Mold is caused by spores in the air. It is impossible to remove all the spores from air in the home. The best you can do is to take measures to prevent mold forming in the home, and if you find mold to treat it immediately. If left untreated mold will spread and pose a serious health risk to the inhabitants of a home. Mold causes asthma and allergic rhinitis attacks as well as other types of respiratory problems.
Mold needs moisture to thrive. It can grow on any natural surface. This means furniture, flooring, wallpaper, carpet, ceiling tiles and soft furnishings are all susceptible to mold. If mold forms on an absorbent material there is no point trying to wash the mold off as it will soon grow back. On hard surfaces it is possible to treat mold.
Bamboo flooring is naturally ant-fungal and moisture resistant. However, in damp places such as basements or in very humid climates there is a risk to bamboo and strand woven bamboo flooring of mold growth. If the flooring has an earth friendly water finish the risk is slightly increased.
If you find mold on your strand woven bamboo flooring, don’t despair – it can be treated following the steps below:
1) First clean the affected area with warm water and oil soap designed for hardwood and bamboo flooring. Run a fan at the same time to dry the flooring.
2) Take a scraper and remove the top layer off the bamboo flooring. Remember to go with the grain and not across the grain.
3) Sand the mold affected areas thoroughly.
4) Next you need to kill the invisible mold spores that are no doubt still in the bamboo flooring. Diluted bleach is often used to kill mold but it is not very eco-friendly. Moreover bleach does not soak into the bamboo and kill the mold deeper into the flooring. The green way to kill mold is either with borax and vinegar or with oxygen bleach (also known as sodium percarbonate).
5) Finally, let the bamboo flooring dry and then re-finish. It is important to use the same finish as before otherwise the one patch of the bamboo flooring will look different to the rest of the bamboo flooring.
To prevent mold forming on your strand woven bamboo flooring it is important to ventilate the room where the flooring is placed. Never leave water or other liquids on the floor; rather mop them up immediately. Also if you wet wash strand woven bamboo flooring be sure to dry with a clean rag afterwards.
Moisture is the greatest ally of mold. It is often the case that a pipe has leaked or dampness is getting into a room. It is essential to check periodically for leaking pipes and to make sure that insulation is keeping dampness out of a room.
It is important to make sure the humidity levels of a room with bamboo flooring stays within 30% to 60%. You can buy a dehumidifier unit to remove excess humidity from a room or you can use the air-con to take the water vapor out of the air. The greenest method is to place a few sticks of bamboo charcoal in the room. These will naturally absorb excess water vapor in the air.
Finally, if you have any natural flooring in the bathroom or kitchen including bamboo flooring it is essential to use extractor fans to remove the steam that can build up in these rooms.
| Tags: treating mold, bamboo flooring, borax and vinegar, bamboo charcoal, humidity |