[smartfast]

Hello, Please let me know / move this thread if there is a better forum for it.

I know very little about chemistry. I am trying to come up with some cheap but effective chemicals that I can treat an area to abate mold whenever water is added.

The idea is that the powder will sit dry, waiting for water (which comes when it rains), the water will carry the chemicals to and up the organic matter in the structure (via capillary action), killing the mold and preventing its growth as much as is possible without removing the organic matter.

Reason being, I rent, and the owner is not able to properly fix the moisture problem right now, and I want to kill the mold as much as I can.

So I came up with these chemicals:
baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate)
washing soda (Sodium carbonate)
oxiclean (sodium percarbonate)
tsp (trisodium phosphate)
borax ( sodium borate)
I am also considering table salt (sodium chloride) or lo-salt (potassium chloride)

I will be using some or all of them as discussed above.  I am aware they are likely to leave white stains/films/or crystallisation (which is fine). And rusting issues (which is fine)

My questions are ...
- What chemical reactions will occur between these chemicals when water is added? (And as such, what would be the best combination of the maximum number of them to avoid unwanted reactions?)

- Can  the resulting gaseous products harm humans or pets? (I am not worried about the solid or liquid products, they will be out of sight and reach)
- Will the resulting chemicals aid in mold abatement? (or hinder it, like resulting oxygen and water)

- What could happen if  h2o2 hydrogen peroxide is added to the above chemicals?

- Also one more question .. when hydrogen peroxide fizzes on organic matter like mold, the resulting products are oxygen and water, right? Wouldn't that make it a horrible mold killer?? (Since mold needs oxygen and water to thrive..). It is already 97% water but if the h2o2 stays active long enough, the extra water could be worth it. I dont think it does...


I hope this is an interesting question for the forum to answer, and Thank you in advance for the H E *hockey stick* P!

[Archer]

Hello, Please let me know / move this thread if there is a better forum for it.

I know very little about chemistry. I am trying to come up with some cheap but effective chemicals that I can treat an area to abate mold whenever water is added.

The idea is that the powder will sit dry, waiting for water (which comes when it rains), the water will carry the chemicals to and up the organic matter in the structure (via capillary action), killing the mold and preventing its growth as much as is possible without removing the organic matter.

Reason being, I rent, and the owner is not able to properly fix the moisture problem right now, and I want to kill the mold as much as I can.

So I came up with these chemicals:
baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate)
washing soda (Sodium carbonate)
oxiclean (sodium percarbonate)
tsp (trisodium phosphate)
borax ( sodium borate)
I am also considering table salt (sodium chloride) or lo-salt (potassium chloride)

I will be using some or all of them as discussed above.  I am aware they are likely to leave white stains/films/or crystallisation (which is fine). And rusting issues (which is fine)

My questions are ...
- What chemical reactions will occur between these chemicals when water is added? (And as such, what would be the best combination of the maximum number of them to avoid unwanted reactions?)

- Can  the resulting gaseous products harm humans or pets? (I am not worried about the solid or liquid products, they will be out of sight and reach)
- Will the resulting chemicals aid in mold abatement? (or hinder it, like resulting oxygen and water)

- What could happen if  h2o2 hydrogen peroxide is added to the above chemicals?

- Also one more question .. when hydrogen peroxide fizzes on organic matter like mold, the resulting products are oxygen and water, right? Wouldn't that make it a horrible mold killer?? (Since mold needs oxygen and water to thrive..). It is already 97% water but if the h2o2 stays active long enough, the extra water could be worth it. I dont think it does...


I hope this is an interesting question for the forum to answer, and Thank you in advance for the H E *hockey stick* P!

I would leave out the perborate, or indeed any oxidants as they rapidly decompose in the presence of oxidisable material. I use hypochlorite regularly but it soon wears off leaving no residue to imhibit the mould.

The reason why you generally don't get microbial growth with rising damp is because rising damp pulls nutrients with it (nitrates, phosphates etc) as. The water evaporates it leaves these minerals in the wall. Your theory is sound.

 Mould needs a nutrient source, do you have wallpaper on the mouldy areas?

[billnotgatez]

I did GOOGLE on
mixing cleaning products
 and this is a link that was the first in the list
http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/cehsweb/bleach_fs.pdf

I also GOOGLE
green cleaning
and one of the links was from WIKI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_cleaning
which has links to other information.

The above links may help you in your search
Obviously combining any 2 or more chemicals could cause problems
But GOOGLE and WIKI could give you the precautions

If you gave us only 2 items we would likely comment
But, when you give a list and we have to do all the combinations, I doubt someone would answer all

A few examples

Bleach combinations with other chemicals are likely to be hazardous

But, baking soda and vinegar will eventually give you carbon dioxide and sodium acetate which is not considered very hazardous. So if you scrubbed with baking soda then wiped down with vinegar, you would not be at risk, especially if you wore gloves.

[smartfast]

Thank you guys!!

I dont know which of these chemicals is the best to inhibit the mold, but I found info on all of them being effective. So I would like to maximize the effects by using as many as I can! I do understand how all the possible combinations would be a lot to ask.

As far as the mold needing nutrients .. The wall which mold grows on is made with drywall and wood. These are the only places that I see the mold. The concrete nearby and a brick floor do not have any mold growth at all, but still get damp. So I believe the drywall and wood are the nutrients.


As far as using bleach, I have read that it does not generally absorb into wood nor drywall, so while it will kill the mold on the outside, it would do nothing for the roots of the mold.

I am thinking about just selecting 1 or 2 or 3 of the chemicals and researching what reactions can occur. I just thought you guys would be able to pick out any dangerous problems rather quickly. I understand if thats not the case.

Thanks for the help so far and in advance for any further help.

[Borek]

I had some success with fighting mold by using copper sulfate solution - I have sprayed the wall. I didn't care about the tint as it was behind a wall unit. But it was not a drywall.