Mold remediation advice needed

Andy J.

Andy J.

Doin’ it LIVE
Joined
Nov 5, 2005
Location
Winston
Long story short, a leaky toilet lead to a full bathroom remodel. I just pulled up the tile floor and under the durarock was black mold. The affected area is about two ft square. There was also some behind the base board next to the toilet. I've never dealt with this stuff before and I know we've got a few experts around here so I hoping someone can tell me if I need to dig deeper or maybe I can just kill the visible stuff and be ok? The subfloor feels solid around the toilet.


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If the source of the leak is fixed then the next step is going to be to contain off the area you are working in and then removal of any contaminated material (within reason). When I say contain I mean to close off the bathroom so that anything airborne does not contaminate the adjoining rooms. This can be as simple as closing the door while you work and have the bathroom exhaust fan running while you remediate. That'll create a negative draw and ventilation of the bad stuff. Wear a good respirator and gloves, long sleeves and be sure to doff the work clothing before exiting the containment. Sheetrock, baseboard and wall paper ideally should be thrown out if its infected with mold. The wood subfloor and framing can be cleaned with a strong concentrated mold killer. Microban green label is a great choice. It can be purchased from industrial cleaning supply stores. You can try to simply clean the sheetrock but its very pourous and don't hold up well after being wet. Mold loves to grow on the backside of the rock inside the wall cavity. Or not risk getting sick and just call AdvantaClean.
 
First of all, that does not look like mold. It looks like water stained wood to me. Spray it with microban if you want to, there is no harm in that. Make sure you let it dry before proceeding with repairs. Mold usually grows in circular colonies. Just looking at your picture, that's not mold. Make sure you install the toilet correctly.
 
It may be true that some of the discoloration is just from the water stains. I took a better look at the framing and it doesn't appear to be affected from what I could see. I think I'll hit it with some mold killer and let it dry well.
 
An easy way to tell if its mold growth is to wipe it with your hand. Wear a glove obviously. If it smears, its mold. If not then its wood stain. Smell is a good indicator too.
 
It doesn't look like mold, although I would need to see it in person to know for sure.

If it is mold, but a simple tyvek suit (really cheap at Lowe's or Home Depot) and wear a cartridge type respirator with a p100 cartridge, not a paper dust mask. If you don't want to wear tyvek then throw your clothes straight into the wash.

If it is mold, then you need to abrade the subfloor in addition to treating if you do not want to remove it.

(But it really just looks like water staining to me, the bottom side will tell you more though)
 
X2 on Advanta clean. If you are unsure, most places will come do an inspection for free or minimal cost. I had them do my remediation before they encapsulated my crawlspace. They literally wiped down every surface under our house and sprayed a mold killer everywhere too. I thought I only had mold under the bathroom where I had my leak, but they showed me where I had it all over the place.
 
XJsavage said:
An easy way to tell if its mold growth is to wipe it with your hand. Wear a glove obviously. If it smears, its mold. If not then its wood stain. Smell is a good indicator too.
Click to expand...

Turns out the majority of it is wood stain. There were a few mold spores, but not nearly as bad as I originally feared. I sprayed the whole thing down with mold killer. I also happen to have the ceiling down in the garage directly under the affected area and everything looks very clean from underneath.
 
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