The most dangerous mushrooms in the house. Fungus under a wooden floor - how to get rid of once and for all

Mold is the common name for a fungus, which, in turn, is moldy (grows on stone, concrete, paint), blue fungus (grows in wood fiber), rotting fungus (bacterial, white, brown rot growing on wood), yeast fungus (on foods). Mold fungi are common almost everywhere. They are found both in a person's home and in the external environment.

WHAT IS SHE BEING?

Blueing, greening of surfaces, peeling walls, terry or growing "beard", black dots indicate the presence of mold.
It is not difficult to notice fungal damage to wood: dark spots, a grayish coating, damp wood.
As for the color of rot, it is red, white, gray, yellow, green. Red rot affects conifers, white and yellow - oak and birch, green - oak barrels, beams and ceilings of cellars.
Dry rot on wood is gray in color and forms a fluffy, cotton-like mass; sometimes this fungus resembles even gray sheets with areas of lemon and lilac. The affected tree turns brown and is covered with cracks located along and across the fibers.
Wet rot resembles thin ropes or dark-colored veins. In some places (for example, behind baseboards) it looks like grayish sheets. The affected tree darkens, cracks appear.

CONDITIONS FOR THE APPEARANCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF MOLD

Mold spreads through the air as microscopic spores. When it hits a damp surface, it sprouts with the thinnest threads.

Mold and fungus love moisture. Unfortunately, all the materials that surround us contain moisture to one degree or another. In facades made of stone and concrete, moisture is formed as a result of condensation, that is, it settles on the surfaces of the walls in the form of small droplets. Condensation may appear during the cold season due to insufficient wall thickness. In bathrooms (not to mention baths and saunas), condensation is a common occurrence - the result of the temperature difference between the surface and the air adjacent to it. Rain has a beneficial effect on mold growth. Moisture penetrates through pores, holes, cracks or leaky seams in buildings. Groundwater and sedimentary water have a bad property to soak into the basement of the building or into the walls. The appearance of mold on unprotected materials in this case is inevitable. Structural moisture is initially present in new structures and can accumulate even at the stage of production of building materials, as well as during the construction itself. Moisture accumulation is possible due to unbalanced room air exchange.

In addition, the mold feels great at low temperatures. She, like trees in winter, does not "live an active life", but does not die either. When the temperature rises, the mold begins to sporulate again. High temperatures can kill mold, but some types require exposure to temperatures of plus 100 C° for 1-2 hours to kill.

An unfavorable condition for wood decay is dry wood with a moisture content of not more than 20% (when wood moisture content is below 15%, rot does not develop at all). Lumber can easily reach such humidity during natural drying from January to July in the conditions of the middle lane. But moisture can be contained not only in the original wood. The main sources of wood moisture in the structures of various buildings and structures include ground (underground) and surface (storm and seasonal) water. They are especially dangerous for wooden elements in the ground (pillars, piles, etc.). Atmospheric moisture in the form of rain and snow threatens the ground part of open structures, as well as the outer wooden elements of buildings. Wood is also threatened by operational moisture that occurs inside residential premises during cooking, washing, drying clothes, washing floors, etc. This moisture condensing on the surface or in the thickness of structures is dangerous primarily because it is detected, as a rule, even then, when irreversible changes have occurred in the enclosing wooden structure or its element, for example, internal decay.

WHAT IS MOLD DANGEROUS?

The affected material becomes a source of mold spores, so the first sign of mold contamination is the appearance of mold spores in the air. As radiation or heavy metals act invisibly on the body, mold also affects a person, his health and housing.
Here is a short list of diseases associated with mold: migraine, runny nose, otitis media, bronchitis, rhinitis, bronchial asthma, cardiovascular disorders, mycotoxicosis. Sometimes in people with reduced immunity, mold lesions of internal organs are possible. All of these diseases are chronic in nature and cause difficulties in treatment. Allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever, affects over 36 million people. In most cases, the root cause of this disease is allergenic mold. Among the huge number of mushrooms, allergenic properties are found in approximately 300 species. The number of people who are allergic to mold is increasing every year and, mainly, these are people with bronchial asthma. At least 15% of children with bronchial asthma are hypersensitive to mold allergens. The disease is characterized by a gradual onset and a protracted course.
In hospital conditions, weakened people can even cause fatal infections.

