Basement Renovations And Black Mold
When it comes to renovations, basements are one of the targets to hit. Basements can be most easily renovated to give you extra rooms like bathrooms, bedrooms and a rec room, or whatever you want. But the renovations is difficult and it can be dangerous to your health, mainly because of the potential for black mold growth. Black mold is common in the basement area because it is dark and wet downstairs which often goes unnoticed until renovations. It is likely that on top of the usual worries about renovations, you may have to deal with black mold as well.
Any renovator who feels passionate about this craft will take the black mold as an opportunity to get rid of the health risk and make the basement beautiful at the same time. Basement renovations almost invariably include tearing out walls, fixing pipework and generally cleaning up, which will help you discover and clean out any hitherto invisible black mold. This mold is mostly likely behind walls, near ductwork and around pipes, so by removing and changing up the walls, you will see the mold for yourself and find that it is easier to clean out.
You can usually get rid of the black mold in your basement on your own, providing the area isn’t too huge. You can purchase black mold cleaners also called biocides online or off and then use a HEPA vacuum and a wire brush. It’s a fairly basic procedure: enclose the area in plastic, carefully vacuum the area, then scrape it with a stiff wire brush, damp down the area to prevent spores, and wash it.
If the affected area is something that you are going to tear out anyway, tear everything out first (make sure to dispose it properly) and then clean the area you’re keeping around it, just in case. Mold spores can move around with ridiculous ease so that even if you remove the affected area, you may still have contamination in your new basement.
The simple fact is that black mold remediation is probably going to come up in the course of basement renovations. Basements are suitable places for black mold to live and grow, so you will likely run into it while renovating. But don’t get stressed out or annoyed; remember that you are going to be cleaning and tearing things out anyway, so take advantage of the chance to renovate your home and your health
