Can Bleach Kill Mold?

Can mold be killed by bleach?

Mold is a tough roommate to have in your home. It works into the cracks and creases of your home and tries to stay and grow. It is smelly and can be a health hazard if it is the wrong type of mold and not treated quickly.

In disaster restoration, we spend lots of time drying water damaged homes and businesses. There are pipes all over your home winding through the wall cavities that bring water to bathrooms, kitchens and even outdoor faucets. That amount of water in pipes makes leaks a serious problem. And, mold loves water leaks!

So what do you do to contain mold and kill it? is there a secret to it or can I just splash bleach on it and kill it on contact? This is where we need to get a little education to understand what works and why.

Mold is loves dark, damp spaces. It doesn’t matter what the materials that it wants to cling to, although the more porous the materials the better. Wood, drywall, and even concrete is porous, so you have to check the entire space to ensure you find all the mold that needs to be removed. If the space isn’t dried correctly and the mold isn’t removed with an antimicrobial agent applied afterwards, the mold can grow back. Mold, like most things in nature, is a survivor, so the removal of it needs to be thorough.

Bleach, isn’t as useful as you might think for killing mold. Mold gets into cracks and porous spaces and due to the chemical make-up of bleach, it cannot get into those spaces effectively. If you splash bleach on mold that you can see, you will see a chemical reaction and it does indeed kill some mold, just not all of it. To answer the question, no, bleach cannot kill mold because it doesn’t follow the path mold creeps into to hold on for life.

Your best bet is to call ServiceMaster of Spartanburg and Greenville. We can be reached at (864) 574-3133.