When mold spores enter the gastrointestinal tract, a food allergy develops.
The most poisonous mold is yellow, which produces the strongest aflatoxin. Yellow mold affects food products (liver, fish, milk, rice, peanuts are the most susceptible).

More than 100 toxic compounds found by scientists in mold may not show their presence in the body for a very long time. But after a few decades, it is they who can cause the rapid growth of cancerous tumors.

WOODEN HOUSE AND MOLD.

Mold is the worst enemy of wood. Wood that dries naturally is at risk of decay for a long time. It is also threatened by fungi and mold.
Fungal spores and bacteria can get on the wood while still in the forest or during transportation. They only need to get into favorable conditions in order to begin to develop rapidly. Imagine such a common situation - building materials are bought in the spring (which means this is a “winter forest”, considered the healthiest), and its use begins only in the second half of summer. For the period of storage, the wood was stacked and covered with polyethylene, wrapped as tightly as possible. Everything seems to be correct. But they didn’t take into account one thing - the greenhouse effect. And this effect is just a blessing for the mold. The same wood would be intact if the pile were simply covered with something from the rain from above, but thanks to the open walls, it would be ventilated.
Similar phenomena can be in finished buildings. Mold and blue stain fungi mainly spoil the appearance, and also indicate temporary wetting of the wood. The real enemies of wood are myceliums, which destroy the fibers and cause softening of the wood, which causes significant damage to the supporting structures. Mold and blue do not impair the strength of wood, but rot destroys the tree and eventually makes it unusable (while infecting adjacent boards and beams). Wooden houses do not die of old age: the tree is durable enough to last for centuries, and in the right conditions it lasts for thousands of years. All because the tree got sick ... with a house fungus. Blue easily penetrates through the varnishes and paints that cover the tree. Blueing occurs at high humidity and temperature plus 10-25 0С.
Contributes to the development of blue and stillness of the surrounding air. The blue itself does not change the mechanical properties of wood, but is a precursor to decay, and its presence indicates a high moisture content of the material.
Bacterial rot destroys wood cells from the inside and causes the decomposition of cellulose. Because of this, the tree darkens and grays. White rot provokes the decomposition of cellulose and lignin, an organic polymeric compound contained in the cell membranes of vascular plants and causing them to become lignified (hardwood contains 20-30% lignin, coniferous - up to 50%).
Brown rot "splits" the cellulose, which causes splitting of the wood. A section of wood affected by such rot turns brown. Wet rot is more typical for houses with increased dampness, dry rot appears in damp places, but then it can move to dry wood, brick, plaster. Note that the darkening of the wood does not yet indicate its illness. Any untreated board in the open air changes color. This is a kind of natural oxidation.
It is not difficult to notice the appearance of a house fungus: on the logs of the walls, on the floor boards, wall sheathing, a white fluff or a cluster of white threads similar to cotton wool first forms. Then yellow, pink and lilac spots appear, which over time turn into gray films with a silvery sheen. The wood darkens, cracks and crumbles. The fungus grows disastrously quickly, especially in buildings made of soft wood; pine and oak wood is less damaged by house fungus.
If the house fungus is not destroyed in a timely manner, then in 6-8 months it can “eat through” the wood through and through. The most terrible enemy of the tree is the white house mushroom. It successfully disguises itself as an ordinary mold. But this is until the fungus shows character. Under certain conditions, in a month, he is able to “eat” an entire oak floor 4 centimeters thick!
Wood is a "living" material that contains moisture. A growing tree is fed with water through the roots and trunk. In lumber and wood products, the structure of the cells of a growing tree is preserved, and therefore the board absorbs water, moreover, through the transverse planes to a greater extent than through the longitudinal ones. Moisture is what fungi need.
In addition to wood, mold can have a destructive effect on almost any material. It easily destroys paint and varnish coatings, crumbles brick, cement and concrete (a concrete slab affected by a fungus crumbles in just a couple of years).

