Maybe you’re just replacing your flooring. All of a sudden, you come across mold underneath the flooring. Ew, disgusting! However, it’s also life-threateningly dangerous if you don’t take of it well enough.
However, just because there’s mold underneath your flooring doesn’t mean you have to keep all your possessions and run away! You can do the cleanup procedure all by yourself, depending on what kind of mold that is.
Hence, in this article, we’ll be discussing why molds grow underneath flooring and how you can end their growth at once
Contents
Why Does Mold Grow On Your House?
There are plenty of reasons why mold might grow underneath your house flooring. It might be because it’s left untreated for years, or it may be something else. One of the prime reasons for mold growth is moisture. Whenever there is moisture around the edges or underneath something, mold tends to grow and spore itself to reproduce.
But, one of the most dangerous places to have mold is underneath the flooring. Even before you know it, the mold will be reproducing and spreading all over your flooring. It will most certainly lead to a toxic environment. After all, who wants a moldy floor to live in? Even if you’re planning on selling your house, chances are, your realtor will be disapproving of selling it due to the mold.
To our knowledge, science has scientifically proven the formation and the spreading of spores. If you tend to walk all over your flooring, which has mold underneath, you’ll essentially be spreading mold with every footstep. In the long run, it can be extremely harmful to your health and even the people living underneath your roof.
However, if you’re worried about the mold destroying your house permanently, we’re here to help! Don’t freak out and you’ll be just fine in no time.
Why Is Mold Tricky To Clean Up?
Mold can be tricky to clean up if you don’t follow through with the process step by step. Since mold is naturally drawn towards moisture, when it finds a suitable environment, it will definitely reproduce. How fast they are will definitely shock you. Hence, it is essential to act on the mold quickly.
Since they are porous, they’ll very likely spread to different rooms once you put a hand on them for cleanup. Especially under the floors might be a tricky place to start with because it’s essential to clean up every corner, making sure to place gets left behind during the cleanup.
How To Identify Which Mold You Have
Identifying what mold you have is the trickiest of all the steps. If it’s white mold, it can be pretty easy to deal with. However, if it’s black mold, it can be tricky. If you mess up, the results can be fatal. Black mold is also commonly known to cause memory loss, headaches, diarrhea, and more. Hence it’s quintessential that you get rid of it as fast as you can.
If you’re still unsure of what kind of mold you might have, we suggest you buy a kit that is readily available at supermarkets. The kits are home kits designed to identify what kind of mold may be sporing on your household without having to call a professional. It’s very easy to use and will eliminate the chances of understanding your mold wrong.
If you’re at your home wondering if your home might have a mold underneath the flooring or somewhere you can’t see with your naked eye., there are some common indicators. The indications indicate that you might have mold growing somewhere. One of the prime symptoms is having an oily/musty smell around the place the mold is at.
If the area with a musty smell is around a damp area, it’s a prime job to check it out. The chances of mold forming around wet areas are enormous. Thus, it’s not uncommon for mold to be there. Identifying your mold will help you to clean it up with ease.
How To Remove Mold Under Vinyl Flooring
First of all, before you start with cleaning the mold under your vinyl flooring, you’ll be needing to take the utmost precautions. Even if you want to collect samples for identifying the kind of mold you have, you’ll need to have the handy equipment with you. Or else, there’s a huge chance of your fainting and contaminating the place even more.
The safety equipment you’ll need:
- An N95 Mask
- Rubber Gloves
- Safety Glasses
- Disposable Clothes
After you’re done with the entire process, you must dispose of the items you just used into the laundry machine or clean them with a bleach solution to ensure the spore doesn’t spread onto any other surface. Make sure to not skip this step as this is very important against health hazards.
Next up, you’ll have to prepare a solution of bleach and warm water. All you need to do is mix two tablespoons of bleach and one-quarter of warm water. Make sure the mixture is thick, and the bleach is adequately mixed into the solution.
Then, you’ll have to put the bleach solution in a spray bottle, which you can find lying around your house. After you’ve prepared your mold elimination spray, you can go ahead and spray it all over the affected area. Wait a few minutes before you get into the next step.
Afterward, get a scrub and pour some of the bleach solutions directly into the scrub. You can go in manually with your hand and rub the remnants of the mold carefully.
Rinse with a dry towel and finish your project off. You’ll have to thoroughly dry the area before you start piling the flooring on top of it again. It’s better to wait a day or two before you start handling the area.
Mold Prevention Tips
Prevention is better than cure. Hence, below are the following pointers which you should be following to keep a mold-free household
- Have a dry environment and eliminate all moist corners
- Keep your rooms well-ventilated
- Keep an eye for mold inside bathrooms, basements, and floorings
- Clean damp areas with anti-microbial solutions frequently
- Keep an eye out for the humidity level in your house
More on LivingProofmag
How to Clean Mold in Carpet from Water Damage
How to Get Rid of Mold Under Laminate Flooring
Conclusion
Thus, following these ways, you can easily eliminate the chances of having mold under vinyl flooring. We hope you had fun reading our articles, much as we enjoyed creating it. Till the next time, happy cleaning!