WOLLONGONG MOULD REMOVAL SERVICES
Subfloor Mould and Mouldy Flooring in Wollongong
Mould under the floor doesn’t stay under the floor. Left alone it rots the timber your house stands on.
Trusted Subfloor Mould Removal in the Illawarra, NSW
There’s a musty smell that seems to come up through the floorboards, worse in the morning, worse after rain. Maybe the carpet feels cool and damp in one room, or a board has started to feel spongy underfoot. You can’t see any mould, and that’s exactly the problem, because the worst of it is under the house where you don’t go.
The space under a raised floor is dark, still and often damp. That’s ideal for mould, and once it takes hold on the underside of the floorboards and the joists, it doesn’t stay put. The spores drift up through the gaps in the floor and into the rooms above, which is where that smell comes from, and the moisture slowly works on the timber itself.
Our experienced team at Wollongong Mould Cleaning & Removal been dealing with mould across the Illawarra since 2011, and subfloors are some of the most common serious jobs we see here, because so many local homes are raised timber on low, damp ground. This is remediation, not a wipe-over, because the mould is on structural timber and tied to a moisture problem that has to be fixed or it all comes straight back.
Sound familiar?
- A musty, earthy smell rising through the floor, worse in one part of the house
- Carpet, floorboards or floor tiles that feel damp, cool or spongy
- Cupping or lifting floorboards, or floors that have started to bounce
- Visible mould underneath if you've put your head under the house
- A home on a sloping or low-lying block, or one that backs onto the escarpment
- Mould that keeps returning to the same ground-floor rooms no matter how you clean
- A pre-purchase inspection that flagged subfloor moisture or poor ventilation
Send us a photo. We’ll tell you what we think you’re looking at and what it honestly needs, before you worry any further.
FREE INSPECTION, NO OBLIGATION
We will call you back personally to arrange a time.
Does the Colour Mean The Mould Is Dangerous?
No, the colour on its own tells you very little.
“Black mould” isn’t one thing. Dozens of different moulds look black or dark grey to the eye. Aspergillus niger, which is genuinely black, is one of the most common household moulds going, and it turns up in bathrooms and air conditioners all the time.
Cladosporium and Alternaria show up dark too. None of these are the one the scary headlines are about.
The species behind the “toxic black mould” reputation is Stachybotrys. It needs a surface that’s been wet for a long time and made of the right material, usually saturated plasterboard, ceiling lining or timber. It grows slowly and gets outcompeted by faster moulds in a normal damp patch. So a bit of black on your shower grout is very unlikely to be it.
The only way to know a species for certain is a lab test, not an inspection and definitely not a Google image search. Most of the time you don’t need that. NSW Health’s guidance is sensible and worth repeating: most people won’t have any health effect from mould, but any mould indoors should be removed regardless of type, because it’s a sign of a moisture problem. People with asthma, allergies, a weakened immune system, and young kids and older adults, can be more sensitive, so if anyone in the house is unwell, see your local GP.
If the black mould is on a hard surface, this is a straightforward removal. If it’s soaked into plasterboard, spreading behind a wall, tied to a long-term leak, or someone in the home has flagged health symptoms, that’s a bigger job that needs containment and sometimes lab testing. We handle that too, through our toxic and black mould remediation service, and we’ll move you across to it if that’s what the situation calls for.
How We Remove Surface Black Mould
First, we work out whether it’s surface or deeper
This is the whole game. Black mould sitting on a tile, glass, sealed benchtop or painted surface is one job. Black mould that’s got into the material behind is another, and no amount of surface cleaning fixes it. We check before we treat.
Then we track down the moisture behind it
Something made that spot wet. If it’s a leak, condensation or a ventilation problem, cleaning the mould without sorting that just buys you a few weeks. We of course offer reliable water damage restoration services if the moisture source needs deeper work to resolve.
We seal off the area so spores don’t spread
Disturbing mould sends spores into the air. On anything beyond a small patch we seal the area and run HEPA filtration, so what comes off the surface doesn’t settle through the rest of the house. This is especially important if you have allergies, kids, older family or someone struggling from athsma in the house.
We treat the surface with the right product, not just bleach
Antimicrobial treatment matched to the surface, rather than bleach that lifts the colour and leaves the rest. More on why that matters below.
We show you how to keep it from coming back
Specific to your place. If it keeps returning, the fix is the cause, not a stronger cleaner, and that’s what mould prevention is for.
Wiping the Colour Off Isn't the Same as Removing the Mould
Making a black patch vanish off a tile is easy. Whether that actually fixed anything depends on what the mould was growing on, and that’s the part worth getting right, because a clean-looking surface can quietly hide a bigger problem.
Bleach is the usual culprit. It strips the colour out of mould, so the surface looks spotless, and on a non-porous surface like tile or glass that’s fine because the mould was only ever on top. But on anything porous, the colour goes and the mould stays. Worse, you’ve now got a clean-looking patch that you’ll assume is dealt with, while the growth carries on inside the material. That’s how a small job quietly becomes a wall that has to come out.
So before we treat anything, we check what’s underneath. A moisture reading behind the patch. A look at whether the growth has gone past the surface. An honest call on whether this is a clean or something more.