AND A FEW MORE FACTS:

• For the first time, Stachybotrys atra, a fungus that attracted the attention of scientists a few years ago and is associated with the death of several babies in Ohio, was sown from the lungs of a seven-year-old boy. This mold, one of hundreds of thousands of fungi that exist in nature, can cause serious health problems if grown indoors. Inside living quarters, it turns into a dangerous enemy of the human body, especially it harms babies and children. The fungus Stachybotrys atra (stachybotrys atra) emits poisonous spores that are easily inhaled. In the open air, they break down relatively quickly, but in a damp, poorly ventilated room, on heating pipes or on cellulose coatings, mold grows rapidly. In the house where the fungus was later discovered, the children had migraines, coughs, watery eyes and constant fatigue, which led them to visit the pediatrician frequently. The mother also fell ill with hormone-dependent asthma. None of the family members were tested for the fungus, but their Scottish Collie Rocky, who suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, was tested. He was found to have a fungus that settled in the gastrointestinal tract. More recently, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found a link between Stachybotrys atra and an unusual rate of infant mortality from pulmonary hemorrhage. The 10 babies who died from this cause lived in poor, water-damaged homes in Cleveland, with all the homes concentrated in one area. Since then, there have been 160 such reported cases in the US.
• The cause of death of those who opened the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs was yellow mold, which releases aflatoxin. Aflatoxin causes severe pneumonia and liver cancer.
• The Bantu people of Africa deliberately store food in such a way that they are covered with mold for the sake of taste. This nation most of all in the world suffers from liver cancer, they die before reaching the age of 40.
• India has ideal conditions for the development of mold. Here, cirrhosis of the liver is common in children who are fed yellow rice. He's all infected with aflatoxin.
• In the old days, a hut infected with a white house fungus was immediately burned so as not to infect neighboring buildings.
• In 1997, American astronaut Michael Foul, who was visiting the orbit of the Mir station, claimed that inside it smelled of mushrooms and dampness. And its walls in many places are covered with multi-colored mold. Like, from the spores of fungi watery eyes and itchy skin. Only recently Russian scientists from the Institute of Biomedical Problems confirmed this information. It turns out that our astronauts and ground scientists knew about the mold even without Foul. Moreover, they tried to fight it with a special antifungal cream. But without much success. Fungi spoiled plastic, metal and even glass - they almost gnawed through the porthole. According to Alexander Viktorov, head of the department of sanitary-chemical and microbiological safety, the mold became especially voracious, reacting to solar activity. It is not surprising that there is a version in which mold is the main culprit in most of the problems at the Mir station. Including on-board computer. Recently, the situation could have escalated catastrophically, and the mold has grown so much that the further operation of the station in habitable mode was excluded. Perhaps it was the defeat in the battle with the fungi that forced the sinking of the Mir.

1. The walls and corners of buildings are the most vulnerable in terms of mold damage. They must be biocidal protected.

2. Take a closer look at the arrangement of furniture: if bulky items are placed close to the walls, limiting air circulation, then soon condensation will appear on the walls, and then mold.

3. A common cause of rotting exterior window frames is loose or cracked putty on the bottom of the frame. Make sure that the putty does not lag behind the glass and that rainwater does not penetrate into the inside of the frame.

4. The appearance of mold on the wall with a balcony is usually associated with improperly installed drains and poor waterproofing. Make sure that the external drain is not clogged and that there is no water standing in it. Freezing in winter, the drain can break along the seam, and in the spring a fungus will settle in the wall nearby.

5. Active ventilation of the premises reduces the risk of mold. An unfavorable microclimate for fungi is created. When airing in the cold season, it is better to fully open the window (balcony door) for a short time for a short time. The vents, which are slightly open for a considerable time, contribute to the cooling of the walls.

