Attic Mold Remediation

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soparklion11

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I have a small area of grey-white mold on the sheathing boards of my attic. I fixed my moisture issue and sprayed it with a homemade concrobium mixture (TSP, Sodium carbonate, borax). Its been dry for over a year. The mold looks dead but you can still see some of the grey-white frost. Do I need to remove the mold remnants? If so, how? I'm considering sealing myself into my attic with PPE and respirator, then dry brushing it away - possibly with a brush attachment on a drill. The boards aren't smooth, which complicates the situation somewhat.... I'm also considering retreating with the same concrobium solution when it warms up again (currently December in Pennsylvania). Much of the mold is at the eaves and they are difficult to access. I've already fallen through a ceiling once. This pic isn't my attic, but in the bad parts, mine looked like the left half of the middle board on the left... so less than 50% affected before treatment. Now those areas are less bright but there is still a chalky grey remnant.

Should I spray with a mold primer? I feel like that any moisture that would enter the wood would be stuck in the wood if one side was sealed.

PICTURE is from the internet. My boards started out about speckled similar to the left half of the middle board and now its a darker grey after one treatment. Looks dead to me.

1609533609273.png
 
If you can find someone local that does dry ice blasting that would be the way to go.

There are a lot of videos on line here is one.

 
I had some experts in to my attic, they found mold. they opened up the soffits, some one had but 2x3 between the roof rafters on top of the header. effectively cutting of any air flow. So i had them remove the 2x3 and put in Styrofoam vent stapled the roof plywood . then they sprayed a special compound on the areas that were discolored. then reinsulated the attic.
cost a pretty penny , In the end i cut off 1/4 heating bill
 
billshack said:
I had some experts in to my attic, they found mold. they opened up the soffits, some one had but 2x3 between the roof rafters on top of the header. effectively cutting of any air flow. So i had them remove the 2x3 and put in Styrofoam vent stapled the roof plywood . then they sprayed a special compound on the areas that were discolored. then reinsulated the attic.
cost a pretty penny , In the end i cut off 1/4 heating bill
Click to expand...
Thank you for your response. Any idea what that compound was? Was it Concrobium? Or is it more of a paint/sealant?
 
Yes it was sprayed on bare wood , it was in a spray bottle. much like Windex, but not Windex. they showed me photos after, mold all gone.
 
soparklion11 said:
I have a small area of grey-white mold on the sheathing boards of my attic. I fixed my moisture issue and sprayed it with a homemade concrobium mixture (TSP, Sodium carbonate, borax). Its been dry for over a year. The mold looks dead but you can still see some of the grey-white frost. Do I need to remove the mold remnants? If so, how? I'm considering sealing myself into my attic with PPE and respirator, then dry brushing it away - possibly with a brush attachment on a drill. The boards aren't smooth, which complicates the situation somewhat.... I'm also considering retreating with the same concrobium solution when it warms up again (currently December in Pennsylvania). Much of the mold is at the eaves and they are difficult to access. I've already fallen through a ceiling once. This pic isn't my attic, but in the bad parts, mine looked like the left half of the middle board on the left... so less than 50% affected before treatment. Now those areas are less bright but there is still a chalky grey remnant.

Should I spray with a mold primer? I feel like that any moisture that would enter the wood would be stuck in the wood if one side was sealed.

PICTURE is from the internet. My boards started out about speckled similar to the left half of the middle board and now its a darker grey after one treatment. Looks dead to me.

View attachment 24944
Click to expand...
Answer :
Mold will need to be removed. Mildew is just part of the wood itself, making it very difficult to remove. Mold needs to be completely removed or your furniture will smell musty and feel damp/wet.
 
No, you do not have to remove dead mold from the wood in your attic.

That said, mold only grows where there is moisture -- so you should figure out where the moisture is coming from. (A) Do you live in an area with high humidity, with a standard ventilated attic? That would explain it. Mold will even grow on the dust that collects on a rough PVC surface and turn it green - even though mold can't 'eat' PVC (B) Was the mold confined to a particular area -- which would indicate a water leak?

Finally, it would be a very good idea to hire a contractor to spray 8" of closed cell foam on the underside of your roof deck and side walls. This will add ~R-40 insulation,, seal your attic (and block humidity / moisture) and turn it into sealed 'conditioned space'. This was the first insulation upgrade we added to our home in Massachsetts, and it made a significant difference in our heating bills.

I hope this is helpful,

Mark
 
Test an area. Try a 5-7% bleach solution. A lot of the commercial products are basically just that. I guess it's what you are looking for. If you are planning to sell and don't want an inspector to raise an issue that's one thing. If your worried about health and rot issues that's different. If it's dead and dry those issues are gone. If it's asthetics you may need to mechanically remove it and paint it or something depending on the desired end result.
 
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