Mould / mildew?

ian103

Hi, we have a divan bed in the spare room, the divan has drawers at the bottom, about three months ago I found mould / mildew on the underside of the drawer, there were no issues with any other furniture. I bleached the underside and allowed to dry outside. Today I took the drawers out and there was mould / mildew on the underneath again. The room is ventilated every day, the room is heated when cold and we have a dehumidifier running all of the time as we live near the coast. Any ideas why it came back or what I need to do to destroy it? Could the issue be the matting used on the underside of the bed? Also does bleach kill the spores or do I need to use something stronger? Should I then varnish / seal the underside of the drawer (its hardboard with a decorative finish in the drawer but no finish underneath)

incorrect_2

Hi, no idea what could be causing your problem but, once when we had a problem with mould/mildew I used neat domestos on the patch and repeated for three days as advised by a friend and it has not returned. I did not seal the patch afterwards.

danmurray

You'll need to use a mould killer, or fungicide, not bleach. Bleach merely disinfects an area, and whitens it, it doesn't kill the actual mould growth.

You can buy a fungicide from any DIY shop, or even Tesco. Half a litre in a spray format would normally cost around £5. That'll stop the growth and prevent it from returning.

ian103

just checked the drawers again under the spare bed and the mould has returned. now unsure what to do, we get a small amount of mould around the window in the winter and in an enclosed corner, nothing on the back of bookcases, or wardrobe, the room is regulary ventilated, we live near the coast and is fairly humid so not sure what to do next.

the mould appears on the underside of hardboard drawer base, one idea is to bleach the surface and then paint it so its not porous but obviously i need to kill the mould spores - what should i use?

bev97

Hi
I had a problem with mould in my last house and used this product.

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/20284/HG-Mould-Remover

It has good reviews aswell and works quickly, just make sure to ventilate the area you are using it in.

HTH

WestonDave

The room might be being ventilated but the air around the drawers when they are closed is going to be static or slow moving, so whilst you are sleeping humidity will build up around them which will provide an ideal scenario for mould.

If you paint them with a suitable mould killing paint (Zinsser Perma White would be one option - its a two coat job but dries in 2 hours so you could do both coats in a day) then the mould won't have a surface to grip on. You might however still benefit from leaving them open during the day once a week to aid air circulation.

ian103

i gave the bottom of the drawers a through clean with spray on mould and mildew killer, strange thing happened in that in the areas of the 'blackest mould' the treatment was visible on the inside of the drawers, put them in the conservatory to dry, bases now feel dry and the staining on the inside is fading as well. hopefully this will have killed the mould spores!