Mould in shed

Skylarks

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.

Skandi

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.

B3

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😉

Topbird

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.

Skylarks

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.