According to this inspector, bleach does not kill mold. This is not true.
When I saw this video, I drew these conclusions:
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I figured that the inspector is either
- 1. being misquoted (because at some point, he didn’t want to bother with the long, under-the-suface-hidden-mold explanation)
- 2. has a mold product to sell
- 3. is going for the idiot factor. (ie idiots who call him because there’s occasionally mildew in their shower)
It is unwise to use bleach on soft products. The quantity and concentration of bleach required to kill mold in soft products in most cases would ruin them anyway, as well as expose the person cleaning them to unhealthy quantities of mold. It is just impractical.
Saturation with bleach DOES kill mold. However, the bleach you are using on the top surface only kills the mold that the bleach solution contacts.
If the mold you are trying to control is well established, or growing from within the way it can be striated within construction materials like drywall (picture how mold grows within blue cheese), it is obvious that a superficial wipe of bleach is only going to address the superficial mold it contacts. On an impervious surface like glazed, non-porous ceramic tile, a wipe of bleach effectively kills surface mold.
The effective question is whether or not you only have superficial mold or something more insidious.