6. There are three basic rules in the fight against mold - reduce the humidity inside the home (no unheated rooms in the building in winter, no drying clothes in the room, repair of leaking taps, fewer indoor plants), ensure good ventilation (more frequent opening of windows, increased bathroom ventilation rooms) and eliminate mold foci.

DURING CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR

1. Downspouts must be installed in such a way that the vertical joints are away from the wall and at least 3 cm apart.

2. To protect the floor of the balcony from moisture, it is necessary to lay a dense epoxy or polyurethane coating on it, and the floor must have a sufficient slope. Then the water will flow down smoothly.

3. It is advisable to build houses from dry materials in order to avoid the appearance of constructive moisture.

4. The best protection against moisture is provided by synthetic putties that retain elasticity for a long time.

5. The more cement in the plaster, the stronger it is. Therefore, lime-cement plasters are considered to be more resistant to water than lime plasters.

6. All wood building materials must be treated with antiseptics during construction.

7. If the fungus has already appeared, the waterproofing of the material will not lead to its "clogging". The fungus must be destroyed before applying the waterproofing coating.

Provide good ventilation. Thoroughly ventilate rooms where mold can form - attics, basements, bathrooms. If the bathroom is very damp after a shower or bath, it should be ventilated.

Don't let water run out of faucets, as this increases humidity.

Wipe wet areas with a dry cloth.

It is possible to reduce the humidity in the room with the help of an air conditioner. But remember that the air conditioner itself can become a source of fungi and their spores. Use an air conditioner with fungicidal “treatment” filters or other technologies to keep mold from growing inside. The use of air purifiers is recommended. The most effective are cleaners with HEPA filters.

It is necessary to provide good heating if there is no central heating (in the country house). And if it is not central enough, it is possible to additionally heat the room. Do not turn off the heating at night. The formation of dampness on the walls is much greater when the room cools down.

Rooms should be ventilated for a short time, but intensively. All windows and doors must be open. Short and intense ventilation will not dissipate heat from the walls, so there will be little heat loss. Slightly ajar windows are not an adequate alternative to opening them wide for a short period of time.

If your home is seriously infested with mold, the only solution is to call in expert help. In many cases, the positive effects of moving from a damp and "mouldy" dwelling to one without such problems have been documented.

Air out wet clothes before putting them away.

Do not keep dried flowers and wreaths in the room, which often contain mold.

REMEMBER that it is much easier and cheaper to prevent the appearance of mold than to remove the fungus and eliminate the consequences of such damage!

There is such a terrible misfortune - house mushroom (Latin name: Serpula lacrymans). It is also called "wood sponge" or house mushroom white. Popular rumor ascribes to him the ability to gobble up a house in a matter of weeks. And for good reason. Once in my life, many years ago, I observed this miracle of nature in my own village house. The fungus multiplied. An unforgettable sight!

On a deep and clear July night, in just a few minutes, the wallpaper on the ceiling swelled and burst. In the resulting cavern, seething and stirring, something appeared that resembled the yellow-pink hostile flesh of a monstrous monster from a horror movie. Having grown to the size of a soccer ball, the intruder began to fall to the floor with a heavy thump, and in a few hours he filled the heavy two-bucket basin that had been set up. By morning, the "eruption of protoplasm" had ceased, and everything that was alive and heavy at night, gathering in the basin and on the ceiling, dried up and became weightless. I touched the remains of the night "alien" with a poker and jumped back: a myriad of tiny spores - that's what it consisted of now. From any touch, the dried mass without a trace soared into the air and circled in an orange suffocating cloud with the smell of sour mold ... A section of the ceiling infected with spores of white house fungus - a meter by meter had to be removed with a chainsaw and replaced with fresh boards.

