How To Remove Black Mold From Concrete And Keep Your Basement Mold-Free

Lots of homeowners find out they have an uninvited guest shacking up in their basement. Ever seen little white fuzzy stuff on your concrete basement floor?

Mold on concrete can take many forms. Concrete is a porous substance, and your basement floor gets a lot of moisture from the ground underneath it.

Usually, concrete foundations have a moisture barrier. But, in some cases the moisture barrier is old or damaged, or it may not have been properly installed.

In arid places like Southern California, Arizona and high altitudes, you may not have a moisture barrier built into your home. You usually don't need it, but if you have a heavy rain or a spell of humid weather, you're likely to get that nasty mold growing on your concrete floors.

If you have mold growing on basement tiles or under basement carpeting, the cause may be the concrete underneath. No matter what your mold problem, you have to remove it from your concrete.

A Little Bleach And Elbow Grease

If you've got a little mold growing on your concrete surfaces, it's easy enough to clean up. For little bits of mold here on there, use a solution of water and bleach. 4 parts water to 1 part bleach is usually the recommended formula. You can also find cleaning products designed specifically for mold removal.

Scrub at the moldy spots with your bleach and water until it's gone. Be careful - that bleach is dangerous stuff. Make sure you have some good rubber gloves and be careful that the bleach doesn't come into contact with anything else.

Seal It Up

If you have more serious mold problems and a good scrubbing won't get rid of it, you might try sealing the cracks. Chances are, the appearance of mold on your concrete surfaces is a symptom of a bigger structural problem in your home. There may be cracks in the concrete or walls that allow moisture to come into the house.

Go to the hardware store and look for a waterproofing compound made for this specific purpose. If you're totally unsure, talk to the clerk and explain your problem. What you want is something especially designed to seal up cracks in your concrete and walls. The compound will come with detailed instructions on how to use it.

Call The Contractor

If you have water wicking up from under your foundation into the concrete, you've got a much bigger problem. You may need to call a professional.

What you'll need to do is take off all the flooring so the original concrete is exposed. This is something you can probably do yourself, but you should make sure to keep yourself safe. Any time you're dealing with mold, make sure you have good gloves and a mask, and make sure that the mold doesn't get into any other parts of the house. Even if you're working in the basement, make sure you have some ventilation going.

Now, you'll need to have a new top layer of concrete poured. It has to be at least one inch thick. Make sure that the new cement is mixed with a waterproofing compound that will keep down its moisture level.

This is a big job and most of us would have to call a contractor. Check your local yellow pages.

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