# Do I need face protection/gas mask when removing mold from my fridge?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-face-protection-gas-mask-when-removing-mold-from-my-fridge/696958
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 30, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-face-protection-gas-mask-when-removing-mold-from-my-fridge/696958 "2014-08-30T14:39:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-face-protection-gas-mask-when-removing-mold-from-my-fridge/696958/1 "2014-08-30T14:39:39Z")
So I just got back from vacation and learned the hard way that leaving a fridge off and closed for a month is not a good idea. Everything is completely covered in mold. I remember hearing that mold spores can be quite toxic. Is it a bad idea to start cleaning it off without a protective mask of some kind?
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-face-protection-gas-mask-when-removing-mold-from-my-fridge/696958/2 "2014-08-30T17:41:28Z")
They’re not nerve gas, but I wouldn’t want to breath large quantities of mold spores. Especially if you have a weakened immune system, it can lead to really nasty fungal ling infections.
I’d get a decent tight-fitting dust mask (not one of those “surgical” masks), designed for protection against hazardous dusts (like sand blasting), and then spray down the inside of the fridge with a dilute bleach solution, until everything is soaking wet.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-face-protection-gas-mask-when-removing-mold-from-my-fridge/696958/3 "2014-08-30T18:53:28Z")
There are no national action levels for mold, and the toxicity is way overblown, even for stachybotrys, or so-called “black mold”. Unless you have severe allergies to mold, the worst that can happen is that you may cough or sneeze a bit.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-face-protection-gas-mask-when-removing-mold-from-my-fridge/696958/4 "2014-08-30T22:28:30Z")
OP just went ahead and did it, ask the thread be closed.
So ordered. **samclem**