Jeff

Hi,

I read your very helpful web page regarding the mitigation of mold issues. Here are my questions.

History: A radon tube passing through the attic was dislodged by moving ice… and for three years moist air from under our slab emptied into our attic space creating saturated plywood, beams and lots of mold. I understand that the wood is saturated at .5 that the water saturation reading should be significantly lower… perhaps .15. A home assessor told us that the humidity reading for the wood was .48. Since then a mold mitigation expert said that the humidity reading was 20 - 25 in the beams and 30-35 in the plywood. The assessor A mold mitigation expert came to my house and said that they would like to do the following: 1) Take out all of the insulation. 2) Vacuum whole area and including the wood with a hepa vacuum. 3) Heat and de-humidfy the whole attic with a negative pressure system to reduce the humidity and carry out the mold spores for 3 - 5 days. (They would use the bedroom with the attic entrance as a staging area.) 4) Use a wire brush (with a hepa vacuum) to scrape out the mold and remove it once the humidity of the wood is down. Then apply an “antimicrobial agent and stain remover” to all areas of the wood.

We live in Massachusetts and now it is quite cold in the attic with some ice. My questions for you are: 1) How does the wire brush method work with regards to mold removal vs the soda blast or sand and glass blast methods? 2) Does the amount of moisture in the wood affect the effectiveness of the mold removal through the wire brush method, the soda blast method or the sand and glass bead methods? 3) If we use the "wire brush method, should the mold be sprayed with an antimicrobial agent before it is scraped off… or just after it is scraped off or both?

If you have any literature or information on the above questions that would be very helpful to us.

Thank you very much!

Jeff Weston
(413) 345-0651

You need to get control of you attic moisture before you try to get the mould gone . Seal all holes from house to attic .
A gasket on your insulated attic entrance door .
Understanding Attic Ventilation | Building Science Corp

Not stopping attic moisture and the mould will be back shortly . Please wear a good mask at all times entering you attic .
Roy Cooke

To answer your question, it does not matter how the mold is removed. As long ad the mold growths are removed and the wood is sealed with an antimicrobial sealer is what mainly matters. Wetting the mold with a cleaner before is not needed, and will not affect the removal in any of the methods you mentioned. Baking soda blasting is more efficient in cleaning up the mold, but may not be cost effective to setup if the mold growths are in small area. What the mold assessor is telling is basically correct.