Getting rid of mold?

[Paleosuchus]

I did a search on mold and found only one post on this but it did not say how to get rid of it. The cage is wood with a nice coat of polyurethane. I was careless and got the cypress mulch way to wet. I have tried scrubbing with warm water and soap but nothing. I was told to use diluted bleach but not sure what percentage it needs to be with water. Thanks for any help, Jason

[jay_scir]

Yeah just use bleach! Use about one cap full( the lid of bleach container) per L of water after that rinse it with just water a few times before you house anything it.

[Paleosuchus]

I tried diluted bleach and it did nothing, then i put straight bleach right on it being frustrated and still it didnt phase it. Not sure whats going on but it will not budge.

[Ptindy]

Replace the mulch.

Mike

[peterm15]

well i hate to say it but you have alot of work ahead of ya..

well depending on how many coats of varnish ( polyurethane) you put on..

the mold found a week spot, worked its way to the wood.. and now all your doing is putting bleach on the varnish... so you have to take a sander ( best is belt, or disk but any will do) sand it down to bare wood... then use your bleach solution.. then dry the wood.. ( let sit for a few days) and then re varnish.. its the only way..

it may sound hard but if you have access to the right tools itll only take a cupple of hours..

when you re seal it.. make sure you use outdoor varnish.. as it will protect against humidity better.. and do at least 3 coats with a light sanding in between.. and on the last coat just use a fine sand paper and do it by hand..

[Paleosuchus]

Yeah i am done with polyurethane on the bottom of the enclosures i build. I am going to sand down the molded area and kill it then line the bottom with shower pan liners. Thanks for all the help, jason

[Invictus]

I couldn't put it better than Peterm15. I will say this though - whenever you work with bleach, you must use SALT water to rinse - regular water will NOT dilute the chlorine, which is extremely toxic.