# How to get rid of mold? Fix the moisture before you clean anything, or it returns to the same spot. EPA puts the do-it-yourself line at about ten square feet, and porous material > Source: https://servpronorhfremont.com/questions/mold-removal-and-cleaning/how-to-get-rid-of-mold/ > Last reviewed: 2026-08-22 --- - Home - All questions - Mold removal and cleaning - How to get rid of mold? # How to get rid of mold? - Mold Caution — limited conditions Only under the specific conditions stated. If any of them do not hold, stop. Fix the moisture first — mold that is cleaned but not dried returns to the same spot. EPA says an area under about ten square feet is usually a job you can do yourself: clean hard surfaces with detergent and water, then dry completely. Porous material that stayed wet is thrown away. DIY limit ~10 sq ft Target humidity 30–60% Prevention window 24–48 h ## The short version - EPA — "the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture." Cleaning without that is temporary. - Under about ten square feet is generally a homeowner job. Past it, EPA's own guidance moves to containment. - Hard surfaces — detergent and water, then dry completely. Absorbent materials such as ceiling tiles may need replacing. - Keep indoor humidity between 30 and 60 percent, which is EPA's stated range. - Mildew is not a separate problem. It is a common name for surface mold and is handled the same way. ## The rule that decides everything else # Link to this section EPA’s list of ten things to know about mold puts it second, ahead of every cleaning instruction: There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture. Spores are already in the building and in the air outside it. They are not the problem and they cannot be removed. What turns a harmless background level into growth on a wall is water, and the only durable fix is to take the water away. EPA gives three numbers that make this actionable: - Fix the source of the water problem or leak to prevent mold growth. - Clean and dry any damp or wet building materials and furnishings within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth. - Reduce indoor humidity to 30-60% by venting bathrooms and dryers, using air conditioning and dehumidifiers, and running exhaust fans. ## What EPA says to do with the growth itself # Link to this section For a small area, the instruction is short: Clean mold off hard surfaces with water and detergent, and dry completely. Absorbent materials such as ceiling tiles, that are moldy, may need to be replaced. Two things in that sentence are doing more work than they look like they are. “And dry completely.” A surface that is washed and left damp is a surface that has been fed. The drying is not the cleanup step; it is the point of the cleanup. “Absorbent materials … may need to be replaced.” Mold in porous material is not a stain sitting on top of it. It has grown into the structure of the material, and EPA’s position is that it can fill the spaces and crevices and be impossible to remove completely. Carpet, padding, ceiling tile, insulation and the paper face of drywall are all in this category. Scrubbing them harder does not change what they are. ## Where the homeowner line is # Link to this section EPA sets it at area rather than at species or severity: Total affected area Protective equipment Containment Under 10 sq ft Minimum N-95 respirator, gloves, goggles None required 10 to 100 sq ft Limited or full, by professional judgment Limited, by professional judgment Over 100 sq ft Full, by professional judgment Full, by professional judgment Past the first row this site does not publish a method, and the reason is in the table itself: what changes is not the technique but the exposure. Disturbing a large colony puts a great deal into the air, in a building people are still living in. ## Mildew, fungus, and the words people use # Link to this section “ Mildew ” has no separate technical meaning in this context. It is the everyday name for surface mold — typically flat, powdery and white or gray — on a shower, a windowsill or a fabric. “Fungus” is the kingdom that mold belongs to. Neither word changes the response, and neither changes what EPA publishes. What does change the response is the surface it is on and how big it is . Those two questions are worth answering carefully; the name is not. ## What this means for your claim Whether any of this reaches your policy depends almost entirely on the water event underneath it , and on how long ago that event was. Mold that followed a sudden, covered escape of water — a failed supply line, a water heater, an appliance hose — is generally within reach of the policy, but only up to a separate fungi and mold sublimit that is commonly $10,000 and sometimes far less. Mold that grew from humidity, condensation or a leak that had been running for months is normally treated as a maintenance condition, and is excluded rather than sublimited. That distinction is decided by evidence, which is why the photographs matter more than the cleaning products. Date-stamped images of the source, the wet material and the extent of growth are what separate the two cases. ## What comes next Mold is a symptom of water that stayed too long. Work backwards to what that was: see water categories for what the source water means for what can be dried and what must be removed, mold for the drying window, and mold sublimits for the cap your policy applies. ## Common mistakes - Cleaning the growth and leaving the moisture. EPA's second rule is that controlling moisture is the way to control mold — everything else is cosmetic. - Running a dehumidifier without finding the leak. Dropping the humidity slows growth; it does not fix a supply line. - Treating mildew as a different, milder problem. It is surface mold under another name. - Sealing or painting over it. EPA — clean up the mold and dry the surfaces before painting. - Disturbing a large area without protection. Past ten square feet EPA calls for an N-95 respirator, gloves and goggles as a minimum, and containment above that. ## Common follow-up questions ### Do I need to find out what kind of mold it is? CDC states plainly that it is not necessary to determine what type of mold you have, because all molds are treated the same way with respect to potential health risks and removal. EPA adds that if visible mold growth is present, sampling is usually unnecessary. ### What humidity should I keep the house at? EPA gives a range of 30 to 60 percent. Below that band the air is uncomfortably dry; above it, condensation begins to appear on the coldest surfaces in the building — windows, exterior walls, uninsulated pipe — and those are where growth starts. ### It keeps coming back in the same place. Why? Because the water is still arriving there. Recurrence in an identical spot is the clearest diagnostic available — it means the cleaning worked and the source was never found. Look for what is cold, what is leaking, and what is not ventilated. ## Related questions - The first hour after any loss - Mold, the drying window, and testing - Mold coverage is capped - What to photograph and log ## Sources Every source cited on this page - T1 Ten Things You Should Know About Mold — US EPA (accessed 2026-08-25) - T1 Mold Cleanup in Your Home — US EPA (accessed 2026-08-25) - T1 Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings, Table 2 — US EPA (accessed 2026-08-25) - T1 Facts About Stachybotrys chartarum — CDC (accessed 2026-08-25) Written by: PLACEHOLDER — Restoration Reviewer Reviewed by: PLACEHOLDER — Claims Reviewer Last reviewed: 2026-08-22 ## Also asked as How can I remove mold? · How to remove mold? · How do you get rid of mold? · How to remove a mold? · How can I get rid of mold? · How do I get rid of mold? · How do you remove mold? · How to get rid of molds? · How to get rid of the mold? · How can you get rid of mold? · What is the best way to get rid of mold? · What is the best way to get rid of mould? · What is the best way to remove mold? · How to get rid of mould? · How can I get rid of mould? · How to clean mold? · How can I clean mold? · How do you clean mold? · How do you clean mould? · How to clean up mold? · How can you clean mold? · How do you clean up mold? · How to clean mold mildew? · How do I clean mould?