I’m sitting in my truck right now, scrubbing my hands with industrial wipes until they’re raw. Why? Because I just spent four hours in a crawlspace that smelled like a wet basement had a baby with a dumpster. The homeowner was standing there—god bless her—trying to tell me she "handled it" with a spray bottle of lemon juice and a dream.
She didn't. She just made the mould smell like a citrus-scented nightmare.
Look. You’re panicking. I get it. You saw a fuzzy patch behind the dresser and now you’re convinced your house is trying to kill you. Maybe it is. But spraying a little grocery-store cleaner on it is like bringing a toothpick to a chainsaw fight. It’s useless. Worse than useless. It’s dangerous because it gives you a fake sense of security while the roots are literally eating your 2x4s.
Your House Is a Giant Sponge
Stop thinking about your walls as solid objects. They aren't. Drywall is basically just paper and compressed chalk. It’s a five-star buffet for fungus. When you have a leak, or even just high humidity, the mould doesn't just sit on the surface like dust. It digs in. It weaves itself into the fibers.
So when you ask about mould removal services, you aren't paying for someone to come in with a rag.
You’re paying for containment. If I walk into your place and I don’t see floor-to-ceiling plastic zippers, I’m a hack. Period. The second you disturb a colony, it releases millions of spores. They’re invisible. They’re light. They catch a draft and suddenly the mould in your laundry room is now living in your pillows upstairs.
I’ve seen DIY "fixes" turn a $500 cleanup into a $10,000 whole-house disaster. Don't be that person. Don't be the "I read a blog about tea tree oil" person. Your lungs don't care about your Pinterest board.
The Smell is a Warning, Not a Suggestion
If you can smell it, it’s already winning. That musty, earthy stench? That’s the microbial volatile organic compounds. Basically, the mould is off-gassing while it eats your home. Gross. Truly disgusting.
I had a guy last week tell me he was just going to wait until summer for the "dry air" to kill it. Newsflash: mould doesn't die when it dries out. It just goes dormant. It sits there, dry and brittle, waiting for one tiny drop of condensation to wake up and start the party all over again.
Here is what mould removal services actually do if they aren't trying to scam you:
- Identify the leak. If the guy doesn't find where the water is coming from, fire him. He’s a thief.
- Negative Pressure. We use huge fans to suck the air out of the room and through a HEPA filter so the spores don't migrate to your kitchen.
- The "Rip and Flip." We don't save mouldy drywall. We cut it out. Two feet past the visible damage. Always.
- Industrial Drying. We use dehumidifiers that could dry out a lake.
I’m tired of seeing people try to "paint over it." Kilz is great, but it’s not a magic eraser for a biological infestation. If you paint over mould, you’re just giving it a nice, dark, moist blanket to grow under. Three months later, the paint bubbles, and you’ve got a bigger mess than when you started.
Throw Your Stuff Away
This is the part where people hate me. They want me to "save" the carpet. They want me to "clean" the velvet curtains.
I can’t. If it’s porous and it’s been in a room with active growth, it’s gone. Toss it. The spores are deep in the foam and the fabric. You can’t wash them out. You’re holding onto a memory that’s giving you a headache and making your kids sneeze. Let it go.
I’m not here to be your friend or tell you it’s okay. I’m here to make sure your house doesn't rot from the inside out. It’s loud. It’s expensive. It’s a massive pain in the neck. But do you know what’s worse? Waking up and realizing you’ve been breathing in a colony of Aspergillus for six months because you were too cheap to do it right the first time.
Fix the water. Cut out the rot. Use a pro. Stop breathing in the basement.
FAQ
Can I just use bleach? No. Bleach is mostly water. On porous surfaces like wood or drywall, the chlorine stays on top while the water soaks in. You’re literally watering the mould. Stop doing it.
How much does professional removal cost? It depends on how much you screwed it up before calling me. It can be a few hundred for a small spot or thousands for a whole basement. Get a quote and don't take the lowest one.
Is all mould "toxic"? Doesn't matter. Even "non-toxic" mould causes allergies, asthma, and ruins your property value. If it’s there, it needs to go. Period.
Can I stay in my house while you work? Usually, yeah, as long as I have my containment zones set up. Just stay out of my way and keep the dog in the other room.
How do I prevent it from coming back? Control your humidity. Get a dehumidifier. Fix your gutters. If your house stays dry, mould stays away. It’s not magic; it’s physics.