And you may not be. People have learned to impregnate a tree with special salts for a long time. Most often, pesticides based on arsenic, antimony, lead were used for these purposes ... Now there are high-quality impregnations that are completely non-toxic to humans. These substances penetrate deep into the tree, protecting not only from the house mushroom, but also from less exotic, but ubiquitous molds, wood blue, carpenter insects and their larvae, from fire, water and solar ultraviolet radiation. Special impregnations can not only secure a new house, but also “cure” an old one, rid a dear home of mold, fungus and bugs, and remove the characteristic smell of an old house. Impregnations are useful not only in the estate and in the country, but also when repairing a city apartment with wooden floors, for the restoration of antique furniture.

In the photo - an excellent impregnation for the fight against porcini house fungus Prosept (Prosept). At a certain stage, it can significantly restrain and suppress the development of white house fungus. Impregnation Procept 50 has a wide and powerful tool in the containment of the development and destruction of white house fungus. Buying it is not difficult at all. The condition for a successful purchase of a remedy to combat this type of fungus is to contact us.

Wood impregnations vary in purpose: from decorative to deep penetration protective compounds. The consultant of the trade network of building materials "Ideas for Home" will help you choose the impregnations necessary for a specific task, explain the procedure for their application.

The general scheme is as follows: Prosept deep penetration impregnation opens the pores of the wood and fills the microchannels, it does not wash out and lasts for years. Next is cosmetics.

Expert Experience

What is the best and most effective way to destroy white house fungus?

Hello! In residential buildings, white house fungus began to appear more and more often on wooden surfaces. It is especially dangerous for wooden houses, because the tree affected by it will soon collapse. Many do not even pay attention to its appearance or do not know how to deal with it. Therefore, I decided to talk a little about the dangers that this mushroom brings and advise on how to get rid of it based on my own experience. .

The consequences of the appearance of white house mushroom

White fungus is a mold that consists of unicellular fungi. They are always in the air and only under favorable conditions for their life they begin to develop and multiply. They love dark, damp and warm places. They mainly appear in bathrooms or in basements, in other rooms it is not easy to achieve the right conditions for their development. But if there are no ventilation systems, vents, and thus the rooms are not ventilated, then it will not be difficult to achieve a high percentage of humidity. You can detect the fungus in the initial stages of its appearance. To begin with, the porcini mushroom will be a small cluster of cotton-like white thin threads. Then they turn into ash-gray films.

The fungus grows very quickly, the wood affected by it can completely collapse within six months. It cracks, loses its strength and becomes more dark.

Also, people's health can suffer from house fungus. It can cause asthma, conjunctivitis, laryngitis, allergies and other respiratory diseases. Therefore, when it is detected, it is necessary to immediately begin to eliminate it.

How to destroy white house mushroom

Dealing with house fungus is not easy. In the initial stages of its appearance, antiseptic agents can be used.

The most effective of them are Neomid 430 Eco and Neomid 400. The first antiseptic is recommended for application to external wooden surfaces, the second - to internal ones. They will cope with the already developing white fungus and prevent its return for many years.

If the wooden material has changed its color under the influence of mold, then it is recommended to use Neomid 500 bleach. It will return the old appearance to the wood without making changes to its structure. It will also provide additional biosecurity to the processed material.

If the wooden material is severely affected by the porcini mushroom, then the most effective is to remove and burn it. At the same time, the infected wood must be taken out of the room carefully so that as few spores as possible scatter around the room, and it is necessary to prevent even slight contact with healthy wood.

Do not forget about preventive measures. It is constantly necessary to ventilate the premises, periodically treat wooden materials with protective compounds. After all, white house fungus appears not only in old houses, it can also appear in a completely new, only rebuilt building.

A photo: the best compositions for pest control of wood.

Semyon Shifner, 48 years old (Tomsk).

Fungus and mold infestation on wooden floors is a common problem faced by owners of houses and baths.

Spores actively develop in a suitable habitat, so it is impossible to get rid of them with wet cleaning.

To effectively eliminate the fungus in the underground, it is necessary to find out the cause of its appearance, remove the formations and, if necessary, replace the floor covering.

