Mildew! Paint!

[sturdyd]

My house is paint on concrete. There are several areas where mildew is rampant. I'd like to paint, but I need to know how to kill the mildew. Bleach (I used about 10 oz in 5 liters of water) works okay, but not great. Is there some sort of chemical mildew killer (mildewcide) available in Thailand?

What I'm looking to do is repaint a couple of exterior walls. Despite what the kid at HomePro said, I don't think I can just paint over the mildew without some sort of prep.

Anybody with experience in this? I'm all ears.

[Lamkyong]

have had success with power wash completely thoroughly when dry applied quality top coat, TOA and probably other well known brands

do a top coat with mould inhibitor but i used just top coat holds up for a couple of years result very little mould growth

Edited March 25, 2016 by Lamkyong

[CGW]

^Agree, power washing seems to be the only thing that works, better if you do the same area twice after leaving a couple of days.

[sturdyd]

Yeah, I considered power washing, thank you. But you say you get a "couple of years". I was kind of hoping for a longer lasting solution. 5 years would be good -- I'll probably be dead by then . Do you guys think a primer undercoat before a quality top coat would be a good idea? Can't hurt, I guess.

[eyecatcher]

Yes, a primer is your first line of defence......BUT NOT for fighting mould.

Primers are alkali resisting and the two solutions you would normally use to get rid of mould; bleach and borax(both alkali) would be fighting against the paint.

An alkali resisting primer (pretty much most primers will have this emblazened on the tub....). means it actually fights against the cementitious products and salts coming from the wall but would also try to prevent the bleach getting in.

bleach and borax solution is highly alkaline and kills moulds immediately, so i would certainly wash it off first but with borax solution preferably as its safer.

Personally power washing it will only spread all the mould spores everywhere else, and also mould can sense a bleach attack and its spores will migrate.....so you dont want to be painting more than necessary.

As the poster above has indicated, the answer after cleaning is to find an "anti mould" or "mould resisting" paint

[sturdyd]

Thanks for the replies. It all sounds about right, but Eyecatcher, at the risk of being a pest, I'd like to know more about borax. I understand it's quite effective, but what form does it take? Powder, I assume (remembering the 20 mule team ) and more to the point, where to obtain it? Is there a brand name to look for?

The home centers/hardware stores around me (near Ayutthaya) have been less than helpful with their suggestions on mildew treatment, such as paint remover, wire brush, etc.

[CGW]

Mould needs humidity to "spread" ?

After the rainy season I clean any mould from paths walls etc, sure the spores are blasted everywhere! but as there is little humidity and the sun will kill of the spores they don't grow again, until the rains come, which we haven't had a lot off lately!

That's my thoughts & works for me.

[kamalabob2]

I've had good results by cleaning walls with bleach prior to painting a wall sealer. The price of sealer, primer and paint can vary depending on the brand, BASE and series of the paint. Some stores discount, other stores sell at full pop list and only have a sign implying they are on sale. I switched from Dulux Ultima Weathershield Max to Nippon Colour Shield for exterior walls at my home in a small Buriram Province town. The only mold I had in 8 years was on the concrete block fence which is on the property line. That wall was two years old prior to being cleaned with bleach. It then had a wall sealer, primer and two coats of Dulux Ultima Weathershield exterior paint in 2008. In 2014 I had it repainted with Nippon exterior house paint.

[eyecatcher]

Borax is a crystal type product that many people use as a very effective ant killer.

Can get it at every local chrmical product shop.

For use as a stain remover simply mix it with about 10% volume of water and brush it on as you would with brush.

Mine looks like this....identical to icing sugar which i actually mix with it to give my ants a happy ending

[meatboy]

I've had good results by cleaning walls with bleach prior to painting a wall sealer. The price of sealer, primer and paint can vary depending on the brand, BASE and series of the paint. Some stores discount, other stores sell at full pop list and only have a sign implying they are on sale. I switched from Dulux Ultima Weathershield Max to Nippon Colour Shield for exterior walls at my home in a small Buriram Province town. The only mold I had in 8 years was on the concrete block fence which is on the property line. That wall was two years old prior to being cleaned with bleach. It then had a wall sealer, primer and two coats of Dulux Ultima Weathershield exterior paint in 2008. In 2014 I had it repainted with Nippon exterior house paint.

hi bob we are going to have our house painted this yr.so which do you recommend,i have looked at home pro's web sight and they have 151 nippon colour ext.paints but 150 out of stock.

[sturdyd]

Eyecatcher: Got it! Thanks! I think I can handle it myself from now on. And thanks to all..