Mould removal - help please!

[VillageFete]

Hi,

There was a musty smell near our bedroom window as the gutters were blocked and we had a leak. That’s been dealt with now and we’ve also had a new roof put on. There’s no musty smell now but i’m seeing what I think is condensation and a small patch of mould near to the window. The musty smell was there for at least a year so it’s been going on for a while.

I’m worried sick as my 8 month old sleeps in my bedroom and I know that mould can be a major issue.

After Googling, a Company called Pure Maintenance came up who seems to dry fog the place. Has anyone used them? They seem a big “Salesy” I like the fact that they are apparently non toxic though. Then again, i’m reading dry fogging isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?

I’m looking for the best course of action. I need someone to tell me what kind of mould it is and how to go about getting it safely dealt with but I literally have no clue where to start.

I’ve spoken to a Company called Mould Focus who were fantastic but seem to only deal with bigger jobs from what I can tell.

Has anyone had this issue and can advise. I’m so scared of my baby sleeping in mould. I have no idea how I can know if it’s the dangerous kind?

I’ve added pictures. I’ve zoomed in, it’s not a massive amount.

What have you cleaned it with? Bleach won't kill mould spores so you need a good mould killer. Then I'd repaint with an anti mould paint, zinsser do one.

I wouldn't spend out on the companies you've mentioned, they sound a bit like the dodgy damp injection people.

Going forwards, try to keep a window open as much as possible, even if just a crack, most importantly during cold weather. I used to get terrible mould in my bedroom before I started doing this. All gone now.

HG mould spray is good. Link below is Tesco but it is widely available.
As PP said, good ventilation is vital. It may take a while for everything to dry out from the leaking gutter even though it is now fixed.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/301947329

I've heard of the tip not to use bleach but what I never understand with mould killer is it usually smells of very strong bleach itself.

I've always thought this too but assumed there's other active ingredients and the bleach is there to get rid of the stain 🤷‍♀️

Just dug out my mould remover 😁

First thing I notice is it says mould 'remover'. No mention of killing mould whatsoever 🤔

The ingredients are anionic surfactants, non-ionic surfactants and chlorine based bleaching agents.

Then checked my thick bleach and it's the same ingredients but yet the bleach proudly claims to kill fungi, which is mould right? I'm confused 🤷🏼

Polycell mould killer, I have used that before and it got rid of some mould in my mums kitchen

white vinegar kills mould, we have a terrible issue with it in our bathroom (no window, fan not strong enough)

you need to spray it on leave to work for ten mins then wipe, repeat, repeat, repeat
Then keep on top of it, wiping down once a week with vinegar or however often you notice it cropping back up.
As pp mentioned try and keep window open, I don’t keep mine open all day but have them wide open for half hour first thing (even in winter 🥶)

Bleach will look like it gets rid of it but it doesn’t kill the mould spores.

White vinegar kills mould. I spray liberally with that so it smells nicely of a chip shop for a week or so and then bleach to take away the actual appearance of mould.

I used to use a CIF mould remover spray, it worked amazing

The problem is that there may be mould on the back of the wallboard that you can't see. So cleaning and disinfecting the surface likely won't get rid of it. You'll probably need a licensed mold abatement company to remove that portion of the wallboard safely.
I would strongly recommend you remove your child from the room until it is resolved.
You also may have air leaks in the window. In summer, the warm air from outside hits the cooler air inside and causes the condensation. The reverse happens in winter and causes the same problem. If that's the case, this will just happen again. Get an expert in to inspect the window.

Thank you everyone.

Yes @XChrome I’m worried sick about her being in the room. I’m going to have to put her in with her big brother for now. That’ll go down well.

A really decent company have agreed to come out and treat it, but I think that’s only the surface mould. They’re not taking walls off. They’re just going to treat the mould and the air. Is that enough?!

This seems like a really common problem and it wouldn’t bother me much only for the baby.

Going forward is it a case of keeping windows open and when airing washing downstairs, keep windows open etc?

Unfortunately it's impossible to know if it's enough without removing the wallboard to see what's behind it. If the condensation problem is fixed it may dry out enough that any mould behind there can't survive.

Keeping windows open helps, but once cold weather prevents that, it's not going to be a permanent fix.