Types and signs of fungal formations

Mold and fungi are the simplest forms of microorganisms that have long existed in nature. On a wooden surface, such types of fungus develop as:

• house sponge;
• White house fungus;
• Basement fungus.

Such formations carry a hidden danger not only for modern coatings, but also for human health. Fungal spores provoke the occurrence of frequent headaches, shortness of breath, nocturnal cough and allergic reactions.

The spread of fungal formations is accompanied by the appearance of the first signs:

• Strong smell of dampness;
• Brown, black, dark gray and white spots with uneven edges and their further darkening;
• Wet areas of the floor covering with color fading;
• Swelling, cracking and subsidence of the plaster layer.

In order to take effective measures to eliminate the fungus on a wooden base, it is necessary to find out the main causes of its occurrence.

Reasons for the appearance

The key reasons for the appearance of fungal formations are high humidity and poor ventilation. High humidity is manifested due to oversaturation of soils with thawed and underwater waters.

If the building is erected on such soils, then with insufficient waterproofing, the likelihood of the appearance of a fungus is especially high.

Poor ventilation in the basement also leads to mold and mildew.

High humidity can manifest itself not only in utility rooms, but also in residential premises. Most often this happens due to poor-quality wet cleaning, insufficient or excessive humidification of the air.

How to remove and destroy

The elimination of fungal formations under the floor should be approached comprehensively.

It is not enough to identify the cause of the appearance and remove fungal formations mechanically, it is necessary to create a suitable indoor microclimate that will prevent the emergence of new foci of infection.

If a large area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe floor is infected with the fungus, then it will not be possible to completely get rid of it. Experts recommend removing the old flooring and replacing it with a new one.

In addition, it is important to remember that with a large area of ​​​​infection of the floor, fungal spores can spread throughout the room.

The key areas of work to eliminate the fungus from wooden floors are as follows:

• Cleaning surfaces from formations mechanically;
• Surface treatment with antifungal compounds;
• Replacement of damaged coating elements with new materials;
• Arrangement of a good ventilation and waterproofing system.

Antifungal drugs

Effectively get rid of all types of fungus on wood can, such as:

Sulfur based checker

This is the most effective preparation available, which allows you to quickly eliminate any mold and fungus. You can buy it in specialized hardware stores or on the market.

Sulfuric gas is extremely dangerous for the human and animal body, therefore, the treatment of the premises must be carried out in the absence of strangers and with closed windows and doors.

The checker is placed in a metal container, set on fire and left until it is completely burned out. You can open the room no earlier than after 10-12 hours. The treated room is thoroughly ventilated and dried.

Chlorine-containing preparations

The most popular is plain white.

A high concentration solution is prepared for surface treatment. When working with whiteness, it is recommended to use a respirator, protective gloves and overalls.

Whiteness thoroughly cleans all surfaces from fungal spores and mold. After processing, it is recommended to ventilate the room.

Antifungal primer

This is a specialized antifungal agent that allows you to quickly solve the problem with fungal formations. It can be purchased at any hardware store.

The primer effectively eliminates lesions and prevents their reappearance. An antifungal primer is applied to a previously cleaned surface. In case of deep damage to the surface, it should be cleaned to a fine base. The primer is applied in several thin layers with a wide paint brush.

vitriol

To effectively eliminate the fungus, you can use solutions of copper and iron sulfate. To obtain a concentrated solution, a clay base, a solution of vitriol and boiled water are used. Prepared ingredients are diluted in a liter of water, after which the affected surface is treated with a solution.

You can get rid of the lesion and prevent its appearance on the tree with the help of special antiseptic compounds designed for wood.

They include components such as: ammonium, sodium fluoride and zinc chloride. The drug in the required dosage is diluted in water to obtain a concentrate, which is used to spray the surface.

To effectively combat the fungus, homemade improvised means are suitable - table vinegar, baking soda and ammonia. Most often they are used for safe prevention, but for the complex elimination of the fungus, it is worth using more professional preparations.

