As a reminder, please try and ID the plant/creature/object if not done already. Although the person may have done something foolish, remember to be respectful, as always! Please do not touch anything if you don't know what it is!
That's a lot of mold, and depending what kind, could cause issues especially for asthmatics and such. That said, the vast majority of mold you get on walls is not deadly per se.
But it's also indicative of other issues. There might be a leak in the house or other major issues... bathrooms shouldn't build up mold that bad, and it's never going to get better until it's mitigated. That ceiling is bad enough that the whole ceiling will have to be removed and replaced, entire place treated, and proper ventilation installed.
My cousins grew up in a BLACK wall bathroom, the familly just ignored it their whole lives. All three of the kids have asthma now :,)
I mean at least spray it with bleach to kill off the spore producing stage? The mycelium/"roots" will still be there, but at least it won't bloom and release toxins 24/7.
When mold come in contact with moving air or liquid being sprayed on it it releases spores as a mechanism to reproduce. On top of that vinegar won’t kill the mold body below the surface, only what’s on top but when what’s on top dies it forms a protective cyst-like barrier for what’s below and it will continue growing on the other side of the drywall.
It has to be properly cleaned, the drywall removed, and the room decontaminated, there’s no other safe way to deal with a mold contamination this large.
You’re spreading misinformation that will get people sick.
See the issue you're running into right now is that you don't know whether thats mold or mildew. Mildew is a flat mold that grows on the outside of surfaces. Mold like you're thinking of is an intrusive critter. Vinegar will kill the surface of both. If it's mold, it will be back in the same pattern tomorrow. If its mildew, you'll have a couple weeks until it grows back due to the humidity and poor air circulation in the bathroom. It also won't have the same patterning.
If you've ever dealt with mold abatement before then you'd know the first step is surface treatment usually with a vinegar based solution.
No those are two very different things and you’re being disingenuous. I didn’t tell him he can’t deal with it himself I told him he can’t deal with it by spraying some vinegar on it and pretending that’ll solve the problem.
If you have a reason to believe I’m not correct please let me know, I’m always open to improving.
You’re right; I was being a little disingenuous. And I wasn’t suggesting it would solve the problem! I’ve dealt with mold before, though fortunately not this much of it.
Spraying, or wiping with, vinegar could temporarily kill at least some of the stuff on the surface, which would be better than killing one of it. If OP is y in a position to do anything else, and their parents refuse to, it would be something they could try. I’d probably choose to wipe rather than spray, and wear a mask while doing it.
My issue is with answers that assume the person with the problem is able to apply the best solution. Usually this comes up when I’m responding to cat care questions, but it may apply here also. If the inky person willing to admit the problem doesn’t have the resources to make the right fix happen, someone needs to give them advice they can take. We have to deal with the situation as it is, not as we would like it to be.
While I agree with that general train of thought the issue with app that logic when it comes to mold is Reddit as convinced itself that bleach and vinegar are appropriate methods of dealing with mold when there are better just as accessible products that are actually designed to solve the problem. Bleach is actually one of the worst things you can spray on mold because of it’s high water content, and low penetrating ability. The chemical component of bleach will kill what’s on the surface but the water will separate and seep into the drywall providing more moisture to the rest of the mold. Vinegar is the same thing. If you can’t get a high enough concentration of either of those chemicals all you’re doing is feeding the mold growing on the other side of the drywall sheet which will turn grow back through. On top of that, like I said in the other comment if you kill what’s on the surface it will actually cause the mold to protect itself by releasing spores and becoming assist to like structure that protects the mold beneath the service making it harder to kill, this all happens on a microscopic level so well it may look like your cleaning the mold you could potentially be making the problem 10 times worse and now there are millions and millions of old scores in the air. One square inch of mold can hold up to 1 million spores.
The best thing for somebody who doesn’t have access to a professional solution to do would be to vacuum the surface using a vacuum with a HEPA filter, then applying antimicrobial/antifungal solution. You’ll have to do this every few months because the mold will continuously regrow if you don’t remove the affected drywall.
