[Greenbuilding] Water Damage and Mold Abatement

[Jefro]

It depends on how deep the mold goes.  Normal chlorine bleach kills 
surface mold quite readily.  Killz is a primer/sealer that will 
basically seal the outside of the wood so that any spores left inside 
will not be able to migrate back out. 

An option I have used is to bleach the mold thoroughly, then treat with 
either tea tree oil or tung oil (or both).  Tea tree oil is quite toxic 
to mold and non-toxic to people, but doesn't last long, although that 
may not be a problem if the moisture issue is resolved.  We have had 
very good luck stopping mold with tea tree oil in solution with a 
solvent, particularly citrus solvent or even alcohol, to help it penetrate.

Tung oil won't support mold growth and will form a good seal, although 
it is quite expensive and takes a very, very long time to dry, even 
using a solvent to help it penetrate the wood.  Cured tung oil is a good 
liquid water barrier but not a very good vapor barrier.  Beware that 
pure tung oil is about 3x as expensive as Killz or any other sealer, on 
the order of $50/gallon, and

My recommendation would be to kill the mold with bleach and/or tea tree 
oil and leave it open and dry for a while to see if the mold returns 
before going the toxic route. 

best of luck!


> However, if we open the wall and find a mold monster, our contractors are going to shove a lovely array of chemistry at us.  I want to know if there are any alternatives to, say, KILLZ or whatever that stuff is they like to use to destroy mold.  SInce at this point we don't know how many house components are involved in this, I know it may be a little tough to pinpoint.  Still, any info you may have would be helpful.  Thanks so much!
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