How to clean mold on drywall or know when to cut it out
Surface sprays only treat top-layer growth, leaving hidden spores inside soaked walls to spread further. Trying to guess whether to patch or cut out the drywall stops people from stopping the damage before it ruins the structure.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Treating the area with mold removal spray and painting over it
- 2Cutting out the affected drywall and replacing it
- 3Hiring multiple water damage companies for inspections
- 4Consulting window installation companies
- 5hiding in the room wearing a mask
- 6relying on management to spray and dry the area with a blower fan
- 7Cleaning the ceiling with a vinegar mixture
- 8Replacing the shower curtain
- 9Caulking the cracks
- 10Waiting for the ceiling to dry out by itself as advised by building management
- 11Painting over water stains if they eventually appear
- 12Buying a moisture meter independently to check moisture levels
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Unsure how big of a deal this is and if mold spray will be fine”source ↗
“I am having water stains on my drywall and no one can tell me where they are coming from.”source ↗
“The water damage companies we’ve hired to come out are all over the place (some saying our walls are soaked, others saying they are dry, some saying it’s an active leak, some saying it’s just humidity and condensation).”source ↗
“We have no idea what to do.”source ↗
“There is mold in my HVAC closet, the closet in the living room and there’s about a foot of mold all around the bottom of the closet.”source ↗
“when I informed my management. They told me that usually when the wall is soggy then they take out the drywall but if the wall isn’t soft to touch, then they can just use a specialized cleaner”source ↗
“I’m currently hiding in my room with a mask.”source ↗
“my concern is that even though there are no visible water stains in our ceiling we dont want to live with mold.”source ↗
“I have spoken with the admin and engineering of the condo yet their only solution would be to let dry and if ever wet stains appear they will just paint over it.”source ↗
“I am not sure what to do next, should i just take their advise and just wait for it to dry? will it even dry by itself and no mold will grow?”source ↗
“Yeah already talked with them, their only solution is to paint over if there are visible stains. Yeah ill try to buy a moisture meter this week.”source ↗
“I guess im just worried about the possibility of mold already inside the ceiling and am unsure if caulking would fix the problem long term.”source ↗
“Should I cut a hole right where the black patch is or is a little below okay?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to get rid of severe black mold on bathroom grout
- 6How to clean mold under water damaged flooring without DIY experience
- 6How to clean mold on furniture after rain gets inside
- 2New drywall cracks after a renovation
- 2Why is the paint on my bathroom ceiling peeling?
- 4How to get rid of mold around shower pipes permanently