Guardian of Eden h2o2 : Contents

The company name "Guardian of Eden" refers to the Biblical angel left to block admission back into the Garden. In their product line, G.O.E. pursues re-creating the nutritional environment when the earth was new and pure.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS & In Between about Toxic Black Mold - do not panic!

There has been many new reports of toxic black mold, crisis over mold in the insurance industry, and less than honest people attempting to profit on the sometimes panic over the discovery of black mold in a person's own home.

This is a candid discussion of mold and fungus: What are the real risks and what are the real solutions?

First, DO NOT PANIC... things are not a bad as you may think regarding mold.

Mold, fungus, spores, virus, bacteria and other micro-organisms are in the air we breathe, water and environment around us. 99/9% of these are not harmful in anyway, for those that are dangerous the risk factor has greatly to do with whether a person is sensitive (allergic) to it and how much quantity is present.

BEWARE OF MANY OF THE ANTI-MOLD products and machines on the market as they are more likely to cause you health problems than the mold would. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE OF SYSTEMS THE SPRAY PESTICIDE INTO THE AIR (that you then breathe!)

A few tidbits about mold and fungus:

Mold and fungus thrive in dark, damp locations - such as under sinks, bathrooms and areas in walls and under floors where moisture accumulates and there is very little UV light. If your environment (or region) is one of high humidity and moisture, mold is more likely to be present.
Mold does not like ultraviolet light - which is produced by the sun and also by fluorescent lights. To reduce or eliminate mold growth in your shower, for example, leave on a fluorescent light. Flurescent lighting reduces your electricity costs for lighting by over 65% anyway, and U.V. light kills many molds, spores and mirco-organisms.
Dehumifying the air also dramatically restricts mold growth, though it can still grow in dark, damp places in your home.

A couple years ago, a couple we met had discovered black mold coming out of the corner of a sunken den wall. When they pulled back part of the rotted drywalling, it all was black behind it. Having enormous insurance for their million dollar home, they made an insurance claim and were willing to pay even more to solve this problem - and overall were in a full panic.
The response by the "Black Mold Specialists" was extreme. They surrounded the entire house with yellow and black warning tape like a crime scene or chemical dump, and the couple moved out of their house literally for nearly two months. The company then covered the entire interior of the house - claiming this to prevent spreading - and then went into the house wearing full body chemical suits with remote air respirators. 2 months later (and about $25,000 later), they declared the house clear of the mold, but declared they would need to come back and treat the house every month - forever - and level chemical sprayers to continually spray anti-mold pesticide into the air.
The couple, of course, promptly sold the house.
What this over reaction? Absolutely.

The other example is a collection of products now sold on the Internet for hundreds of dollars each, that spray bursts of chemical pesticides claimed to kill mold into the air 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Those products are, in a word, a fraud and worse, very, very, very bad for your health. It would be similar to addressing a cockroach problem by continually setting off chemical bug bombs in your house day and night. They would likely kill the rockroaches - before they then kill you.
Spraying toxic poisons into the air of your home is ALWAYS a terrible, awful idea

YOU REMOVE MOLD SPORES FROM THE AIR BY A FINE PARTICULATE AIR FILTER - not by spraying pesticide into the air. Ionic and typical air/heat system filters are not fine enough to filter mold out of the air. Ionic air filters have the additional problem of potentially flooding you when mold when you turn the ionizer off or whip it off.

MOLD TEST STRIPS:
Mold test strips claim to measure the quantity of mold in the air. While this sounds like a good idea, it accomplishes very little.
The BEST mold tester is your nose. If you detect a pungent musty odor under a sink, in your bathroom, in the basement, in a closet or in a damp room - you have a mold issue.

Who is at risk for mold?
Anyone who is allergic to mold, spores or tends to have many allergies, and people with weakened or undeveloped immune systems such as infants and the elderly.

HOW TO DETECT TOXIC BLACK MOLD?
This is not easy to do. The good news is that just because you have a black mold present in your home, this does NOT mean it is toxic black mold. Nearly ALL molds are black, dark brown, or dark grey. If it is green in color, it probably is not mold.
If you have a clear mold present, candidly you should elimianate and solve the problem - regardless of what type of mold it is.

KILLING MOLD - ALL KINDS OF MOLD
The good news is that SURFACE mold is very easy to kill. Deeply rooted mold into wood or drywalling is not easy to completely eliminate.

IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT THE MOLD BE KILLED BEFORE YOU START SCRAPPING OR WIPING IT OFF - and then that you do so while the mold remains are still WET.

