Mold Myth #2: Painting Over Mold With "Mold Paint" Will Kill It

You’ve probably seen “mold paint” when you’ve been at the hardware store, but don’t be tempted! There is no paint that can remediate mold. In most cases, the “mold paint” is intended to be a prevention measure and not a treatment to an existing mold issue.

Why is painting over mold a bad idea?

When you paint over mold, you probably think that you are sealing up the mold and “suffocating” it so it dies. The reality is quite different. Mold tends to grow on porous surfaces like wood, drywall, and block foundations. So, when you cover those porous surfaces with paint, you are really just covering the top layer while the mold is still alive and well, just below the surface.

When you paint over mold, you are making it so you can’t see the problem. What lies underneath the paint is mold spores that are going to take that mold you just covered up and cause it to expand and grow back over time. What you can’t see can still affect your health. This is why proper mold remediation is so important.

Is there anything I can do to take care of mold myself?

You can use things like hydrogen peroxide, cleaning vinegar, or soap and water to try to treat mold yourself. However, mold is rarely only in one spot of your home. At Healthy Homes, our procedure is to first treat water and moisture issues before we remediate mold. That’s because moisture is one of the main contributors to an environment that has mold. You can treat mold, but in the end you are merely treating a symptom unless you first correct what is causing mold to grow.

Proper mold remediation starts with treating moisture and any water that is getting into your home. Once that is treated, it's important to set up containment. This is so mold spores that are released during removal, don’t contaminate other areas of your home. After that, the mold is removed using a specialized vacuum. During this whole process, we have air scrubbers running almost constantly to clean mold spores from the air. If you’ve already tried to cover your mold with paint, that will also need to be removed before we can start treating the mold.

If you have mold in your home, it’s worth giving us a call to get a free estimate before you try any DIY mold solutions. It may seem like you can save yourself a few dollars by taking care of the mold yourself, but many of these solutions can end up costing you more in the end.

Interested in scheduling an inspection? Give us a call today.