# Removing mold from joint compound container



## stripedbass

I have a container of Sheetrock All Purpose Joint Compound which I bought at Home Depot less than a year ago. 

I already used it, some months ago, for some patching I needed to do on my walls. 

Today I opened the container because I have a few more holes in my walls that I need to patch. 

However, along the inside of the container, above the level of the joint compound, and on the top layer of the joint compound itself, it was green with mold. 

Does this mean I have to toss the container or can I pour some bleach (or something else) inside?


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## mako1

Take a mud knife and scrape it off.We always put the piece of plastic that comes in the can back over the remaining mud before we put the lid back on.
I don't think it will effect the good mud under the mold but could not say for sure.We go thru several buckets a week so they never have a chance to mold.


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## rjniles

Not worth taking a chance. Dump it.


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## mako1

rjniles said:


> Not worth taking a chance. Dump it.


 This is true Go spend another $11 and be safe.


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## nap

realize that if there are any mold spores remaining in the bucket you would be putting them onto your wall. When they might become activated by moisture, well, you have moldy walls.


unless there is some sort of fungicide you could add to the mud (and it be financially practical) I would simple toss it.


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## mikegp

Compound is so cheap that it's not even worth trying it.


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## Nestor_Kelebay

I'd scrape the molded mud off the top and try using the stuff underneath.

If the stuff underneath seems to be OK, then it is OK.

I doubt that mold did anything more than feed on that mud, and the mold is probably near dormant anyhow considering how little food it had to feed on.


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## mako1

For $12 a 5 gallon bucket this point should be mute yet it's been discussed for a week.
IMHO


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## MTN REMODEL LLC

mako1 said:


> For $12 a 5 gallon bucket this point should be mute yet it's been discussed for a week.
> IMHO


Actually Mako.... I thought it was a good question....

For a homeowner... or even some one not in the drywall trade, I'll bet they often end a job with extra mud left over, save it and have older mud.... and even not so much the minimal cost... but also the inconvenience of a trip to the store... and more leftover mud.

I'd really like to know the exact answer to the OP's question.

Wonder if there is a shelf life to mud also... maybe I'll read the next bucket.

Best


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## mako1

MTN REMODEL LLC said:


> Actually Mako.... I thought it was a good question....
> 
> For a homeowner... or even some one not in the drywall trade, I'll bet they often end a job with extra mud left over, save it and have older mud.... and even not so much the minimal cost... but also the inconvenience of a trip to the store... and more leftover mud.
> 
> I'd really like to know the exact answer to the OP's question.
> 
> Wonder if there is a shelf life to mud also... maybe I'll read the next bucket.
> 
> Best


 It actually is a good question.Sometimes we use 20 gal a week and sometimes non.We always scrape the sides and place the plastic on top of the left mud.We don't worry about buyimg another bucket but have went back and used some we have forgotten about for months with no problems
Best thing for a HO to do is buy the small gal buckets if that is all they need .





We always scrape the sides of the bucket and put the plastic back on top to let no air get to it and have forgotten bucket we had for months and bought new.


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## nap

mako1 said:


> Best thing for a HO to do is buy the small gal buckets if that is all they need .


or just buy dry and mix as needed


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## Nestor_Kelebay

That's what I do.

I buy Synko ProSet 90 Lite Sand as a powder and I have a gallon of Weldbond white wood glue.

If I just mix the joint compound with water, it sands down real fast and easy.

But, I can add some white wood glue to my mixing water to get the joint compound to stick better and dry harder. I can mix up anything from a joint compound that'll nearly fall off the wall when I pick up my hand sander to stuff that'll stick like chewing gum to the underside of a church pew and dry too hard to sand smooth. (I have to scrape it down with a sharp paint scraper.)

Some people think it's "dumb" for me to be adding white wood glue to my joint compound, but I don't think they realize that the only different between the regular, all purpose and finish joint compounds is how much powdered glue they add to the mix at the factory. Also, I've been doing it this way for over 25 years, and never had a problem adding white wood glue to my mixing water to make up a batch of whatever kind of joint compound I need at the time.


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## chemman

I had an unopened bucket of green lid that I bought at some point and completely forgotten about and sat in my basement for at least a year, probably more. Pulled the lid off a month ago and the only problem was the compound had "settled" and there was about two inches of yellowish water at the top. Was a real pain to mix up again but worked fine.


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## ToolSeeker

If when your done you wipe down the sides of the bucket with a damp rag then cover the remaining mud with just enough water to cover the add a capful of bleach mold won't grow. When ready to use the mud pour the water off mix and use.

Once the mold has formed the mud has started to sour, plus the mold you see is just a little, as spores are forming you can't see. For the price of a bucket of mud it's not worth trying to save.


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## mako1

:thumbsup:I think we've done a 360 on this one.It's a $12 bucket of mud.ToolSeeker for the win


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## MTN REMODEL LLC

mako1 said:


> :thumbsup:I think we've done a 360 on this one.It's a $12 bucket of mud.ToolSeeker for the win


Well, I'm not a chemist or biologist, but Tool Seeker seems to make sense AND offered a great solution for storage...:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Best


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## jeffnc

This is a matter of convenience, not what you "should" do with the mud.

Clearly, mud is cheap, and yet the way some people apply it and horde it, you'd think it was $99/gallon. So reusing bad stuff makes about as much sense as pulling a nail out of old 2x4s to reuse them.

But, sometimes you need mud now, can't get to the store, store is closed, job needs to be finished on schedule, etc. In that case, putting compound on the wall with some mold spores in it doesn't mean you're going to get a "moldy" wall. There are mold spores everywhere. As soon as the mud dries, the mold has no chance to live. Clean it up and use it if you have to, no big deal.

I've never used Toolseeker's bleach trick, but it makes too much sense not to use it in the future. Then this problem shouldn't come up again!

Which begs the question - why don't manufacturers do this simple idea? Compound that wouldn't grow mold when stored would be a selling point, I'd think.


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## PoleCat

jeffnc said:


> This is a matter of convenience, not what you "should" do with the mud.
> 
> Clearly, mud is cheap, and yet the way some people apply it and horde it, you'd think it was $99/gallon. So reusing bad stuff makes about as much sense as pulling a nail out of old 2x4s to reuse them.
> 
> But, sometimes you need mud now, can't get to the store, store is closed, job needs to be finished on schedule, etc. In that case, putting compound on the wall with some mold spores in it doesn't mean you're going to get a "moldy" wall. There are mold spores everywhere. As soon as the mud dries, the mold has no chance to live. Clean it up and use it if you have to, no big deal.
> 
> I've never used Toolseeker's bleach trick, but it makes too much sense not to use it in the future. Then this problem shouldn't come up again!
> 
> Which begs the question - why don't manufacturers do this simple idea? Compound that wouldn't grow mold when stored would be a selling point, I'd think.


GUILTY! I have more time than money or common sense so I have salvaged my share of moldy topped mud and used lumber. The only repercussion so far has been getting flagged as cheap.


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