Akron Beacon Journal

Dear Mary Beth: I have two windows that had a black substance on them. I treated them with a water/ bleach mixture, then sanded, re-stained and re-varnished. A year later, both windows have more mould on them.

How do I find a reputable company to test and clean this for me?

Teresa

Dear Teresa: First of all, not all black mould is highly toxic and it’s unlikely the mould around your windows is. Unless someone in your household is sensitive to mould, professional remediation might not be required.

Second, I urge you to investigate why mould is growing on those windows in the first place. Most likely, the windows aren’t sealed properly, causing condensation to form on the glass in winter. Water from the condensation can promote growth of mould on the wood.

If you have storm windows, their weep holes may be clogged and can’t let moisture drain away.

It’s also possible your house isn’t ventilated well enough or the humidity is too high. But if either of those were the case, you’d probably have problems with all your windows, not just two of them.

Before you call in a mould expert, I urge you to have an energy audit done on the house to pinpoint air leaks and other energy-wasting issues. Many utilities offer low-cost energy audits.

If you still want to pursue mould removal, you can find professionals in the Yellow Pages under “mould remediation” or “mould testing & consulting.”

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