Benefect FAQs

Both Benefect Botanical Disinfectant and Decon 30 kill Trichophyton Mentagrophytes which is the representative organism over the entire category of mold/fungi/yeast; ie, the hardest to kill as per the EPA. In fact this is the only test that the EPA requires to legally approve a product as a general fungicide. A fungicide is defined as ‘biocidal chemical compound or biological organism used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores’.

Decon 30 is additionally effective against Candida Albicans and Aspergillus Niger (prevents mold growth).

We have not tested against penicillium specifically but both Benefect and Decon 30 are EPA approved to kill Trichophyton Mentagrophytes, which is the hardest type of mold to kill in the category of mold/fungi/yeast. In fact both the EPA has indicated Trichophyton to be the Representative Organism over this category and only require efficacy against Trichophyton to approve a product as a general fungicide.

Yes. The testing that is required by both the EPA for a product to be approved as a fungicide includes mold spores.

No. Mycotoxins are a chemical byproduct of mold spores. Benefect disinfectants kill microorganisms, not chemicals byproducts. That being said, in killing and removing the mold spores you will prevent new mycotoxins from being released, and there is a natural degradation that the existing mycotoxins will go through.

Both products kill mold the exact same way and to the same degree on hard surfaces. Decon 30 does better at additionally penetrating into porous surfaces. While we cannot guarantee or quantify to what extent that is (only because the EPA does not provide testing on porous surfaces), we know from 3^rd party studies that Decon 30 is very powerful even on porous surfaces. Also Decon 30 is an EPA approved carpet sanitizer, which just further qualifies how well Decon works on porous surfaces. For these reasons we almost always recommend Decon 30 for mold jobs.

There are three things we recommend:

1. Keep your home dry by using dehumidifiers and allow for air movement.
2. Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter. A HEPA filter will capture particles as small as the size of mold spores so use it on any/all surfaces that you reach. Keep that HEPA filter clean and when you change or clean the filter, make sure you do it outside of your house.
3. Spray or wipe Decon 30 on any surface/object in your home. In those places that you are more concerned may have mold, make sure you keep the surface wet for 10-minutes. You can also decontaminate your vacuum with Decon 30.

Every mold job is a little bit different. You should first of all make sure your contractor is certified to do water damage and mold remediation. You can determine that by checking if they are IICRC or RIA certified.

The typical mold remediation project will usually follow this sequence (ref Rachel Adams, Indoor Environmental Management): 

1. Identify and correct the source of moisture (that has caused the mold growth).
2. Set up containment.
3. Establish negative air.
4. Remove contaminated building materials.
5. Clean all surfaces.
6. Have post remediation samples collected.

Removal of contaminated materials is one of the most important parts of mold remediation and as much as can possibly be removed, will. Various tools may be used during removal that may include:

• Removing contaminated structural material such as cutting out dry wall.
• HEPA vacuuming will likely happen all throughout the whole job.
• Sanding surfaces.
• Using a degreaser to clean/remove such as Benefect Atomic Degreaser.
• Soda blasting or dry ice followed by HEPA vacuuming.

This is process that is often taught in mold certification classes:  Remove – Disinfect – Remove or in other terms, HEPA Vacuum – Disinfect - HEPA Vacuum. Even though Benefect disinfectants do not need to be rinsed or removed after application, we often encourage a HEPA sandwich approach because even dead mold spores can release mycotoxins. The HEPA sandwich is a good, thorough approach especially on porous surfaces.

Not really. Both Benefect and Decon 30 are ready to use products, which means water has already been added. If you add either product to a load of wash you would be diluting the formula and we wouldn’t know what effectiveness it would have. Also both products are hard surface disinfectants and we have no testing to verify their efficacy on moldy fabrics specifically.

You can treat your washing machine with either of disinfectants when it is empty by simply spraying the product in and allowing it to air dry. It is good idea to keep the washing machine door open after use to allow it to dry.

People with extreme mould sensitization can sometimes need to take very extreme measures. There are number of doctors/professionals who can help. A couple that we are familiar with are:

• Dr. Michael Pinto, www.moldsensitized.com
• Dr. Shoemaker, www.survivingmold.com