Most of the time the news is good and it’s a surface job you’ll have sorted the same day. Sometimes we have to tell you it’s gone deeper and unfortunately a wipe-down won’t cut it. You get the real answer about your house either way, which is the whole point of calling someone who isn’t trying to upsell you a panic.
Black Mould Removal for Bathrooms, Ceilings, Walls and More
Black mould shows up in the same handful of spots. Here’s where to head for your particular one.
- Black spots across the ensuite or bathroom ceiling, or in the grout? That’s our bathroom mould service (for ensuites too!).
- Dark patches spreading across a ceiling? Start with ceiling mould.
- On the walls, behind furniture or along the skirting? Have a look at wall mould.
- Black growth on render, cladding or the shady side of the house? That’s exterior mould.
- Musty black specks around the air con vents? That spreads through the house, and it’s air conditioning and duct mould.
If the mould has soaked into plasterboard, followed a long-term leak into the structure, or a health concern has been raised, that’s past a surface clean. It goes to toxic and black mould remediation, where it gets proper containment and, where warranted, lab testing through mould inspection and testing.
How Much Does Black Mould Removal Cost?
The inspection is free, so finding out whether it’s a surface job o something deeper costs you nothing.
| What you need | What it covers | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| On-site inspection | We check whether it’s surface or deeper, look for the moisture, and tell you honestly what it needs | Free |
| Small patch, hard surface | A few tiles, a window frame, a small area of glass or sealed surface. Often a job you can do yourself | $100 to $400 |
| Full surface treatment | Contained removal, HEPA filtration and antimicrobial treatment across a room or larger area | $500 to $1,000 |
| Gone deeper, into the material | Growth into plasterboard, cavities or structure. Priced as remediation, not a clean | Quoted separately |
Look at that second row. If it’s a small patch on a hard surface, you’re looking at a couple of hundred dollars, and honestly you can probably do it yourself with gloves, a mask and an afternoon. We’ll say so on the phone rather than take your money for it.
What moves the price?
- How much surface is affected
- Whether it’s gone past the surface into the material
- Whether the area needs containment
You get the figure before we start.
How Our Local Illawarra Knowledge Helps
Coastal air here holds moisture for a good chunk of the year, which is why dark mould gets a foothold on cold surfaces, window reveals and the shady side of the house more readily than it would inland. That’s the backdrop to most of the black mould we see.
Then there’s the housing. We all know that older weatherboards are more common up the northern beaches, brick homes through Figtree and Shellharbour, and tightly sealed units near the CBD that trap condensation in the corners.
Trust us, we’re in these places every week, so we can usually tell from a photo whether you’re looking at a surface patch or something that’s been feeding on a longer-term damp problem behind it.
That local read is why we can give you a straight answer quickly, and steer you away from work you don’t need.
Get an Honest Look at Your Black Mould
If you’ve spooked yourself reading about toxic mould, the fastest way to feel better is to have someone who knows what they’re looking at come and tell you the truth.
Fill out the form with some basic details and we’ll tell you whether it’s a surface clean, whether it needs more, or whether it’s small enough to handle yourself.
Free inspection, no scare tactics, no obligation.
Get a Free Quote. Call Now (02) 4093 0541.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is black mould dangerous?
For most people, no.
NSW Health notes that most people won’t have any health effect from contact with mould. That said, it should still be removed, because it means you have a moisture problem. People with asthma, allergies or a weakened immune system, along with young children and older adults, can be more sensitive, so if anyone in the house is unwell, it’s worth seeing a doctor. The colour black doesn’t make it more dangerous than any other mould.
How do I know if it's toxic black mould?
You can’t tell by looking, and neither can anyone else, including us.
The only way to identify an exact species for certain is through a laboratory test. The good news is that most black mould in homes isn’t the toxic kind, and for a surface clean it doesn’t change what needs doing. If there’s a real reason to identify it, a leak that’s been wet a long time, growth in plasterboard, or someone in the house with symptoms, that’s when testing is worth it, and we can arrange it.
Can I remove black mould myself?
A small patch on a hard, non-porous surface like tile or glass, yes.
Wear gloves and a P2 mask, ventilate the room, and don’t use a dry brush that flicks spores around.
Call a professional (like us) when it’s spread over a large area, when it’s on or in a porous material like plasterboard, when it keeps coming back, or when anyone in the home has health concerns.
Does bleach kill black mould?
On tile or glass it kills what’s on the surface.
On anything porous it doesn’t, because bleach is mostly water and the growth has roots down inside the material.
The colour lifts and the surface looks clean, but the mould survives and returns. That’s the main reason people think black mould is impossible to get rid of, when really the treatment was wrong for the surface.
Why does black mould keep coming back?
Because the moisture that caused it is still there.
Removing the growth doesn’t magically remove the damp, the leak or the poor ventilation feeding it. If it keeps returning after cleaning, the answer isn’t a stronger product, it’s finding and fixing the cause.
Is black mould in a rental the landlord's responsibility?
Generally, if it’s caused by a building fault like a leak, rising damp or poor ventilation, it’s the owner’s responsibility to fix under NSW tenancy law.
If it’s from the room not being ventilated at all, it can legitimately fall to the tenant. At the end of the day, it’s the cause decides it.
Report it to the agent in writing via email with photos and dates, and check your position with NSW Fair Trading. This is general information, not legal advice.