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Mould in shed

SkylarksSkylarks Posts: 379
in Problem solving
I’ve opened up both my shed doors for the first time this year and I have lots of mould inside 😩. I had to get rid of two wooden chairs as they were covered in a fine powdery green mould. 

The inside of my shed has some black mould and more of the fine green powdery mould. I’ve had a look online and it says to wear a medical grade mask before cleaning the mould to avoid inhaling anything. Well, I doubt very much I’ll be able to find any masks at the moment, never mind medical grade!

Is using a scarf to cover be better than nothing or is this pointless?
Do I also need to be careful when I go back into my own house and remove/wash all clothing?
Is it better to use a damp cloth with bucket of water to clean or wipes that I can throw away straightaway? I’d rather not use wipes if possible.

Appreciate any advice on this.


Posts

  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    The only danger to you is breathing it in, it's not dangerous on your hands so a wet soapy cloth will remove it just fine. Wash it off and then what I do is wash the wood with dilute bleach (wear gloves) that seems to help stop it coming back, you can buy solutions that inhibit mold growth but I prefer to avoid them. Your clothes will pick some up from the air so it's probably a sensible idea to wash them after.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Careful when you do the ceiling that you don't get any beach in your eyes. It could also have an interesting effect on your hair😉
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    I had the same thing happen during the shed's first winter. Caused by damp stagnant air. I took steps to waterproof the outside of the shed (paint) so damp didn't penetrate through the wood and I now leave a window open just a crack throughout the winter so air can circulate. Just leaving the door open for a couple of hours on fine dry days on a regular basis will also do the trick.

    I didn't bother cleaning off the mould on the shed surfaces - absolutely everything was covered. I cleaned tools and surfaces as I used them but it all disappeared when I started leaving doors and windows open and things dried out.

    If it's not too late you can probably save your chairs by scrubbing them down with a weak bleach solution or even just leaving them outside in the sun. Worth a try.


    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • SkylarksSkylarks Posts: 379
    Thanks for all the advice. 

    My son insisted I purchase a face mask so I managed to find one from screwfix - wasn’t cheap. I was quite embarrassed when I picked it up. I wanted to show the shop assistant photos of the mould so she wouldn’t think it’s for COVID 😳

    Topbird said:
    I had the same thing happen during the shed's first winter. Caused by damp stagnant air. I took steps to waterproof the outside of the shed (paint) so damp didn't penetrate through the wood and I now leave a window open just a crack throughout the winter so air can circulate. Just leaving the door open for a couple of hours on fine dry days on a regular basis will also do the trick.

    I didn't bother cleaning off the mould on the shed surfaces - absolutely everything was covered. I cleaned tools and surfaces as I used them but it all disappeared when I started leaving doors and windows open and things dried out.


    Ah, I might try leaving the doors open for now then. I’m working from home so hopefully it won’t take too long for it to disappear. I’ll then do a wipe down once most of it disappears. 

    The chairs were old anyway and not that comfortable.

    A friend also suggested I use my hoover, then wipe. 

    Thank you again.
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