How to destroy a fungus step by step

How to get rid of fungus from flooring? You can perform a similar procedure yourself, following the step-by-step instructions.

1. First you need to prepare the infected room. Remove clean things, furniture and household items from it to a suitable place, and pack contaminated items in garbage bags. Seal the trash carefully to prevent the spread of spores and take it to the trash can.
2. Household items that have come into contact with an infected surface should be taken outside for further disinfection.
3. Indoors, tightly close windows, ventilation and other openings, doors.
4. Next, you need to dismantle the affected floor covering. If the fungus has hit a small part of the floor, you can remove only it. With extensive damage, dismantling of the entire coating is required. If a coating such as parquet or laminate is used in the room, dismantling should begin from the corner. If carpet or linoleum is used, it is removed along with the padding.

The affected areas should be moistened with plenty of water to avoid the spread of fungal spores throughout the room. Soft floor coverings cannot be restored, but laminate and parquet can be disinfected and reinstalled.

1. For surface treatment, it is recommended to use any antifungal agent described above. For example, prepare a concentrated solution of vitriol or an antiseptic primer. Small areas are treated with a brush, and large areas with a mop or paint brush. Mechanically, using a scraper, clean the floor from the fungus, then apply an antiseptic and leave for a quarter of an hour. Then once again it is required to moisten the surface with an antifungal solution and clean with a scraper.
2. With a slight damage to the parquet and laminate boards, it can also be treated with an antiseptic solution, and fungal spores can be removed with a vacuum cleaner. In conclusion, the coating should be additionally treated with an antiseptic and left for a couple of days to dry.
3. All items that have come into contact with an infected surface are treated with a light solution of borax diluted in water.

The fight against fungal infections requires mandatory disinfection or replacement of the affected floor covering. Timely prevention will help to avoid the emergence of new foci of infection.

Many readers of our site report the destruction of wood in buildings, which causes the so-called house mushrooms, ask to explain what is the matter and we get rid of this trouble.

What are house mushrooms

The most dangerous wood destroyer, which develops in the basement of buildings and in cellars, is real house mushroom.

No less dangerous membranous house mushroom, and in places of leaks often develops mushroom - giant peniophora.

All these mushrooms develop on the surface of wood, often in corners where there is less air movement, under plaster, in cracks, at the joints of elements, under sheet materials covering decaying structures.

More details on our pages...

What is a house mushroom, the structure of the fungus, the harmful effects on health

How to deal with house fungus, fungus control products

Successful fight against house mushrooms

Successful fight against house mushrooms is reduced to creating conditions unfavorable for their development. First of all, it is necessary to dry the wood and isolate it from sources of moisture.

Mushrooms stop growing if the wood is dried to a moisture content of 30 percent (i.e., it will feel dry to the touch).
It is most difficult to create dry conditions under the floor of the basement of buildings. The reduction of air and wood humidity here is facilitated by the installation of blind areas, grooves that drain water, and the destruction of vegetation shading the basement.

It is desirable that the distance from the ground to the floor was at least 20 - 30 centimeters, and ventilation holes are made in the basement. They should be opened with the onset of warm days in the spring and closed with an autumn cooling before the onset of negative temperatures.

Ventilation holes Tan should be placed. so that supports for logs, fundamental partitions, thermal channels and other structures located in the basement do not interfere with ventilation and do not contribute to the creation of "air bags" where air stagnates.

Need to trace so that the wood in the places of its contact with stone or concrete is laid on waterproofing. In new homes, to speed up the removal of building moisture.
It is necessary to paint floors, lay linoleum, cover walls with plaster and covering materials no earlier than 2-3 years after the completion of construction. The preservation of the flashing beam (lower strapping) is facilitated by protecting it from moisture by atmospheric precipitation.

Should not be allowed so that it is even partially covered with concrete, brick, insulating blockage, earth, etc. In cases where, for one reason or another, it is impossible to dry the wood (for example, for parts and products installed in the ground) or protect it from moisture, it should treated with special preparations.

