In the past, many cold rooms were not ventilated at all. This caused problems because of the carbon dioxide produced by the occupants in the cold room.
Once this was realized, cold rooms included some ventilation of fresh air. This worked well for a while however, this can cause environmental problems due to excessive moisture introduced. This can lead to mould in your cold room.
Therefore it is important to ensure your cold room is correctly ventilated and you have an excellent cold room cleaning procedure.
Cold Room Cleaning Procedure
Cold Room cleaning procures don’t have to be complicated. The procure basically stipulates physical removal of the mould.
What does Physical Removal of Mould Mean?
This does not mean spraying a magic product over the top of the mould and hoping it disappears. It does mean what the name implies, which is physical mould removal. This could include the following steps:
- Cleaning with 70% ethanol
- Cleaning with 80% Vinegar and 20% water
- High Pressure washing with water and wet vaccum extraction of waste
You Must Address the Source of the Mould
After you have cleaned the mould, you must locate the source of the problem. This is imperative, otherwise the mould will keep forming again and again. To do this it is recommended you make use of a specialist to do so. Otherwise consider the following factors for you cold room when locating the source
- Are the Moisture levels within the correct standard. Is there excessing condensation produced?
- Is there cross contaminated materials which are causing the reoccurrence of mould.
- Is the insulation in the walls affected with mould. If so, it is possible you can conduct a mould air test in the walls to see the levels on contamination.
What if this does not work?
You could try abrasive blasting of the surface of replacement of the affected material. Remember there is no magic solution, sometimes physical replacement is required. Especially if you have mould effected insulation inside your cold room walls.
What Should I do?
If you have a relatively minor issue in your cold room and you are confident you are compliant, using the processes above to remove the mould contamination may be enough. If you are in the Queensland area and require mould removal in your cool rooms please call New Life Cold Room Cleaning. We also have a fully trained microbiologist on the staff who has worked for large food distribution companies in the past with 12 years experience. Our microbiologist can do an inspection and write up a scope for removing and maintaining a healthy cold room.d
Disclaimer
Please remember the opinions expressed in the blog are opinions only.