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I have a set of moldy old boxes I have to keep. Could the mold spread to non-moldy boxes?

I have a large number of disgusting, sometimes moldy old boxes that I have to keep. (Long story.) If I put them in a cool, dry room with less than ideal air circulation but a lot of other not-moldy boxes of documents, could the mold potentially spread to the other boxes?

muffinprincess asked in Other - Science & Tech. about 1 year ago | Report

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  • 6521205-0-large_small
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    There's a pretty good chance that it will spread depending on the conditions of the non-moldy paper. There are a jillion mold spores in the air and they will be landing everywhere... including the clean boxes. If they have a chance to grow (moisture mainly) then they will be loving this new food source.

    UV lights can kill mold so you might look into that to stop the spread. Here's a link that will give you details:

    http://www.americanairandwater.com/mold/mold-uv.htm

    infernactual answered in Other - Science & Tech. about 1 year ago | Report
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  • Profile_small
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    I kind of want to hear the long story...

    If you don't care about the boxes or their contents personally, the cheapest and easiest solution is to put the moldy boxes in extra large, heavy duty garbage bags and seal 'em up with duct tape.

    It might accelerate the degeneration of the boxes, but it will also make it easier to haul them to the garbage when you're finally free to toss them.

    At the very least, put as much distance and floor space between the grody junk and the other boxes, and loosely wrap the moldering remains with garbage bags or tarps (to prevent the boxes staining your floors or walls).

    I know Home Depot carries a lot of mold and mildew treatments for wood and decks, I'd check if there's an indoor mildew/mold killing spray or similar available.

    Karla Pacheco answered in Other - Science & Tech. about 1 year ago | Report
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