Repairing Plywood Flooring Mould Damage

Mould on your plywood flooring is not just unattractive; it can be dangerous to the health and well being of your family as well. While not all mould is toxic, many varieties can aggravate health conditions such as asthma and allergies and can sicken the people in the home especially children, seniors, and individuals that have a weakened immune system.

As many homeowners will not know what type of mould is appearing on their plywood flooring, it is best to repair all plywood flooring mould damage as quickly as possible to limit the risk to the individuals in the home.

Step 1 – Removing The Mould From The Plywood Flooring

The first step in repairing plywood flooring mould damage is removing the mould from the flooring. It is important to contain the area where the cleaning is being done to prevent the contamination of other areas of the home.

The room where the cleaning is taking place should have all of the vents to the room closed or sealed to ensure that spores of mould do not enter the heating and cooling system, where they could spread to other rooms in the home. If there is a door to the room, it should be closed as well to prevent the spread of the mould spores.

The key to cleaning the mould from the plywood flooring is to ensure that all of the mould is gone and prevent spreading the mould to other areas of the floor by your cleaning efforts. It is recommended that if you are wiping away the mould with a rag, use disposable rags that you can feel comfortable throwing away after cleaning a single area.

If there are multiple areas of mould that require cleaning, use a new rag for each surface and throw each one away before moving to clean a new area.

Some of the most effective cleaning agents for removing mould from plywood flooring are water and detergent. Bleach is not a recommended cleaning agent for plywood flooring because the bleach could damage the finish of the floor and could be potentially hazardous to the individuals cleaning the area.

The concentration of bleach needed to kill the mould and prevent it from returning would be very high and very dangerous to the people that chose to use it and would probably damage the plywood flooring to the point where it would need to be replaced.

Step 2 – Finishing And Sealing The Floor

After the water used to clean the floor has completely dried, it will be time to finish and seal the floor to prevent the mould from returning. Many homeowners decide to use fungicides and mould killers to prevent the mould from returning to their flooring, but if the cleaning job was done properly then these other items will not be needed. There are certain sealants that are fungicides as well and the homeowner may chose to purchase one of these for their peace of mind.

The sealant should be applied per the manufacturer’s instructions to each of the areas that were damaged by the mould. In some cases, the plywood flooring will need to be restained where the mould has damaged the finish of the floor and care will need to be taken to ensure that the refinished areas match the areas that were left untouched.

It is very important that the area is completely dry before sealing because the sealant will trap any moisture that is present against the flooring, resulting in additional mould growth in the future.

Photo by Ken Dyck, Creative Commons Attribution License