Drywall, as a building material, doesn’t have many words against it. However, a common problem faced by many is black molds in different spots and places in drywall.
If you are facing the same problem of black molds in your drywall furnishings, you being worried might be okay. So, Let’s explore what causes black molds, how to get rid of them and how to prevent them from returning.
What causes black mold in the drywall?
Mainly severe humidity and water or dampness led to black mold in drywall. The built material cannot stand the such environment of dampness. This is also the reason for most of the reasons for changing drywalls in homes. Sufficient light and protection from water and spills would solve the issue.
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Drywall comes handy when you plan something just as good as your walls but not that permanent. However, the usefulness of this construction material does not stop after a few weeks or months.
Due to the material used and technology behind the drywall, it becomes very durable and can be used in buildings for a long time.
Despite its good reputation to be useful, there might be one or two flaws that disqualify drywall to be a “one solution that fits them all” situations. Instead there are various uses that should be avoided in case of drywall.
However, if you are someone to whom ‘sky’s the limit’, you can find some way to use this misfit material too.
Black mold is one key reason people feel discouraged to use drywall in most cases. Black mold, as the name suggests, is one blackish layer or discolored portion on a specific part of the drywall. There are many reasons why drywall can get black mold.
Water spills:
If the surface of drywall remains constantly in touch with water and water spills, black mold is a must to face there.
High humidity:
Spaces where humidity level is high, usually contain a damp atmosphere that leads to mold behind drywall. If the situation continues longer, black mold can be seen all over the drywall.
Less air circulation:
Another reason for mold behind drywall is less air circulation around it. An overall black mold can be experienced in long term cases.
What drywall are more prone to black mold?
Drywall is very prone to get black mold. However, not in all cases, drywall would face issues of black moles. Here are some scenarios –
Bathroom drywall:
Water spills and moisture are very much capable of damaging drywall. As a bathroom is a very compromising place where damping is almost certain. However, you may want to put some coating of waterproof paint to prevent black mold from bathroom drywall.
Drywall in the basement:
Basements usually lack airflow and due to their locational attribute, the humidity level inside a basement is quite high. Such conditions of humidity are purely potent to damage the drywall by helping it grow black molds.
If you cannot control humidity, you should avoid drywall.
Drywall in the garage:
The garage is not where you would face water spills or humidity most often. Thus, it is very unlikely black mold will grow on the drywall in a garage. However, it is very important to put paint on to ensure the longevity of the drywall in a garage.
Poor ventilated ceiling drywall:
It is obvious places with poor ventilation will allow black molds to grow on drywalls.
How to get rid of black mold in the drywall?
One way to get rid of the black mold on drywall is to clean the mold with a bleach water mixture with scrub and heavy-duty sponges. After removing all the mold spots, the drywall needs to be dried with a fan or a hair dryer. If detachable, place it under the sun to get completely dried.
Your favorite drywall can completely ruin due to black molds. This problem occurs due to various reasons, including- water spills, poor ventilation and high humidity. The reasons are simple but can be very problematic for drywalls, as you have already seen.
If you cannot figure out what leads to such a situation, it would be difficult to find out what will be needed to prevent back molds from growing any further. After you have ensured that you have solved the issue, now you can take steps to remove black molds totally.
Also, solving those issues that help black molds to grow, will not only help you remove black molds, but also ensure no return of such things in future after you have cleaned all the black molds.
What is needed to remove black mold is some motivation to clean your space according to your needs. Otherwise the full process is very simple and easy. If you wish to work on your drywall and remove all the black molds, follow the steps below –
Bleach water Mix:
Yes, something as simple as bleach water mix would be enough to remove the black molds. Pour some bleach and water mixture in an appropriate ratio where quantity would be 1:3 in ratio.
Many suggest pouring some other chemicals such as detergent or soda, but it is quite surprising that you don’t need any of that. Bleach water has the capacity that would be perfect to strain out black molds from drywall.
However, it won’t be necessary to put bleach in large amounts, instead that can further dampen the drywall.
Apply with brush:
Use a brush that would be soft enough to put the mixture all over the drywall black molds. It is necessary to put the mix in even quantity and you have to be sure that no place gets an uneven distribution of mixes.
Again, do not put too much mixture on the black mold, otherwise it will be wet and in the long run it will have a negative reaction on the drywall. So, ensure the amount and apply with a brush.
Use a heavy duty scrubber:
The most important thing in this process is finding a heavy duty scrubber. Depending on the quantity and the size of the mold, you have to purchase a scrubber with very strong capacity.
Scrub all the places evenly. Ensure the black mold and black strains are gone in most places. If the process is slow, don’t lose hope, because it will be removed after a while if you don’t stop.
If you have removed black mold completely. Does not mean now you are totally relieved. It is important to understand that, black molds can come back.
At first find the reason why black molds grew in the first place. Eliminate the issue, whatever it is, this will allow you to keep control over no return of black molds anytime soon.
Is black mold in the drywall dangerous?
Black molds are some bad strains on drywall that are usually noticed in spots where drywall was exposed to water spills and water damps. Also, places with high humidity and poor ventilation can be a great contributor to black molds.
A black mold will allow the drywall to lose its beauty and grow weak over time.
It is obvious that black molds are not any positive things on drywall. In fact, you have to get rid of it immediately if you spot mold in one place of drywall, and look for other molds nearby. Mainly, because, otherwise a great chain of reaction will follow.
In the long run, black molds will damage the structural integrity of the drywall, leaving it prone to collapse at any time. On top of that, they indicate an unhealthy living style and living standards in a house.
How to prevent black mold in the drywall from coming back?
If you have experienced black mold once in your life, you are particularly not a big fan of this situation. And certainly, you do not want this to come back even for a single case. So, what are the things you can do to ensure no black mold to grow!
Control humidity:
Overwhelming humidity is something disliked by humans, and in the cases of drywall, such humidity puts it at risk of getting black mold.
So, you need to control humidity by eliminating anything that may increase humidity or use controlling equipment to protect the drywalls.
Increase Air circulation:
it is impossible for black mold to grow once you have increased air circulation around a drywall. Not only does it protect the drywall from black molds, it allows drywall to be useful and durable in the long term.
Please have big open spaces inside the room, or install some air cooling mechanism.
Use waterproof coating:
For places adjacent to bathroom or kitchen where water and water spills are very common, installed drywall needs to be protected, and one good way is to use waterproof coating that won’t allow water to enter or spoil the board
Replace severely damp drywall:
If drywall has gone too bad, it would be wise to replace that part with a good one. This will be only needed for the cases where black mold cannot be removed totally from the root.
Final thoughts
Black mold grows in drywall due to inadequate ventilation, high humidity and water related dampens. Mixture of bleach and water should be applied and brushed and then scrubbed to remove black mold. Determining what causes black molds and solving that can be the only way to prevent it from returning.