Do NOT use Chlorine bleach to kill mold or disinfect moldy areas. It is not an effective or long lasting killer of mold and mold spores. Bleach is good only for changing the color of the mold and it has a short term effect on mold.

Chlorine Bleach Is Ineffective and Dangerous in Killing Mold Because:

1. Mold remediation involves the need to disinfect wood and wood-based building materials, all of which are porous materials. Thus, chlorine bleach should not be used in mold remediation as confirmed by OSHA’s Mold Remediation/Clean Up Methods guidelines.

2. Bleach is 99% water. Water is one of the main contributors of the growth of harmful bacteria and mold. Current situations using bleach re-grew and regenerated mold and bacteria with twice the CFU counts than were originally found before bleaching, within a short period of time.

3. What potential mold “killing” power chlorine bleach might have is diminished significantly as the bleach sits in warehouses, on grocery store shelves or inside your home or business. This can be as much as a 50% loss in killing power in just the first 90 days inside a never opened jug or container. Chlorine constantly escapes through the plastic walls of its containers.

4. The ionic structure of bleach prevents Chlorine from penetrating into porous materials such as drywall and wood – it just stays on the outside surface, whereas mold has enzyme roots growing inside the porous construction materials—however, the water content penetrates and actually FEEDS the mold—this is why a few days later you will notice darker, more concentrated mold growing (faster) on the bleached areas.

5. Chlorine bleach accelerates the deterioration of materials and wears down the fibers of porous materials.

6. Chlorine bleach is NOT registered with the EPA as a disinfectant to kill mold. You can verify this important fact yourself when you are unable to find an EPA registration number for killing mold on the label of any brand of chlorine bleach.

7. Chlorine bleach gives off gases for a period of time. Chlorine off gassing can be harmful to humans and animals. It has been known to cause pulmonary embolisms in low resistance and susceptible people.

8. Chlorine bleach will evaporate within a short period of time. If the area is not dry when the bleach evaporates, or moisture is still in the contaminated area (humidity, outside air dampness), you could restart the contamination process immediately and to a greater degree.

9. Chlorine is key component of DIOXIN. One of the earliest findings of dioxin’s toxicity in animals was that it caused birth defects in mice at very low levels. This finding led to dioxin being characterized as “one of the most potent teratogenic environmental agents”. Dioxin has been labeled the “most toxic synthetic chemical known to man.”

10. Chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) is corrosive and that fact is stated on the product label. Yet the properties of chlorine bleach prevent it from “soaking into” wood-based building materials to get at the deeply embedded mycilia (roots) of mold. The object to killing mold is to kill its “roots”.

Beware of any mold inspector or mold remediation company that recommends or uses chlorine bleach for mold clean up on wood-based building materials. Request an estimate or contact County Action Restoration for safe and expert mold removal.