Glenn Haege: Ask Glenn
DetNews.com (Detroit News)
October 24, 2007
Dear Glenn: Recently our sump pump stopped working and flooded the basement. We had mold on the walls, and I'm assuming on the carpet, too. The dry wall was cut out, bleach applied underneath and then new drywall was put in and repainted.
Now we are taking out the carpet and replacing it with new carpeting. To be sure we get the mold off the floor, should we bleach the basement floor before putting down the new carpet?
If we use bleach, do we then have to wash it down afterward to get rid of the bleach? (I'm worried it'll ruin the new carpet.) If we use bleach and it touches the new paint, will it ruin it?
Julie, Ferndale
Dear Julie: Bleach is no longer recommended for mold remediation. If you want to learn the guidelines, go to my help site, www.masterhandyman.com, and click on "Mold Menace" in the left hand column. Read the articles.
Siamons International Concrobium Mold Control, (866) 811-4148, www.concrobium.com, is an excellent mold remediation product. Learn more about it by going to the Web site.
If you would like to suggest a question for this column, write Ask Glenn, Master Handyman Press, P.O. Box 1498, Royal Oak, MI 48068-1498, or e-mail ask glenn@masterhandyman.com. If you want to talk to Glenn personally, call his "Handyman" radio show on WJR-AM (760) at (866) ASK GLENN between noon and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Handyman Show can be heard on more than 160 radio stations nationwide.