The ideal solution for that amount of mold would be covering everything in plastic, setting up an air scrubber, HEPA vacuuming, removing the affected drywall, treating all rough material once a day for three days and chemical cleaning the room, then replacing the drywall.
The issue with the simple Reddit solutions that sound like a better deal than the “scamming professionals” that people think mitigation contractors are is your unknowingly contaminating your entire home and advising others to do the same. I’ve seen it 100 of times on here where people will tell DIYers just cut it all out and wear a mask while the same DIY people will wonder for months why their health is getting worse and their developing asthma.
I mean, look, if you think I’m wrong tell me why, I’m open to it, but as a qualified professional I’m just stating why using vinegar isn’t the correct way to deal with this level of mold contamination.
Nope, the dumbasses in my apartment complex did this so I breached contract and told them to sue me. They never took me to court after all the evidence I showed. We did a private inspection and when it looks like this, you have much deeper issues and it will just keep coming back if you spray it down (like it did for me when I had them come "fix" it). Thinking you can just spray this down is actually just moronic. The entire ceiling is rotted and needs to be gutted.
When mold come in contact with moving air or liquid being sprayed on it it releases spores as a mechanism to reproduce. On top of that vinegar won’t kill the mold body below the surface, only what’s on top but when what’s on top dies it forms a protective cyst-like barrier for what’s below and it will continue growing on the other side of the drywall.
It has to be properly cleaned, the drywall removed, and the room decontaminated, there’s no other safe way to deal with a mold contamination this large.
You’re spreading misinformation that will get people sick.
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That's a lot of mold, and depending what kind, could cause issues especially for asthmatics and such. That said, the vast majority of mold you get on walls is not deadly per se.
But it's also indicative of other issues. There might be a leak in the house or other major issues... bathrooms shouldn't build up mold that bad, and it's never going to get better until it's mitigated. That ceiling is bad enough that the whole ceiling will have to be removed and replaced, entire place treated, and proper ventilation installed.
Probably why the parents are lying to themselves
Its gonna cost a buck or two
My cousins grew up in a BLACK wall bathroom, the familly just ignored it their whole lives. All three of the kids have asthma now :,)
I mean at least spray it with bleach to kill off the spore producing stage? The mycelium/"roots" will still be there, but at least it won't bloom and release toxins 24/7.
Did the parents go blind from from the mold?
I want to clean my phone screen after seeing that.
This is absolutely a health hazard.
Your bathroom? Parents in denial.... If it's yours and why do you need your parents to believe you?
I'm guessing OOP lives with their parents and it's the bathroom they use, in their parents' house
EDIT: Actually having read the OOP I don't get it either
If there is an attic space above that, you need to address any insulation issues up there, then swap out the drywall
If the parents are in denial that it's mold then what, are they just fine with a dirty bathroom ceiling?
Thats bad
Idk.. call the city, county, health department???
Seems totally fine.
Put white distilled vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray the ceiling and kill the mold.
On the surface.
Yeah. That shits all the way through and behind the drywall.
Why should there be a drywall in a bathroom..?
I mean, that’s better than not doing anything.
have you tried just not looking up?
It’s actually not.
When mold come in contact with moving air or liquid being sprayed on it it releases spores as a mechanism to reproduce. On top of that vinegar won’t kill the mold body below the surface, only what’s on top but when what’s on top dies it forms a protective cyst-like barrier for what’s below and it will continue growing on the other side of the drywall.
It has to be properly cleaned, the drywall removed, and the room decontaminated, there’s no other safe way to deal with a mold contamination this large.
You’re spreading misinformation that will get people sick.
Meta r/oopsthatsdeadly
See the issue you're running into right now is that you don't know whether thats mold or mildew. Mildew is a flat mold that grows on the outside of surfaces. Mold like you're thinking of is an intrusive critter. Vinegar will kill the surface of both. If it's mold, it will be back in the same pattern tomorrow. If its mildew, you'll have a couple weeks until it grows back due to the humidity and poor air circulation in the bathroom. It also won't have the same patterning.
If you've ever dealt with mold abatement before then you'd know the first step is surface treatment usually with a vinegar based solution.
