LESLIE: Wayne in New Hampshire is having an issue with mold. Tell us about it.
WAYNE: The problem I have – I guess when the contractors put the insulation up in the attic, they put it too tight over the soffit and I wasn’t getting enough ventilation.
TOM: OK.
WAYNE: So now I’ve got some black mold growing up there and I want to know how I can get rid of it.
TOM: Well, what you can do is you can mix up a solution of about 1/3 bleach and 2/3 water, or maybe even 25 percent, and just spray it. Make sure you wear safety glasses and a respirator and spray it. That will kill the mold. There’s really no reason to strip it or, you know, wipe it away. We just want to kill it. And as long as we’ve got this ventilation issue addressed, it won’t grow any further.
And by the way, it’s probably more of a mildew problem than a toxic mold issue. For all the years I spent as a home inspector, I very, very frequently found mildew on the underside of the plywood. And eventually it’ll cause decay and it can delaminate the plywood but it’s generally not stachybotrys, which is the toxic type of mold that we’re most concerned about.
WAYNE: OK, because it was black mold and I was worried about that being …
TOM: Yep, I understand.
WAYNE: … some kind of a problem.
TOM: Yeah, no.
WAYNE: Alright, we’ll give it a shot.
TOM: Alright, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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