WILMINGTON — If you want to get rid of mold, just spray on some bleach and wash it off with water, right?
Wrong, says Bryan Redler, 36, president and CEO of EnviroCare Corp., a company specializing in the production of eco-friendly mold removal and prevention products.
"We're trying to get out information and warning people to use the right protocols," said Redler, who started the company, located at 260 Fordham Road, 10 years ago.
"Don't use bleach. Use a quaternary disinfectant — like what's found in laundry detergent or Lysol," he said. "We use this compound, a liquid product, for mold remediation. It's known and recognized by insurance companies. They won't pay for a loss if you used bleach to clean up mold, but they will pay when a quaternary product is used."
His product, marketed as Moldex, is water-based, Redler said, and doesn't contain volatile compounds or require workers to use protective masks or wear special suits to apply it.
"It's safe to be around pets and children," he said. "And there are no residual gases or chemicals."
Redler recently teamed up with the United Way and the True Value chain of hardware stores to send hundreds of gallons of Moldex to the Midwest, where homes were flooded by spring storms. As the warm weather heats up water-damaged properties, it's creating a perfect environment for mold growth and the related health problems ranging from skin rashes to asthma and beyond.
Redler said in one neighborhood outside of Des Moines, Iowa, some 273 homes sustained severe flood damage. He hopes people there can avoid what happened to some homes in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.
"After Katrina, there was a double disaster," he said. "Properties inundated with water take weeks and months to dry out in humid weather. After Katrina, many homeowners used bleach to clean up the mold."
They got instant gratification, he said. But bleach simply removes the stain; it can't kill the spore, which grows back within 48 hours.
"A week later, homes that had been cleaned with bleach were inundated with mold, and the houses were bulldozed," he said. "They couldn't go back into their homes. Remediation costs $15,000 to $60,000, which wasn't realistic for many people."
In addition to sending 1,800 gallons of Moldex to the Midwest, his company also is supplying homeowners with information to educate them on how to get rid of mold permanently, he said.
Redler noted a study conducted by Oregon State University researchers that concluded bleach doesn't kill mold. And he cited comments by Douglas Hoffman, executive director of the National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors, that bleach doesn't do the job.
Redler founded Envirocare to sell products directly to people in the construction trades, so that materials used in building homes could be pre-treated with Moldex to prevent mold growth while homes were being built.
About a year ago, he said, as home construction started to drop off as a result of the slumping market, the company moved into the retail end of the business. Now they sell the product in smaller trigger-spray bottles and gallon containers in stores like Home Depot, and Ace and True Value hardware stores.
"In 12 months I have doubled our retail sales," he said.
The company, which employs six people, also is expanding product applications. Moldex products now are in interior and exterior paints and sealers, composite deck coatings and even simple-stain removal products.
"We have good momentum," he said. "The demand is there. In the past few years, people have become aware of the consequences of mold growth in your home and the health issues involved."
