LESLIE: Peggy from Minnesota is looking to remove some moldy sheetrock. What happened? Did you have a leak? A flood?
PEGGY: Hello. Thank you for taking my call.
LESLIE: You’re so welcome. Tell us how this sheetrock got moldy.
PEGGY: Well, I’m not actually sure if it’s a true mold. We live in a house about 60 to 70 years old and we have a decorative sheetrock-type wallcovering in our basement which was put in about, oh, 20 plus years ago. It’s becoming discolored in spots, although it doesn’t smell moldy. There’s no moldy odor.
TOM: Is the basement damp and moist?
PEGGY: It possibly could have been.
TOM: OK.
PEGGY: You know? I mean at some point it must have been. I guess that’s my only thought.
TOM: Mm-hmm.
LESLIE: Well, do you run a dehumidifier down there?
PEGGY: We do. Not full time, but I do try to run one when it’s warm and hot and humid in the summer.
TOM: OK. Well, if it is mold you have to be very careful about how you approach it. I’m going to send you our website at MoneyPit.com. We actually have an entire mold resource section there. If you click on Ideas and Tips then click on the Mold Resource Guide, you can actually see all of the tips for cleaning up mold and there’s some links to the EPA pamphlet that’s online also about cleaning up mold and there’s a lot of great information there. You have to approach it very carefully because you don’t want it to become airborne.
But essentially you’re going to – what you’re probably going to do is spray it down with a bleach and water solution and then clean it up if it’s a small area like that. If it’s a larger area then you really have to take some personal protective measures so that you don’t breathe that stuff in. But the quicker you get to it the smaller the problem is going to be. OK? So I do suggest you go to MoneyPit.com, click on the mold resource section right there and then read through all the tips and you’ll be good to go.
PEGGY: Great, that’s what I was hoping to find; what type of, say, face and nose protection we might need or …
TOM: Yeah, exactly. Click on there. You’re going to want to use a respirator while you do this and one with a charcoal filter works best. But again, go to the website, MoneyPit.com, and click on the Mold Resource Center.
Peggy, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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