Chlorine Bleach (sodium hypochlorite 6%) does not kill mold. Why?
Mold’s hyphae (root structures) actually grow into wood and drywall like roots. The hyphae are not killed by bleach because bleach’s ion structure prevents chlorine from penetrating into porous materials such as dry wall and wood. It stays on the outside surface, whereas mold has protected enzyme roots growing inside the porous construction materials. When you spray porous surface molds with bleach, the water part of the solution soaks into the wood while the bleach chemical sits atop the surface, gasses off, and thus only partially kills the surface layer of mold while the water penetration of the building materials fosters further mold growth.
Chlorine bleach causes long term breakdown of wood products like studs, sheathing, plywood, OSB, and other building materials over time.
SEVEN REASONS NOT TO USE BLEACH TO CLEAN MOLD
1) Bleach does not kill mold.
2) Bleach was not designed to kill mold, and has never been sold or EPA registered to do so.
3) There are no professional, certified mold remediators who use bleach for killing mold.
4) Bleach cannot penetrate into mold’s tiny hyphae (roots), but the water part of the formula will, thus fostering more, even stronger mold growth.
5) Bleach is a very destructive chemical, and literally eats away at the surfaces it’s applied to.
6) Chlorine begins to break down quite quickly and consistently after Bleach is manufactured, so within a short period of time (2 to 3 months), whatever minute mold cleaning abilities the product had are dwindled away as it waits to be shipped to stores and purchased.
7) Bleach’s off gassing is hazardous to all flora and fauna, and mixing bleach with any other chemicals can produce extremely toxic vapors. It’s generally considered unsafe for use in cleaning mold.