chlorine gas which is deadly.

    End of the day - you need to treat the cause of the mould and not just the mould itself otherwise you'll be doing it constantly. Where is the moisture coming from? If you have mould on your walls, then likely the inside of your walls are also covered in it and would require treating. Also likely means any insulation in that wall is drenched and useless.

    • AlienC on 25/03/2022 - 19:41

      Yeah I knew it was a lost cause was just curious if any professionals had any high level fixes for it but after I pulled it out it was basically easy to see that it was just a throw job.

      Managed to get a second batch of carpet in the red bin this week.

      Then just one more batch then have to look at another section as it looked OK but maybe better if I just rip it out also.

  • ForbiddenCouponJutsu on 30/01/2023 - 14:47

    Clove oil has been my go-to for removing Black Mold.

    Lived in a house that was full of it.
    Little to no ventilation or sunlight on that place.

    Black mold grew on the walls inside the house.

    Clove oil worked wonders, it's not perfect but it's pretty good.

    • AlienC on 31/01/2023 - 20:58

      Where was the best place to buy it or make it?

      What was your recipe or formula.

  • kiwiyonip on 02/02/2023 - 09:08

    Exit moulds

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