Cleaning Drywall Ceiling Mildew

[Jeffro]

So I found some mildew looking spots in the master bathroom at one of the houses I'm working in and I was wondering what your suggestions were for cleaning them? I would prefer not to use bleach and instead, would like to use a non toxic enzyme solution. I was thinking of getting Zyme away but not sure if it can be used in a room or if it's meant for outside uses.

[chipbennett]

So I found some mildew looking spots in the master bathroom at one of the houses I'm working in and I was wondering what your suggestions were for cleaning them? I would prefer not to use bleach and instead, would like to use a non toxic enzyme solution. I was thinking of getting Zyme away but not sure if it can be used in a room or if it's meant for outside uses.

Have you considered replacing/patching the drywall instead? Some mildew isn't worth messing with to try to remove.

[JLeuze]

We get a lot of small patches of mold and mildew in our house and I always bleach the hell out these patches!

But you might be able to get by with a milder laundry detergent solution. If you have a real bad spot, you could remove and patch just that area, rather than remove the whole sheet, then polish the whole thing off with some of that anti-mildew paint.

[Jeffro]

Well, the spots are small but are on a majority of the ceiling so patching wouldn't work unless I was ready to replace the whole sheet. If need be, I'll go with a bleach solution and then put a coat of anti mildew paint on to see if that works.

[BrianLayman]

I did the repeated bleaching over a few days and paintd the sucker to death to seal anything in...

[Ipstenu]

I have a leak in the furnace room of my (thank GOD) soon-to-be-ex-apartment. I used bleach to kill the mold. That said, you ... kinda have to worry more about UNDER the drywall. If it's showing up on the front-end, the back is usually cmopromized too. I'd replace the sheet and see if there's a leak behind if I owned it.

Hell, I offered to do that for the landlord (and deduct the money for parts from my rent) if she'd fix the roof, but ... well. Yet another reason why I'm moving.

[mmuro]

Apart from cleaning it, you might want to investigate the cause of it. In a bathroom, typical moisture buildup and mildewing is because of improper ventilation. Is there a bathroom vent/fan in the ceiling? If not, you could install one. Just make sure it's vented to the outside and not into the attic.

[Jeffro]

I found a product called Mold Control that applies a thin film over the mold/mildew to suffocate and crush the spores before it thinks it's being attack. The thin film is supposed to be a preventative measure for future growth. Going to give it a shot and report back.

http://www.concrobium.com/

As for the cause of it, the girls have not been using the vent fan when they take baths which leads me to believe the steam from the hot water condensates on the cool ceiling instead of evaporating or being vented out.