SAFETY MASK AND CLOTHING
While drying out the area will ultimately kill most of the surface mold, when dried mold is 100 times more likely to become airborne and float in the air a long time. You need to KILL the mold first and then, while still damp, wipe or scrape it off. YOU SHOULD WEAR A SIMPLE RATED AIR FILTER MASK (ALWAYS) WHILE CLEANING MOLD. These only cost a few dollars each. The cheap painter's paper filters do not work, however as they do not fit snug enough.
You should removed your clothing without disturbing it and taking a shower also would be a good idea after a serious mold clean up project.

SO>>>>
How to prevent and kill mold?

1. Eliminate accumulations of moisture under sinks, in the bathroom and other areas of high humidity. This usually is as simple as adding a ventilation fan or dehumidifier.

2. If there are areas that you can not elminate moisture, you should assume mold will accumulate there and periodically kill the mold - ideally before it is dense enough to be able to see it. KILLING MOLD is discussed below.

3. UV light in your bathroom goes a long way to preventing and eliminating mold.

4. The sooner you kill a mold colony, the easier it is to stop. If you stop mold build up before it becomes particularly notable, killing it and clean up only takes a few minutes.

5. For DEEPLY rooted mold (such as into wood or drywalling), you face a much greater - but not impossible - challenge.

For SERIOUS mold contamination discussion - click here.

WHAT TO USE TO KILL MOLD >>>

The most common place mold is found is in the grouting in bathroom shower tile. Soap does not kill mold. Rather, like most aquatic plants, mold will actually grow faster in soap. Bleach will kill mold somewhat, but bleach also can kill you too as it is HIGHLY toxic. Bleach generally will not reach deeply into a mold colony and this is why it seems the mold always rapidly returns as there is mold left deep in the grouting. If any mold remains, it will very promptly grow back.

The most powerful non-toxic mold killer is a mixture of dilluted hydrogen peroxide and boric acid. Some believe if vinegar is added to this, it slows the rate of possible return and that seems to work - though mixing with vinegar takes a bit of precaution.

The formula is below.

It is VERY important to SPRAY on the mixture FIRST - so the mold colony is WET before you start rubbing or scrubbing on it. If you scrub on the mold before there is a killing liquid on it, you will send literally millions of mold spores into the air.

You simply spray on the mixture until the mold it wet, and then wipe or lightly scrub with a non-abrasive scratch pad the mold off a layer at a time - making sure to keep the mold surface WET while doing so (meaning re-spraying as it seems to dry out.) If deeply rooted, leave the liquid on longer before rubbing so it can sink in deeper.

After it appears you have killed all the mold, it is very, very important to wet the area down again to allow the mixture to soak into the remaining "roots' of the colony to eliminate it all. After it has completely dried out, then you can use a typical grout cleaner to eliminate the deep mold stain if it still remains (a deep stain remaining does not mean the mold is still alive).

It is that simple.

Again, for more complicated or deeply rooted mold issues and problems, click here.

MOLD KILLING MIXTURE (except DEEPLY ROOTED mold colonies) -
Works on all mold and fungus - this is a very strong mixture ratio

1 quart white vinegar
1/2 quart water
1 cup 35% hydrogen peroxide
1 cup boric acid

If you also wish to use vinegar (any white vinegar will work), add vinegar - but ONLY AFTER you have dilluted the hydrogen peroxide. As the vinegar will cause the mixture to deteriorate within a few hours, only add vinegar to the amount you plan to use promptly.

WEAR RUBBER GLOVES, EYE PROTECTION AND A SIMPLE BREATHING MASK. Spray the mixture (using any ordinary spray bottle) on the mold - or swipe it on with a VERY wet spounge. Avoid getting this mixture into your eyes and if you do, flush your eyes with water.

Paper painter's masks DO NOT WORK. Use at least a HEPA N95 rated filter. If you do not have one, you can buy one below.

If a deeply rooted mold, really get it wet repeatedly as you wipe or gently scrub the mold colony away as the mixture kills the mold itself.

Final comment:
We do not mean to minimize the dangers of toxic mold. But we also do not believe in exaggerating dangers to try to sell extremely overpriced machines and chemicals that either do not work, actually are worse for you than the mold danger - or both. Again, follow the links above for severe mold and toxic black mold problems.
Wishing you the best and good luck!

Again, for SERIOUS mold contamination discussion and more mold information - click here.