My Doctor Mold

Cleanup and Biocides

Biocides are substances that can destroy living organisms. The use of a chemical or biocide that kills organisms such as mold (chlorine bleach, for example) is not recommended as a routine practice during mold cleanup.

There may be instances, however, when professional judgment may indicate its use (for example, when immune-compromised individuals are present). In most cases, it is not possible or desirable to sterilize an area; a background level of mold spores will remain - these spores will not grow if the moisture problem has been resolved.

	Chlorine bleach is ineffective in killing mold for at least four reasons:
	1. It is too diluted and thus too weak to permanently kill mold unless the mold is simply sitting on top of a hard surface like a counter top or sink. 2. What little killing power chlorine bleach does have is diminished significantly as the bleach sits in warehouse and a grocery store solves shelves or inside your home or business (50% loss in killing power in just the first 90 days inside a never opened jug or container) Chlorine ions constantly escapes through the plastic walls of its containers. 3. Chlorine bleach’s ion structure also prevents chlorine from penetration into porous materials such as dry wall and wood…it just stays on the outside surface. Whereas mold has protected enzymes roots growing inside the porous construction materials. When you spray porous surface molds with bleach, the water in the water solutions soaks into the wood while the bleach chemical sits atop the surface, gasses off, and thus only partially kills the surface layer of mold while the water penetration of the building materials fosters further mold growth. 4. Chlorine bleach is NOT a registered with the EPA as a disinfectant to kill mold. You can verify that important fact yourself when you are unable to find an EPA registration number for killing mold on the label of any brand chlorine bleach.