Are you tired of seeing your precious furniture being destroyed by mold? Don’t worry, I have you covered.
While mold is present in the air almost all the time you only notice it when it starts to grow on the surfaces and one of the biggest reasons for it is moisture. Yes, if you live in humid conditions mold is going to be a constant problem.
But thankfully, the solution is simple. From moving the piece of furniture to a sunlit area to cleaning it with Vodka or vacuuming the surface, here are all the different ways to help you kill the mold on wood easily and quickly.
Let’s dive into it straight away.
How to Kill Mold on Wood?
The Prep
Before you bring out the weapons and go to war, don’t forget to wear your protective gear and other safety measures. Here’s all about it.
Step 1: Get on the safety gear
You do not want mold and spores anywhere near your body. From lung infections that can cause breathing problems to severe allergic reactions, there’s a host of problems they bring with them.
And the only way to keep yourself safe is your face mask, rubber gloves, and safety goggles.
The mask you use should be an N95 mask which is easily available in any medical store. The safety goggles you purchase should not have any vents.
In case you develop skin allergies quickly, cover your skin as much as possible. You should consider wearing full sleeve clothes and also ensure your rubber gloves do not have holes or tears on them.
Step 2: Take it all outside
An ideal situation would be one where you can take the furniture outside for cleaning. This could be a lawn or a balcony. Just make sure it is open.
This will keep not just you but also other family members like the kids, old parents, pets, etc. safe from the spores and molds. It even protects the spores from spreading to other surfaces.
Worried you might spread them around while you move the furniture around? No problem. Just tape some garbage bags around it or cover it using some old bedsheet.
In case you do not have that liberty and have to do the cleaning on the inside, make sure you open up windows and vents in your room.
Even the cleaning chemicals release fumes so the more the ventilation, the better it is for everyone.
Step 3: Use a vacuum
Got a vacuum sitting around that arm attachment and a HEPA filter? That’s the perfect tool to clean up any spores that may have fallen around the house or on the balcony.
Once done, make sure you empty the vacuum straight into the garbage disposal bag with your safety gear on and seal it tightly before throwing it away so it doesn’t fly right out.
How to Remove Light Mold?
Use sunlight
Getting rid of mold doesn’t always have to be complicated. Sometimes, just moving the furniture into a sunny area should do the trick, especially if the mold is minimal. Just make sure there is no dew in the atmosphere as it can worsen the situation.
The only drawback here is that you will have to bring the table, shelf, etc. back in after sunset and place it out again in the sun the next day unless all the mold disappears which requires both time and effort but costs nothing.
Once you bring your furniture back inside, it is important to keep the mold growth to minimal or zero so place it in a room with a dehumidifier running. It also acts as a replacement for sunlight and in cases of light mold, might do the trick alone.
Just because the mold is less doesn’t mean you take your safety lightly as well. Make sure you are wearing all your protective gear.
Fighting mold with Vodka
Love Vodka? If yes, I am sure you have some lying around, and believe it or not, it is a great mold killer, even more, effective than sunlight. So if sunlight and dehumidifier fail, this is exactly what you need.
All you have to do is add some vodka to a spray bottle and spray it all over the surface. Let the Vodka dry. If you can place it in sunlight, it takes less time to dry and doubles up the effect. This method works even better for stained wood as the mold doesn’t go below this surface and thus easier to get rid of.
Scrub it off with soap and brush
Did both Vodka and sunlight fail to solve the mold problem? A good old scrubbing might help. All you need for it is some detergent, lukewarm water, and a soft brush (not your toothbrush though, something bigger and circular would be better).
In case you aren’t sure about the smoothness of the bristles, run the brush over part of the furniture that isn’t visible.
Once you are done scrubbing the entire surface affected by mold, wipe it down with a damp cloth. Is all the mold gone? If yes, wipe it down again with a dry cloth and leave it sunlight till it dries completely.
If the mold doesn’t seem to go scrub and wipe it again.
Using distilled vinegar
Vinegar is one of the most popular ingredients for homemade cleaners and works on mold as well. All you need to do is add some vinegar to the spray bottle rather than soap water. Spray it over the furniture, leave it for about 1-2 hours and then wipe it down with any cloth.
If needed spray some vinegar again and wipe it down again until all the mold is gone. Then just wipe it down with a dry cloth and you can move the furniture back into the house.
Tips to get Rid of Stubborn Mold
Step 1: Making a bleach solution
Get a bucket and fill it up with some water. Mix in about 60ml of detergent along with 600ml of bleach. Mix it but make sure you do it using a wooden tool. In case you are using your hands, make sure you wear rubber gloves as bleach can cause an allergic reaction to the skin.
Bleach is the magic ingredient in the mixture but if the mold has crept deep into the wood then that’s where the detergent comes into play.
Also, bleach doesn’t just affect your skin it also has the power to turn your clothes or a carpet white. So make sure you aren’t wearing clothes you intend to wear otherwise or have any other piece of cloth around the furniture or else you might have to throw it away.
Step 2: Apply the bleach solution
Once the solution is ready all you need to do is dip a soft bristle brush into the solution and scrub the surface in a circular motion while applying around moderate pressure. Avoid using hard brushes as these can create scratches on the surface, in turn, costing you more as you will need to refinish the piece of furniture.
Once applied, leave it to dry for about 2-4 hours. You can even take the table or shelf, etc. in a sunny area to speed up the process. In case you find the mold hasn’t gone, scrub it 2-3 times. But if the mold remains, it has penetrated deeper into the wood which means cleaning solutions will no longer work on it.
So is that it? Will mold never leave you and your precious piece of furniture alone?
Wait, don’t give up just yet. We have one more trick up our sleeves to help you out.
Step 3: Sanding off the mold
Irrespective of how stubborn the mold is, sanding always works. Just make sure you are using sanding paper with a finer grit. To be more precise, it should have a rating of around 100-250.
Sand areas with the mold while there is moisture as it keeps the spores from spreading. Once the sanding is complete, scrub the surface with a brush and the bleach solution.
The only drawback of this method is that the finish of the wood gets damaged and needs to be redone once the mold problem is solved.
Apart from these solutions, you can also go with mold removers like the RMR-86 Instant Mold and Mildew Stain Remover Spray. Though slightly expensive, it works like a charm and needs no scrubbing. Spray it, let it dry, and voila, no more molds. Plus, you can use it on vinyl siding, drywall, concrete floors, brick walls, kitchen and bathroom tiles, etc. as well.
If you are looking for something on a budget, you can also go with EcoClean Solutions Mold, Mildew & Algae Remover. It is eco-friendly as the name suggests and works well with light mold.
Another question most people wonder is whether they should hire professionals or not and my answer is if you aren’t able to get rid of it with any of these methods or feel you aren’t equipped enough to handle it by yourself then yes, get professional help before it spreads all over the house. It will cost you on the higher side but so will buying new furniture.
Conclusion
There’s every trick in the book to help you restore the old finish of your furniture while keeping mold away. If you live in hot and humid conditions, mold on wood is common but so are the solutions to get rid of it.
From vinegar that is easily available in every kitchen to sunlight and a detergent that you use almost daily, most ingredients won’t cost you a penny.
In case you are having trouble killing the mold of furniture in your house and none of these methods work for you do let us know in the comments section below. Please feel free to drop in your questions and doubts as well.
You can also get in touch with me via email using the form on the contact page. And in case you have other methods that you have used to kill the mold on wood, we’d love to feature it on our blog so feel free to tell us all about it.
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