wood soap molds
can moldy wood in a fish tank harm fish?
I took some ornate pieces of aquarium wood out of my tank that sat near moisture in a laundry room for a number of months. When i was ready to replace it i noticed some mold on it. I washed the wood with a bio-degradable soap and rinsed extremely well and put the wood back in the tank (no fish). It sat for three days and I was going to place the fish back when I noticed the mold had taken off in growth tremendously all over the wood. Hence, will mold harm fish?
Yes it can. However, the piece is not lost. Here is what you need to do. If possible, boil the wood, give it about 10 minutes in a full boil, this will kill all the mold. If the piece is to large to boil, soak it in bleach. BUT! Be careful! After bleaching it, you MUST MUST run it under VERY hot water for a while, to ensure that you remove every trace of active bleach in the wood. I would then place the piece in a tub of very hot water and let it sit for 2-3 days. Do not change out the water unless it starts to brown. Browning water is fine, that is the tannins being removed from the wood. After this, add the wood back to the tank.
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wood soap molds
Tips in Removing Mold in Your Home
Molds are not only disgusting to look at, but they can also carry a lot of diseases. Exposure to mold can lead to colds, respiratory complications, nasal problems, and sinus congestions. It can also cause sore throats and skin problems. If a family member suffers from asthma, molds can also trigger the attacks. Molds are also known to cause allergies.
Identifying Mold
Removing mold can be a tedious tasks and the first step in eliminating mold is to identify if it exists in your household. You would know that your house has mold if you smell a musty odor and see a mass of green or black slimy stuff. Mold is actually fungus that may float in the atmosphere much like pollen. They are usually found in moist and humid areas like the floors of your bathroom and outdoor patios or gardens. If you really want to detect mold in your house you can try reliable sampling. This may be quite expensive since this procedure can require special equipments and needs careful training of staff.
Where Mold Resides
Molds can be found in hays, grass, or leaf piles. Molds also grow in most organic resources like wood and paper. If our house has areas that are wet most of the time, chances are, mold will grow there. Walls can be one place where mold breeds. Painted walls that are washed from rain are also one place where mold can live. Molds can easily creep under cabinets and carpet padding. There are also some instances that molds can even penetrate the kitchen of your homes. When this happens, be alarmed. Since the kitchen is one place where you prepare your foods, it can be quite dangerous to cook foods in an environment with mold.
Removing Mold
When removing molds, remember that your safety should come first. Always use a respirator or mask to act as an air filter and prevent mold spores from getting into your lungs. Use eye protectors and rubber gloves. After using these types of safety equipment, it is best to dispose them immediately after use.
It is important to dampen or sprinkle some water on materials with mold. This can prevent airborne mold pollens from spreading into the air. You can use non-ammonia detergent or soap to clean hard surfaces. Hard surfaces include plastics, glass and metals. You can also use these in cleaning counter tops, kitchen, or bathroom tiles. It is important to note that you should never mix ammonia with bleach because they may give off fumes that can be toxic and harmful to your body.
It is sad to say, though, that it is not possible to remove mold from carpets or paper. Porous materials are usually impossible to clean if they have molds. There is no better way to remove these kind of moldy materials but to throw them away.
In walls or other wood structures, you can remove molds by scrubbing. But do not expect them to be completely gone. You can scrub them or sand them. Make sure that you use protective safety tools when you do this. Clean these stuff in a well-ventilated area, away from other equipments.
Use a commercial disinfectant after you have removed the molds. Bleach and water solution can also be used as disinfectant. The cleaning solution should contain one-fourth bleach for every gallon of water. Apply the solution in the material infected by mold and allow the solution to do its work for fifteen minutes. If there are too much molds in the material, you can use one and a half cup of bleach per one galloon of water. Be sure that you are in a well-ventilated area when cleaning. After several minutes, rinse the area with water and allow the material to dry. You can use fan or dehumidifier if you want them to dry immediately.
About the Author
Lee Dobbins writes for http://mold.home-webzone.com/ where you can learn more about
household mold
.
Do you understand the chemistry of toilet bowl cleaner?
I need some help….bought a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner from the dollar store. I usually store it under the sink of the bathroom I use it for. One day I open the cabinet door, and the flooring of the cabinet is bubbled, molded, etc. and there’s rust on the hardware of my cabinets. I found my bottle empty with a little hole in the bottom, somehow it exploded/leaked. I took my rug (I had folded under the cabinet) and washed it only to have it rip to shreds. Some type of chemical reaction took place. Is there a chance the reaction is continuing though I’ve removed source? Is there something I can do besides clean the floor with soap and water, something to ‘neutralize’ what’s soaked in so that the mold/mildew will stop & no further reaction take place? Any quick tips on how to replace the cabinet flooring (it’s not real wood).
It is likely your cleaning product had NaOH, this is very corrosive and decomposes organic mater. It also attacks and disintegrate whatever ceramic surface, mortar, cement, etc. Though is odd that you’ve got mould there as this product is antifungal. The longer you leave it , the worse. You can apply a soft acid as diluted lemon juice or vinegar to clean the remaining product.
I can’t guess what is your product to give you a good answer.
If the mould you are saying is something like a white soft cover growing from the concrete surface, I am sorry to tell you that this is not proper mould, but the product of disintegration of silicates by the NaOH which is crystallizing and it is going to take ages to be eliminated.
Nancy Today: Pt. 2-Making a soap mold
