If a wood surface gets damp and no one notices, it’s all too easy for mold to begin to spread there. Mold can quickly become toxic, so if you do notice mold on your baseboards or furniture, you should clean it as soon as you can. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to remove mold from wood surfaces — as long as you know how.
You can remove mold from wood surfaces by vacuuming them down and then scrubbing them with a cleaning solution of your choice. Many household items like bleach, hydrogen peroxide, or vinegar work, and there are also commercial mold removers available. Make sure to take the proper safety precautions.
Let’s take a closer look at how to remove mold from wood surfaces, as well as what products work best and the safety precautions you absolutely must take.
How to Clean Mold on Wood Surfaces
The best way to clean mold from wood depends on the exact type of surface that you’re working with. Let’s take a look at some common places you might need to clean mold from.
Bathroom Baseboards
The first thing you’ll want to do is don your safety gear and ensure the bathroom is well-ventilated. This will prevent the spores and cleaning solution from creating suffocating fumes that you don’t want getting into your respiratory system.
You should then vacuum the baseboards to ensure any loose dust and spores are sucked up.
After that, you can scrub the bathroom baseboards with your chosen cleaning solution. If the mold has set in or grown a lot, this may take a while, so have patience. When you’re done, you should rinse off the area and make sure it’s dry.
Wooden Decks
With wooden decks outside, make sure you’re alone in the space and that everyone knows not to approach (be sure that kids and pets don’t have access).
You can then wipe away or vacuum up any loose spores and clean the wooden decks the same way that you would bathroom baseboards, rubbing your cleaning solution in firmly and then rinsing it away.
You may also have to sand mold out of the decks. If you do, make sure you clean them once more after you’ve sanded them and that you don’t leave them damp.
Saunas
If you’re cleaning mold in a sauna, the process is a little different. You’ll have to disinfect the sauna and raise the temperature to 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100˚C) , as this heat is too high for mold to stand.
It’s best to hire a professional to clean your sauna if the mold is out of control and you aren’t sure where to start.
Furniture
Furniture is handled much the same way as wooden decks and baseboards, but before going ahead, it’s a good idea to isolate the furniture you need to clean. If you have to complete this process inside, ensure the room is well-ventilated, or take the furniture outside if possible.
Which Household Products Are the Most Effective?
There are a few household products that are very effective at killing mold. You may have some of these already lying around your house, which can save you from having to buy an expensive commercial cleaner.
Bleach
Mixing equal parts bleach and water is a surefire way to kill off the mold your wood has accumulated. It’s a harsher solution than some, but if the mold has really started to set in, it could be your best bet.
Note that you should never mix bleach with ammonia-based cleaning products.
Vinegar
Vinegar is another great solution for killing off mold, and it isn’t as harsh as bleach. You might be surprised at how effective it can be despite that.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Slightly stronger than vinegar but not quite as strong as bleach, hydrogen peroxide (on Amazon) is good at getting into the wood and killing off any mold that might be growing beneath the surface. It’s also a common household item you might already have on hand.
Ammonia
You can also mix ammonia (on Amazon) and water, though you should be careful as ammonia is extremely strong.
Which Commercial Products Are the Most Effective?
If you don’t want to use a household solution, there are also some amazing commercial products that work well on mold, including:
- RMR Brands Complete Mold Killer (on Amazon)
- CLR Mold and Mildew Clear (on Amazon)
- Tilex Mold and Mildew Remover Spray (on Amazon)
These are all specially formulated products with great reviews and may do a better job than natural household solutions.
Safety Tips to Keep in Mind
There are a few safety tips that should be kept in mind when tackling mold on wood, and it’s important not to skip any of them:
- The area should be well-ventilated, as mold fumes can be toxic (and so can the fumes that come from certain cleaners, like ammonia)
- You should wear a well-fitting N-95 mask (on Amazon) to reduce the risk of breathing in spores or fumes.
- You should wear safety goggles to protect your eyes.
- You should wear safety gloves to ensure you avoid touching mold or stronger cleaners, like bleach or ammonia.
- Lastly, make sure your family (especially kids and pets) are kept away from the area, to avoid curious hands and paws causing a disaster
If you doubt your ability to clean mold on your own or are worried about your safety, there are plenty of professionals for hire in most areas who can clean mold for you.
They’re usually highly trained and effective, and they’re used to doing this — just ensure you look at the reviews of any mold-cleaning company before hiring them.
Overall, mold isn’t hard to get rid of if you know how to approach it. There are plenty of commercial products and natural household solutions that’ll help you get mold off of wooden furniture without causing any damage. It’s just important to take the proper safety precautions, since mold spores can be toxic.