Mold

[Dennisfly]

I have some wicker furniture that is only about two years old, but it was stored in a moldy environment and now has that mold smell. I have wiped it down with Clorox disinfectant wipes (non-bleach) and cleaned it with Liquid Gold Furniture Cleaner but it still smells. I know that a bleach-water mixture will work, but I'm afraid that it will discolor the furniture which is a brown color. I wonder if alcohol would work? Any suggestions?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Try the bleach water on the back side of the chair or underneath somewhere that won't be seen.

 

[ScottAR]

Pour equal amounts cheap vingear and cheap chlorine bleach in a plastic or glass pan.

Fumigate them for 24-48 hours in a closed area like the garage or a shed. Then air them out in the sun for a day or until it gets dark.

Should be little or no smell at all left. Doesn't harm anything after the vingear smell goes away in a couple days.

Works for me. YMMV

 

[v8dave]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Pour equal amounts cheap vingear and cheap chlorine bleach in a plastic or glass pan.

Fumigate them for 24-48 hours in a closed area like the garage or a shed. Then air them out in the sun for a day or until it gets dark.

Should be little or no smell at all left. Doesn't harm anything after the vingear smell goes away in a couple days.

Works for me. YMMV )</font>

I may have this wrong but, isn't this a little dangerous? I might have my chemicals mixed up. Tell me I'm wrong, so I can retract this.

Mixing these two causes a fuming chemical reaction releasing poison gas--chlorine. The wrong mix ratios could cause a violent reaction. I guess this is how you generate the fumigation gases. If you aren't prepared for the reaction it could be scary. It would also kill any pets or pests in the enclosed area.

 

[ScottAR]

That's about the size of it... The gases kill the mold.

The reaction isn't violent in the moviehouse sense. No bubbling explosive stuff. It does kill maggots, don't ask how I know.

You do have to stay out of the enclosed area during that time and then vent the gas to the outside. I usually do it to empty rent houses when folks move out to take the musty smell out of the air.

In that application, one opens all the closets and cabinets and place a container of stuff in every main room.

The next day, I usually start cleaning around the outside of the house, mowing the lawn and such, and let the house vent during that time. Open all the windows and doors. You can go in there no problem but don't stay long as it will burn your throat after an hour or so.

Works on nasty refrigerators too. Just put some in and shut the door.

I should add I am sensitive to mold in nearly all forms. I was exposed when I was little due to a faulty air conditioning unit.

Sometimes I have to do this treatment before I can even work on houses where water damage or the like has occured.

Generally, if one can smell it, one is sensitive to it.

 

[bczoom]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Pour equal amounts cheap vingear and cheap chlorine bleach in a plastic or glass pan. )</font>

I'm no expert but I was always told the issue was mixing chlorine and ammonia (not vinegar).

Is a chlorine and vinegar mix dangerous also?

 

[Junkman]

Do you have any suggestions to get mold stains out of leather. The rear window in my wagon leaked and the fold down third seat got wet and I wasn't aware of it. It now has some black mold stains on the beige leather seating surfaces. I tried to wipe them off with a mixture of chlorine bleach and water, but it didn't even touch them. The dealership suggested that possibly they could be re dyed or they would need to be replaced. If that is the choices, then I will leave it for the next owner to decide what he/she wants to do, because I wouldn't spend the $$$$$ to repair it. They have been unsuccessful in stopping the leak with the last 4 tries and now the car is out of warranty.

 

[bgott]

"The reaction isn't violent in the moviehouse sense. No bubbling explosive stuff. It does kill maggots, don't ask how I know."

Rent house refrigerators? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

A lot of the time that musty smell comes from dried out drain traps. Run a little water down all the drains to make sure the smell doesn't come right back. Of course, there are lots of other things that can produce musty smells in rent houses, also. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[bgott]

Ask around at used car lots and find out who they use to dye the guts in their cars. A good detail man might be able to get the stain out. We used to have a guy out in Cal that would spray dye the seats in a car with leather in about 20 minutes and the car would look brand new. The dye held up well, we had a couple of cars that we sold 2 or 3 times in a couple of years, if they weren't abused the seats still looked new.

 

[ScottAR]

You called it! Had thanksgiving dinner in it during Febuary.
That particular one went to the landfill to get recycled. After I got it emptied, I found half the racks missing and the drain leaked onto the floor. Didn't help that it was school bus yellow.

Did kill all the maggots and knock out nearly all the black mold with the mix.