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Chlorine Bleach (sodium hypochlorite 6%) does not kill mold. Why?
Mold's
hyphae (root structures) actually grow into wood and drywall like
roots. The hyphae are not killed by bleach because bleach's ion
structure prevents chlorine from penetrating into porous materials such
as dry wall and wood. It stays on the outside surface, whereas mold has
protected enzyme roots growing inside the porous construction
materials. When you spray porous surface molds with bleach, the water
part of the solution soaks into the wood while the bleach chemical sits
atop the surface, gasses off, and thus only partially kills the surface
layer of mold while the water penetration of the building materi
als fosters further mold growth.
Chlorine bleach causes long
term breakdown of wood products like studs, sheathing, plywood, OSB,
and other building materials over time.
Chlorine Bleach is NOT a registered EPA mold killing product.
You
can verify it yourself when you are unable to find an EPA registration
number for killing mold on the label of any brand of chlorine bleach.
Why not? Because it is not effective at killing mold as other EPA
approved chemicals.
University Study Discovers Bleach is Ineffective at Killing Mold on Wood and Other Porous Surfaces.
"While
bleach is often recommended for remediation of surface mold on wood and
other porous surfaces, our [university research study] study results
illustrate that the treatment does not eliminate the surface microflora,"
is the conclusion of th
e Oregon State University study of the effects of chlorine bleach on
mold growth on Douglas fir wood [an important timber crop in the state
of Oregon]. The research study was conducted by Professor Jeffrey
Morrell, Dept. of Wood Science, Oregon State University, as assisted by
Adam Taylor [graduate research assistant] and Camille Freitag [Senior
Research Associate], as published in Forest Products Journal, 54:4,
2004.
To read the Forest Products Journal Research Study on the effectiveness of chlorine bleach Click Here.
What does the EPA have to say about using bleach to kill mold?
"The use of chlorine bleach is not recommended as a routine practice during mold cleanup." from the www.epa.gov website
SEVEN REASONS NOT TO USE BLEACH TO CLEAN MOLD
1) Bleach does not kill mold.
2) Bleach was not designed to kill mold, and has never been sold or EPA registered to do so.
3) There are no professional, certified mold remediators who use bleach for killing mold.
4)
Bleach cannot penetrate into mold's tiny hyphae (roots), but the water
part of the formula will, thus fostering more, even stronger mold
growth.
5) Bleach is a very destructive chemical, and literally eats away at the surfaces it's applied to.
6)
Chlorine begins to break down quite quickly and consistently after
Bleach is manufactured, so within a short period of time (2 to 3
months), whatever minute mold cleaning abilities the product had are
dwindled away as it waits to be shipped to stores and purchased.
7)
Bleach's off gassing is hazardous to all flora and fauna, and mixing
bleach with any other chemicals can produce extremely toxic vapors.
It's generally considered unsafe for use in cleaning mold.
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