Leslie Segrete: Hi, there. This is Leslie Segrete.
Tom Kraeutler: And I’m Tom Kraeutler.
Leslie Segrete: And we are coming to you from the 2015 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. We are so super-duper lucky to be here and bringing you the news on the newest, best, and most innovative do-it-yourself products out there to date. Joining us right now, we’ve got Brian Joyce, who’s the VP of Marketing for ENVIROcare Corporation. I want to talk about some mold and mildew stain remover. I mean, it’s springtime. We’re got a lot of mold and mildew.
Tom Kraeutler: Exactly.
Brian Joyce: It’s definitely the time of year.
Tom Kraeutler: Yeah. I think folks can be confused, first of all, about figuring out what is this green stuff stuck to the side of their house.
Leslie Segrete: Because mold and mildew are not the same thing.
Tom Kraeutler: No. It could be algae, it could be mold, it could be mildew. With your products, does it matter?
Brian Joyce: No, it doesn’t. We, actually, offer a bunch of different products, anywhere from mold killers, which is the product that you probably start off cleaning with.
Tom Kraeutler: Okay.
Brian Joyce: We have one product called, “The Moldex Mold Killer“, and that’s sort of our flagship product.
Leslie Segrete: That sounds so aggressive and effective.
Brian Joyce: Yeah. We also offer stain removers and general purpose cleaners. For instance, we just did a line extension and introduced this product called, “Moldex Instant Mold and Mildew Stain Remover.”
Leslie Segrete: Brian, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s say, winter’s done. Now I’m seeing the remnants of everything that happened over the months of snow, and dirt, and grime. The one side of my house is just covered in some sort of green growth. Where do I start?
Brian Joyce: I would start with the Moldex Mold Killer.
Leslie Segrete: Okay.
Brian Joyce: The first step to treating a mold and mildew problem is to first kill the mold and mildew in the root that causes mold and mildew, much like any living organism, it requires food and water to continue to …
Leslie Segrete: Grow.
Brian Joyce: To continue to grow. You need … Just like weed killer or grass killer, you first need to kill the organism.
Leslie Segrete: Now, do we have to protect anything that’s around the area that we’re working on because I know some are safe for other things, and some are just aggressive.
Brian Joyce: Right. Well, we recommend that if you’re going to be spraying it near …
Leslie Segrete: Plants you like.
Brian Joyce: Plants, then you use water. Use water first before using the mold … On the mildew itself.
Tom Kraeutler: You also have a house-wash product that, basically, hooks right up to the hose.
Brian Joyce: Yeah. It’s a great new product that was just released. It’s actually one of the only products designed for mold and mildew that has the hose and attachment. It’s great. People find it very useful. It’s very easy to apply. You don’t need to scrub. You just spray it onto the side of your house, and you, literally, watch the mold and mildew disappear.
Tom Kraeutler: I think folks blame every attachment to their house to be mold, mildew, or algae, but sometimes it’s just dirt, sometimes it’s just pollution in the air, right? It’s dew droppings and things like that, so does the house wash really work the same way you might wash your car in terms of getting it clean?
Brian Joyce: Yup. It works on dirt, grime. We also have another product that’s very similar, packaged very similar. It’s called, “Deck Wash“, “Deck and Fence Wash.” It’s great on food stains, barbecue stains.
Leslie Segrete: Oh, that’s fantastic.
Tom Kraeutler: You know what I want to ask you about, there’s one type of fungus that we get questioned on a lot. It seems to be very, very difficult to get rid of. It’s artillery fungus. Are you familiar with this?
Brian Joyce: No.
Tom Kraeutler: It’s suppose to be little black spores that will get up in the air, and they’ll stick to siding. The problem is that they don’t come off.
Brian Joyce: Yeah. You know, I’ve seen that. I have that on my house.
Tom Kraeutler: Yeah. Sometimes it’s called, “Shotgun Fungus” because it looks like a shotgun blast.
Brian Joyce: Right. Does it come from … Where do they say it comes from?
Tom Kraeutler: The mulch.
Brian Joyce: The mulch. Exactly. I had it on my car a few years ago, on the side of my house.
Leslie Segrete: Please tell me, how did you get it off of your car because it’s all over my windshield.
Brian Joyce: Well, you know. This product just came out, so I haven’t tested it on my own house.
Tom Kraeutler: There you go. You could have a solution …
Brian Joyce: You might have a great solution. I’ll post it on our Facebook.
Leslie Segrete: Please do. You know, my neighbors were doing some work. They just are moving into the house and were doing a ton of work, and they were all over the yard, all over with mulch, all over with [ants 03:59], and I noticed like a day later, my windshield started to get these little black spots, and I cannot get them off to save my life, and it’s driving me bananas, so I’m absolutely with you on …
Tom Kraeutler: It has an adhesive quality to it.
Brian Joyce: Yup.
Leslie Segrete: It’s sticky almost.
Brian Joyce: Yeah. Yeah. You have to pick it off with your finger.
Leslie Segrete: Yes. Credit cards.
Brian Joyce: Yeah.
Leslie Segrete: All kinds of things. You know, I think it’s interesting because a lot of people just don’t know where to start, especially when it comes to the appearance of the exterior of your home, so when we’re spraying with the instant house wash, just leave it on? I don’t have to scrub it? I don’t have to do anything?
Brian Joyce: We recommend that you rinse it after, but, really, you don’t need to.
Leslie Segrete: Okay.
Brian Joyce: I mean, just spray it on and watch it disappear. It takes about 8 or 9 minutes for it work.
Leslie Segrete: Wow! That’s amazing.
Tom Kraeutler: That’s quick.
Brian Joyce: Yeah. You don’t need a ladder because it reaches the second story. It’s a great product we’re very excited about.
Leslie Segrete: Then once you’re done with it, does it sort of continue to maintain its cleanliness for a little bit of time while the product’s there, or it’s done.
Brian Joyce: No. This product does not have any residual mold.
Leslie Segrete: But that’s okay. Get it nice for springtime and then just deal with it until the next year.
Brian Joyce: The Moldex brands offer a product called “Moldex Sealant” that is also offered in a hose-and-attachment. You would spray the side of the house with that, and you would probably get about two years worth of protection.
Tom Kraeutler: Really?
Brian Joyce: Yeah. It will prevent mold and mildew from growing, and it dries clear.
Leslie Segrete: That’s fantastic.
Brian Joyce: Dries clear and it’s invisible. It acts like a car wax where you spray it on. Maybe you’d want to wipe it.
Leslie Segrete: The dirt rolls right off your car.
Tom Kraeutler: I love when you do it once, you do it right, you don’t have to do it again.
Brian Joyce: Exactly.
Tom Kraeutler: That’s terrific. Brian Joyce. VP of Marketing for Moldex, part of the ENVIROcare Corporation. Thank you so much for stopping by the Money Pit Podcast.
Brian Joyce: Well, thank you very much for having me.
Tom Kraeutler: If you would like more information, you can go to moldexbrands.com. That’s moldexbrands.com.