As a licensed mold abatement specialist and mitigation contractor, to put it nicely, you’re full of it.
Oh, this is like how pest control always tells you never to try getting rid of wasps yourself, isn’t it?
No those are two very different things and you’re being disingenuous. I didn’t tell him he can’t deal with it himself I told him he can’t deal with it by spraying some vinegar on it and pretending that’ll solve the problem.
If you have a reason to believe I’m not correct please let me know, I’m always open to improving.
You’re right; I was being a little disingenuous. And I wasn’t suggesting it would solve the problem! I’ve dealt with mold before, though fortunately not this much of it.
Spraying, or wiping with, vinegar could temporarily kill at least some of the stuff on the surface, which would be better than killing one of it. If OP is y in a position to do anything else, and their parents refuse to, it would be something they could try. I’d probably choose to wipe rather than spray, and wear a mask while doing it.
My issue is with answers that assume the person with the problem is able to apply the best solution. Usually this comes up when I’m responding to cat care questions, but it may apply here also. If the inky person willing to admit the problem doesn’t have the resources to make the right fix happen, someone needs to give them advice they can take. We have to deal with the situation as it is, not as we would like it to be.
While I agree with that general train of thought the issue with app that logic when it comes to mold is Reddit as convinced itself that bleach and vinegar are appropriate methods of dealing with mold when there are better just as accessible products that are actually designed to solve the problem. Bleach is actually one of the worst things you can spray on mold because of it’s high water content, and low penetrating ability. The chemical component of bleach will kill what’s on the surface but the water will separate and seep into the drywall providing more moisture to the rest of the mold. Vinegar is the same thing. If you can’t get a high enough concentration of either of those chemicals all you’re doing is feeding the mold growing on the other side of the drywall sheet which will turn grow back through. On top of that, like I said in the other comment if you kill what’s on the surface it will actually cause the mold to protect itself by releasing spores and becoming assist to like structure that protects the mold beneath the service making it harder to kill, this all happens on a microscopic level so well it may look like your cleaning the mold you could potentially be making the problem 10 times worse and now there are millions and millions of old scores in the air. One square inch of mold can hold up to 1 million spores.
The best thing for somebody who doesn’t have access to a professional solution to do would be to vacuum the surface using a vacuum with a HEPA filter, then applying antimicrobial/antifungal solution. You’ll have to do this every few months because the mold will continuously regrow if you don’t remove the affected drywall.
The ideal solution for that amount of mold would be covering everything in plastic, setting up an air scrubber, HEPA vacuuming, removing the affected drywall, treating all rough material once a day for three days and chemical cleaning the room, then replacing the drywall.
The issue with the simple Reddit solutions that sound like a better deal than the “scamming professionals” that people think mitigation contractors are is your unknowingly contaminating your entire home and advising others to do the same. I’ve seen it 100 of times on here where people will tell DIYers just cut it all out and wear a mask while the same DIY people will wonder for months why their health is getting worse and their developing asthma.
And I'm the queen of England. See how cool it is to be something on the internet.
I mean, look, if you think I’m wrong tell me why, I’m open to it, but as a qualified professional I’m just stating why using vinegar isn’t the correct way to deal with this level of mold contamination.
Nope, the dumbasses in my apartment complex did this so I breached contract and told them to sue me. They never took me to court after all the evidence I showed. We did a private inspection and when it looks like this, you have much deeper issues and it will just keep coming back if you spray it down (like it did for me when I had them come "fix" it). Thinking you can just spray this down is actually just moronic. The entire ceiling is rotted and needs to be gutted.
Don’t do that.
When mold come in contact with moving air or liquid being sprayed on it it releases spores as a mechanism to reproduce. On top of that vinegar won’t kill the mold body below the surface, only what’s on top but when what’s on top dies it forms a protective cyst-like barrier for what’s below and it will continue growing on the other side of the drywall.
It has to be properly cleaned, the drywall removed, and the room decontaminated, there’s no other safe way to deal with a mold contamination this large.
You’re spreading misinformation that will get people sick.
Vinegar isn't going to do shit. You need bleach in this situation, then replace the drywall.