There’s often a conflict between choosing the quick, easy fix or solving a problem the right way.

I’ve spent the last few days gutting my basement because the previous homeowner took shortcuts when addressing mold issues. Rather than properly cleaning up the mold and addressing the root cause, they used a band-aid.

They sprayed some bleach, covered the infected areas, and crossed their fingers.

Obviously, the mold didn’t go away or I wouldn’t be writing about it.

The bleach was a temporary measure to get rid of existing stains without actually killing the mold, and covering the area didn’t do anything to prevent future growth. Especially when the moisture source hadn’t been addressed.

Now, I’m stuck dealing with the mold problem myself. And it’s likely an even bigger problem now that it was before.

So I have two options.

I can either put up another band-aid, or attempt to fix the problem in a way that keeps it from coming back.

After seeing how ineffective the band-aid was the first time, I think I’ll take a different approach this time.

-Brandon