Black Mould

Nebbit

This is in the news again, as there are government plans to compel landlords to take action. In the house where I live (which I own so I cannot appeal to a  landlord) black mould is endemic. We have solid brick walls which cannot be properly insulated. We have been removing the mould with a proprietary cleaner which is bleach based. However I did read recently that vinegar is better than bleach, because it is more effective at breaking down the spores of the fungi. Any thoughts?

sevenhills

Google does say vinegar is good. Not sure that the Government would bring in tighter housing standards, just picking black mold. (not sure how it is spelt)

I have a little mold in the top corner of my bedroom, not worked out what is causing it yet. Not always easy to work out the cause.

I don't have the heating on in the bedroom, but I don't recall mold before, although the windows are wet with condensation.

I do open the windows, often.

FreeBear

Nebbit said: However I did read recently that vinegar is better than bleach, because it is more effective at breaking down the spores of the fungi. Any thoughts?

Plaster is alkaline, and spraying with an acid (i.e. vinegar) will etch the surface. If the walls are painted, that should reduce the risk of damage.. Hydrogen Peroxide is supposedly an effective mould killer, but is also slightly acidic. Less likely to make the house smell like a chippy though.

MattMattMattUK

Nebbit said:

This is in the news again, as there are government plans to compel landlords to take action. In the house where I live (which I own so I cannot appeal to a  landlord) black mould is endemic. We have solid brick walls which cannot be properly insulated. 

External cladding should be an option for insulation. As black mould also requires damp to grow, have you worked on alleviating the sources of moisture? Making sure you always use an extractor fan when cooking, having bathroom extractors running during and after baths and showers, not drying clothes indoors and/or using a dehumidifier to remove moisture from the property? 

Nebbit said:

We have been removing the mould with a proprietary cleaner which is bleach based. However I did read recently that vinegar is better than bleach, because it is more effective at breaking down the spores of the fungi. Any thoughts?

Chlorine based bleach will kill fungi, it may also bleach the colour from other materials. Vinegar can kill fungi, but not as reliably. 

MattMattMattUK

FreeBear said:

Nebbit said: However I did read recently that vinegar is better than bleach, because it is more effective at breaking down the spores of the fungi. Any thoughts?

Plaster is alkaline, and spraying with an acid (i.e. vinegar) will etch the surface. If the walls are painted, that should reduce the risk of damage.. Hydrogen Peroxide is supposedly an effective mould killer, but is also slightly acidic. Less likely to make the house smell like a chippy though.

Hydrogen peroxide is an "oxygen bleach" in common parlance, as opposed to a chlorine bleach, much less likely to take the colour out of whatever it is used on, but also a lot more expensive, and if it is pure enough you can use it for rocket fuel!

Emmia

If you've got black mould you have a damp / condensation problem often caused by having a lack of ventilation and/or poor extraction of damp air from things like cooking, showering, and drying clothes indoors.

Insulation can help, but getting the humidity down would reduce condensation on colder surfaces leading to mould.

Paint, e.g. Zinsser perma white can help too. I've had success removing mould with both white vinegar and chlorine bleach based products.

(I think mold is US English)

Nebbit

Having had years of trouble with mould - in our house external cladding is impossible for aesthetic reasons - we are now controlling it in our bedroom with a powerful dehumidifier.  But it still occurs elsewhere. Thank you for the suggestions

Albermarle

Nebbit said:

This is in the news again, as there are government plans to compel landlords to take action. In the house where I live (which I own so I cannot appeal to a  landlord) black mould is endemic. We have solid brick walls which cannot be properly insulated. We have been removing the mould with a proprietary cleaner which is bleach based. However I did read recently that vinegar is better than bleach, because it is more effective at breaking down the spores of the fungi. Any thoughts?

Many houses with solid brick walls do not have condensation/mould problems so in itself that is not the issue, although it may contribute.
It does seem that some houses seem more prone to this issue than others, sometimes for no obvious reason.
Maybe it is related to your location, if you live in one if the damper parts of the UK ( in the West usually).

MattMattMattUK

Nebbit said:

Having had years of trouble with mould - in our house external cladding is impossible for aesthetic reasons - we are now controlling it in our bedroom with a powerful dehumidifier.  But it still occurs elsewhere. Thank you for the suggestions

Can I ask what you mean by "powerful dehumidifier"? Although dehumidifiers can be great and will often solve problems the key is identifying the sources of moistures and dealing with them, usually it is caused by sub optimal behaviours of the occupants, my mum for instance turns the fan off in her bathroom because she likes the steam in the bathroom, some people do not turn on the extractor when cooking, others dry clothing on radiators etc. 

FreeBear

MattMattMattUK said:

FreeBear said:

Nebbit said: However I did read recently that vinegar is better than bleach, because it is more effective at breaking down the spores of the fungi. Any thoughts?

Plaster is alkaline, and spraying with an acid (i.e. vinegar) will etch the surface. If the walls are painted, that should reduce the risk of damage.. Hydrogen Peroxide is supposedly an effective mould killer, but is also slightly acidic. Less likely to make the house smell like a chippy though.

Hydrogen peroxide is an "oxygen bleach" in common parlance, as opposed to a chlorine bleach, much less likely to take the colour out of whatever it is used on, but also a lot more expensive, and if it is pure enough you can use it for rocket fuel!

When used with Hydrochloric Acid, it makes for a very powerful etchant  on copper. Doesn't even need to be high strength (I've been using 4%).

Mixed with acetone and a couple of other easy to obtain ingredients, you can end up with stuff that goes bang. Hydrogen Peroxide has plenty of uses beyond just bleaching hair

jonnydeppiwish!

sevenhills said:

Google does say vinegar is good. Not sure that the Government would bring in tighter housing standards, just picking black mold. (not sure how it is spelt)

I have a little mold in the top corner of my bedroom, not worked out what is causing it yet. Not always easy to work out the cause.

I don't have the heating on in the bedroom, but I don't recall mold before, although the windows are wet with condensation.

I do open the windows, often.

That’ll be a cold spot with condensation in the room. Is there insulation in that corner in the roof space?