CEDAR RAPIDS - It's a simple thought, you see mold and whatever you were using to clean the mold just isn't working.

Looking for a better answer, Cedar Rapids city inspectors brought in Bobbi Strait from Kansas to help with the mold problem. Inspectors first thought she had some mold credentials.

She doesn't. But, she says she's dealt with mold enough back home, and bleach just doesn't cut it.

"Bleach doesn't kill mold like we think it dead, it just puts it in a dormant state, until it has a food source and a water source and then it comes alive again," said Strait.

Strait's not the only person telling the city that.

Inspectors said they brought in a special Mold Expert to help explain how to fight mold. The same city employees said that person told them bleach isn't enough, you have to use anti-microbial.

"Well that's not really true, bleach does kill mold," said Wayne Sanderson with the UI College of Public Health.

Sanderson has worked in public health for years. Even he's not sure why anybody would tell the city bleach doesn't work.

"I think there's some situations when just soap and water alone are effective," said Sanderson.

As it turns out, city inspectors said that "mold expert" sells a service that kills mold using anti-microbial.

Those inspectors said they never bought services or products from the expert.

The Environmental Protection Agency says the basic message with mold is get rid of the water, and the mold goes with it.

"Even if you were to kill every spore, which like I said theoretically is impossible, but if you killed every spore and you didn't prevent the ability for moisture to get back in your home, the mold will come back with a vengeance," said Sanderson.

The EPA, Public Health and Strait all agree that to fight mold, you need to wash and scrub the surface. Then use a detergent or soap like liquid to clean and then dry it out.

Sanderson said you can't remove all the mold in a home. But, what you need to do is remove enough.

Then, you cut mold's food supply. Sanderson said any mold needs two things to live, food and water. The food is any organic material. Sanderson said it's nearly impossible to get rid of the food supply, because mold eats dust, dirt and anything organic. But, if you get rid of the water supply, the mold will die.

Experts TV9 spoke with said if a once molded home gets really humid, there are very strong chances that the mold will come back.

The disadvantage with using bleach is that it can burn the skin or eyes. Experts also warn people that mixing bleach with other cleaners is a very bad and dangerous idea. Mixing bleach with any ammonia based cleaner could produce toxic fumes, according to Sanderson.

Sanderson said the best way to use bleach is to mix it at 8 ounces of bleach to 1 gallon of water.

Sanderson added that the air in homes needs to be dry to prevent mold, usually that means maintaining a 40-60% humidity. Anything above 65% can start to grow mold again according to Sanderson.

Email Justin Foss at Justin.Foss@kcrg.com