Dealing With Mold In Your Grout

Removing mold from grout has always been a tough issue to tackle. We pride ourselves on our knowledgeable staff but mold removal can be more complicated than it seems. We threw this question out to the community over at the John Bridge forum and this is what the experts had to say:

John Koessler at Koessler Enterprises wrote:

Mold is a tough topic to address. I learned in a seminar a while back to refer to it as BOG (Biological Organic Growth). There is no set solution. Some is established on the surface, such as perimeter caulk joints, caused by entrapment of soap or shampoo residual. Other can be subsurface, such as appearing on the surface of the grout, but actually starting on the paper surface of wet drywall, thus it’s constant reappearance after cleaning.

Lastly, the worst case scenario, I will call internal. One example is when extreme moisture is present in a wall cavity, and various types of mold are growing (some of which is toxic and can severely affect the health of sensitive individuals).

This is when a mold remediation team must be sent in. If contractors uncover this type of situation, it is their duty to notify the homeowner of the situation, and hire a mold remediation team. It will be the contractors liability if he doesn’t take the appropriate action.

The scenarios that I have described above are why there is no simple solution. While they vary from mild to extreme, IMHO, they really require an on site visit to determine the cause of the growth to give accurate advise on possible remedies.

This thread can be viewed HERE and we will continue to post more responses as they come in.

How do I remove oil or grease stains from my granite counter top?

One common problem that our customers tend to run into is getting oil or grease stains embedded into the pours of their granite counter tops. Since granite is a porous stone and is commonly used in the kitchen, oil and grease can penetrate the stone and leave unsightly stains.

There are a couple of ways to remove the stain. In the following video, you will see how to get the stain out overnight using acetone. Though this method works well, acetone is a chemical and must be handled appropriately. We will discuss other methods after the video.

http://www.howcast.com/flash/howcast_player.swf?file=186188

If these steps are not ideal for your situation or you don’t want to handle abrasive chemicals, you can purchase a product that will simplify the work. The StoneTech Professional Oil Stain Remover is a pint of product that can be mixed, applied and removed once it has dried. Voila! You have removed your oil or grease stain.