An effective chemical agent is drug "Pentabos". The method of its use is indicated on the package.

Aqueous solutions are also effective: sodium fluoride (300 grams in 10 liters of water), sodium silicon fluoride (65 grams in 10 liters of water), ammonium silicon fluoride (1,000 grams per 10 liters of water), CMF preparations (350 grams of copper sulphate and sodium chromium peak and 180 grams of fluoride sodium per 10 liters of water), HMK (130 grams of copper sulfate and chromic and 65 grams of sodium fluoride per 10 liters of water) and HMBB; 160 grams of borax, 340 grams of boric acid and 250 grams of copper sulphate and chromic per 10 liters of water; vinegar essence is added to the solution until the precipitate disappears).

How to protect wood from house fungus in buildings

Wood processing for building protection can be done by repeated brushing or spraying. Each subsequent application should be made immediately after the previously applied portion of the solution has been absorbed by the wood, without waiting until the surface of the wood dries out.
Processing must be affected areas and adjacent zones with a width of at least 0.5 meters from the border of a noticeable lesion.

Details from new wood must be treated in the same way after they are in place, or they may be pre-soaked in one of the solutions listed above.
When performing repair work it should be taken into account that the fungal infection can persist for a long time on woody residues in the ground. Therefore, in order to avoid the occurrence of foci of development of house mushrooms, it is necessary to clean the building and especially the space under the floor from wood residues and construction debris.

The wood contaminated with fungi removed during the repair cannot be stored. near buildings and use without pre-treatment with antiseptics, especially for structures where dampness may appear.
To kill a fungal infection in the ground, it is recommended to pour it from a watering can with a solution of copper sulphate at the rate of 1 square meter of dry soil - 10 liters of a solution containing 5 percent copper sulphate, or 1 square meter of wet soil - 5 liters of a solution containing 10 percent copper sulphate.

Protective measures when working with chemicals and solutions

All work with chemicals and their solutions must be done in rubber gloves, aprons and goggles in compliance with the rules of safety and personal hygiene.

Do not smoke or eat while working. After finishing work, wash your face and hands with warm water and soap. Solutions and chemicals must not be stored in places accessible to children and animals.

Chemical containers must not be used for any other purposes.

I. Krapivina, candidate of biological sciences.

Various fungi and mold have accompanied humanity throughout its history. Mold appeared on the planet much earlier than humans. And only relatively recently, fungi began to be treated as a big problem. Many people are used to the characteristic smell and do not pay attention to it. For some reason, rooms with black fungi do not shock people, and the greenery of the basement in a summer cottage or garden plot does not interfere with storing food supplies there.

Mold can form due to insufficient ventilation of the floor.

However, then people wonder why they suddenly developed an allergy, it became difficult for them to breathe, or a perfectly built house suddenly began to rot. Of course, everything can be attributed to low-quality materials or something else, without paying attention to the main reason. When fungal spores get into the house, they can begin to actively multiply in a humid environment that is comfortable for them. It is impossible to remove the fungus with ordinary cleaning. However, it can be completely destroyed with the help of special means, preventing its recurrence. Before you destroy the fungus, you need to understand the reasons for its appearance in order to prevent this in the future.

Why does the fungus appear in the house?

The appearance of fungus may be due to improper condensation and the appearance of condensation on the floor.

To permanently destroy the fungus, you must first find out the reasons for its appearance in the house. Microscopic spores are everywhere, and as soon as they get into a favorable environment, they begin to grow. The most common causes of fungus are lack of ventilation and high humidity. Mold is a simple fungus, which, in turn, loves rooms with poor ventilation and high humidity. Damp ground floor apartments, houses, growing lots of tropical houseplants in a small space, inappropriate use of humidifiers can all lead to the emergence and spread of fungus.

Among modern finishing and building materials, there are almost no such that would not be affected by the fungus. It very often appears in toilets, bathrooms, on air conditioner filters. It can also be found in the refrigerator or washing machine, on wallpaper, books, under the floor.