You’ll probably have to replace the dry wall, that happen to us in the bathroom, and our closet was behind the closet, so some of the dry wall had to be replaced also!!
Gail,here's some information on trying to remove mold from the inside of your walls. Good luck to you!
If you have mold on the walls in your home then it's usually easy to remove. If the wall is non-porous then you can simply wipe the mold away using a wet cloth. You can also use a mold killing product if you like. The killing mold page describes how to use mold killing products like bleach, vinegar, borax and more.
If it is on any porous Surface like drywall, wood, etc. It will need to be replaced, the mold can get way into the materials and you won't be able to kill all the spores and it will keep coming back and it is very unhealthy. Make sure to wear protection to keep from inhaling, getting on your skin, etc. The best and cheapest way to kill mold and mildew spores is by coating the area with vinegar after cleaning with bleach water. Again it is possible it may have penetrated into the material while it was wet and you can't totally get rid of it without replacing. Be safe, replace the walls, studs, whatever is moldy. Make sure all is dry before you close up the wall when you are replacing the material or it may mold/mildew again.
I cleaned a moldy laundry room once and got so sick I really thought I was gonna die. I was pretty young, did not understand what mold can do to you and was not properly protected. It was like the worst flu/cold you can imagine and after about 5 days I finally went to a doctor because I had an upper respiratory infection that just wouldn’t go away. I was drowning in mucous. It took two rounds of antibiotics and probably 5 weeks to really recover from that exposure. Protect all skin. Including eyes, mouth and nose. Safety glasses are not good enough. Use goggles. Spores go airborne and they will go up your nose in your mouth and in your eyes. Be prepared to remove all clothing immediately afterward and shower. The next time I tackled moldy drywall I wore a paper suit with goggles and a mask. I closed the vents in the room and put a plastic barrier up to prevent spreading. Moldy drywall went directly into a bag, I taped plastic over the previously drywalled opening like a flap and sprayed a bleach solution into the moldy area. Literally the force of the spray can make spores go airborne into the room so while I was spraying I held down the flap as much as possible. I let that sit while cleaning up the surrounding area to get rid of as much of the debris from the drywall removal as possible. Then disinfected the room. Took off that paper suit and discarded it with the drywall. Left to shower. Waited long enough to let all the stuff in the air settle put on a fresh mask and clean goggles to reclean the room and reach inside that flap to respray the mold. I then repeated the spraying inside the flap until it appeared the mold was gone. Removed the flap and let the area thoroughly dry out before putting up new drywall. OR if you don’t think you are up to all that call the pros. Mold remediation is serious business. People have died from that exposure especially elderly, small children or those with compromised immune systems like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer patients, etc.
Cut out and put new drywall
You’ll probably have to replace the dry wall, that happen to us in the bathroom, and our closet was behind the closet, so some of the dry wall had to be replaced also!!
Gail,here's some information on trying to remove mold from the inside of your walls. Good luck to you!
If you have mold on the walls in your home then it's usually easy to remove. If the wall is non-porous then you can simply wipe the mold away using a wet cloth. You can also use a mold killing product if you like. The killing mold page describes how to use mold killing products like bleach, vinegar, borax and more.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/cleaning/mold-and-mildew/how-to-remove-mold/view-all/
https://moldpedia.com/mold-walls-house-remove
If it is on any porous Surface like drywall, wood, etc. It will need to be replaced, the mold can get way into the materials and you won't be able to kill all the spores and it will keep coming back and it is very unhealthy. Make sure to wear protection to keep from inhaling, getting on your skin, etc. The best and cheapest way to kill mold and mildew spores is by coating the area with vinegar after cleaning with bleach water. Again it is possible it may have penetrated into the material while it was wet and you can't totally get rid of it without replacing. Be safe, replace the walls, studs, whatever is moldy. Make sure all is dry before you close up the wall when you are replacing the material or it may mold/mildew again.
I cleaned a moldy laundry room once and got so sick I really thought I was gonna die. I was pretty young, did not understand what mold can do to you and was not properly protected. It was like the worst flu/cold you can imagine and after about 5 days I finally went to a doctor because I had an upper respiratory infection that just wouldn’t go away. I was drowning in mucous. It took two rounds of antibiotics and probably 5 weeks to really recover from that exposure. Protect all skin. Including eyes, mouth and nose. Safety glasses are not good enough. Use goggles. Spores go airborne and they will go up your nose in your mouth and in your eyes. Be prepared to remove all clothing immediately afterward and shower. The next time I tackled moldy drywall I wore a paper suit with goggles and a mask. I closed the vents in the room and put a plastic barrier up to prevent spreading. Moldy drywall went directly into a bag, I taped plastic over the previously drywalled opening like a flap and sprayed a bleach solution into the moldy area. Literally the force of the spray can make spores go airborne into the room so while I was spraying I held down the flap as much as possible. I let that sit while cleaning up the surrounding area to get rid of as much of the debris from the drywall removal as possible. Then disinfected the room. Took off that paper suit and discarded it with the drywall. Left to shower. Waited long enough to let all the stuff in the air settle put on a fresh mask and clean goggles to reclean the room and reach inside that flap to respray the mold. I then repeated the spraying inside the flap until it appeared the mold was gone. Removed the flap and let the area thoroughly dry out before putting up new drywall. OR if you don’t think you are up to all that call the pros. Mold remediation is serious business. People have died from that exposure especially elderly, small children or those with compromised immune systems like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer patients, etc.