How To Clean/Refinish A Moldy table Top After Sandy

I had almost 5ft of water in my basement studio/office after Sandy. Almost everything was submerged in nasty salt water which corroded everything within an inch of its life. I have 2 natural steel tables, one of which has a 1 1/2″ thick maple top. The maple has started to mold and the water raised the grain. I know I need to sand & refinish the wood but what about the mold? Do I simply use a Chlorox and water solution to kill the mold or do I use a wood bleach? Any suggestions?

tlocane

in Wood Restoration 12 years and 5 months ago

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slopemope | 12 years and 5 months ago

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my best honest answer is buy IAQ 1000 and mix it half and half with food grade hydrogen peroxide.  Both can be bought online if you look hard enough.  I just did a self remediation of some structural wood and it worked brilliantly.  The byproduct is oxygen, so after you are done the room smells cleaner than if you used bleach, cant beat it.  I’d protect skin lungs and eyes while doing it, but if you have more mold to remediate (can’t imagine that you wouldn’t) this can be a great thing to have on hand.

coopfornow | 12 years and 5 months ago

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Definitely vinegar. Bleach will NOT do it. Google it and you will find lots of recipes.

hookfugee | 12 years and 5 months ago

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FEMA said bleach is the worst thing to use – is bleaches the mold, doesn’t kill it, just makes it invisible. They suggest white vinegar or Simple Green cleaner.

eme1million | 12 years and 5 months ago

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Yes, regular bleach will do it.  You could even just sand it off. Just make sure the wood has completely dried before finishing.