Healthy Living Spaces® by Daniel Stih

Introduction

Benefect is a product some mold remediators may recommended to clients concerned about the toxicity of more common types of antimicrobials remediators use. According to the product label, the active ingredient in Benefect is <1% Thymol, a compound naturally present in Thyme oil. The other 99% of the ingredients may include oregano oil; lemongrass; a bio-surfactant sourced from park kernel oil which is required for miscibility of the oils into water; water; and a water ionizer used for stabilization and acceleration of the essential oils.

Description

Benefect comes in a bottle as a ready-to-use liquid. According to the product data sheet, the application procedure is as follows: To clean, shake, apply Benefect and wipe away. To disinfect, shake and pour Benefect into a pump sprayer, mop, brush, cloth or sponge. Leave for 10 minutes, allow to air dry. No wiping is required.

WARNING

Never mix botanical disinfectants (like thymol-based products such as Benefect) with bleach. If you must use them (Bleach is not effective at removing or killing mold), use them separately, and rinse/flush surfaces with water if switching between products. Mixing thymol (a phenolic compound) with bleach (sodium hypochlorite) is not safe and can lead to harmful reactions. Thymol is a phenol derivative. Phenols react with strong oxidizers like sodium hypochlorite (bleach). Possible reaction products include chlorinated phenols (2-chlorophenol, 4-chlorophenol, or more substituted chlorophenols). These are toxic and in some cases carcinogenic compounds.Heat and off-gassing can occur depending on concentration and conditions. Chlorinated phenols can vaporize and cause severe irritation to the respiratory system, eyes, and skin. You may also get chlorine gas release if conditions are acidic or unstable, which is dangerous even at low levels. Chlorinated phenols have strong, unpleasant odors and are environmentally persistent pollutants. Some reactions can be exothermic, generating heat, which increases volatility and gas release.

Applications

According to the product data sheet, the applications are as follows:

Water Damage Restoration: This product can be used to disinfect any hard, non-porous surface.

Sewage Damage: The product is registered with the EPA as effective against blood borne / body fluid pathogens including TB and HIV-1.

Mold Remediation: Best used as a wipe application to remove surface mold and as a spray after remediation procedure is complete to control any remaining molds. Should be used with proper remediation protocols, as all mold should be removed from affected areas to ensure health and safety of building occupants.

My Opinion

Some remediators think that since this is an “alternative antimicrobial” it may be used to “treat” mold, i.e., kill it. As such, they may believe that it’s not as important to remove all of the mold, as can normally be done using plain soap and water and a wire-brush. This is misguided thinking.The product literature makes it clear that all mold should be removed. Using this product is not as substitute for removing all of the mold. Here’s why:

The active ingredient in Benefect, Thymol, is a natural phenol derivative of p-Cymene. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thymol). The anti-fungal nature of thymol against some fungi that are pathogenic to plants is due to its ability to alter the hyphen morphology and cause hyphae aggregates (hyphae are the mold’s roots), resulting in reduced hyphae diameters and lyses of the hypha wall (disintegration of the cells).

In layperson terms - the application kills the roots, thus stoping mold that receives it from growing further. This is analogous to spraying herbicides on a lawn to kill weeds - the weeds there are sprayed die, but you have to spray again next month because the seeds are still viable and will sprout into new weeds as soon as there is water for them to grow.

Using the product does not affect the spores. If conditions remain wet or get wet again, new mold will grow. Simply spraying the product on mold does not remove the hyphae, spores and other allergens and potential toxigenic matter that might be present.

Is the product more effective than soap and water?

I doubt the chemistry and the ingredients of the surfactants in Benefit cause it to perform better than soap and water. If this were the case we’d be using Benefect to wash dishes. Dish soap is what I recommend mold remediators use for cleaning. A primary reason I don’t recommend the product is the odor - an odor from the essential oil ingredient and (in cases I’ve investigated), limonene, an artificial fragrance added to mask the odor or the thyme oil. In one case it appeared to be the limonene odor the client found to be objective - not necessarily the thyme. Over the years I think the ingredients and product lines available from Benefect have changed such that some or all may not contain limonene. Check with the manufacturer and read the ingredients on the label.

According to product literature, essential oils are used extensively in aromatherapy and by health professions, with each ingredient possessing certain beneficial characteristics. There is, however, a Disclaimer on the product application literature as follows: “Health and safety precautions in this data sheet may not be adequate for all individuals and product uses.”

Was it just the odor?

It has been the unfortunate case that some homeowners are not able to tolerate living in their home since Benefect was applied. It’s not certain why. One reason is that likely the mold remediator did not remove all of the mold. My experience with remediators is that when they spray or use products other than soap and water, they don’t clean as well. They believe cleaning is not as important.

I have seen cases where the mold was all removed, and individuals still could not tolerate being in their home, long after the product was applied. An odor from the essential oils would seem to be the likely reason, but it’s not certain that was the only.

It’s possible, likely, that using the product results in some competing organisms to flourish, those that are not affected by the product. This is why the standard on professional mold remediation, the S520, recommends against the use of antimicrobials in general: competing organisms that are not killed will gain an advantage.

Better at “Killing” Bacteria

Thyme oil works to kill bacteria by disrupting bacterial cell membranes. Thymol dissolves in fats. It embeds itself in the fatty layers of bacterial cell membranes and disrupts the integrity and permeability of the membrane, causing leakage of essential ions,  proteins and metabolites - a collapse of the  energy source cells need. Bacterial cells essentially “leaks out” . Thyme oil also interferes with, similar to what it does with mold, enzyme activity - enzymes that manage energy production and transport systems in the membrane. To summarize, the multi-targeted attack (membrane + enzymes) may make Benefect an effective product to use to kill gram negative bacteria.

Conclusion

We know that mold on hard and semi-pours surfaces can effectively be removed by brushing and cleaning with soap and water (dish soap). In my opinion using a product other than soap and water does not result in a more effective job at removing mold. Regardless of how safe these other products may appear, there is some risk inherent in using them.

Common Questions & Answers:

Q: Is this the correct Benefect product to kill mold?

A: It's incorrect and disinformation to say the effect is it gets rid of mold. This product has not effect on dry mold. the mold has to be wet and actively growing in order for the active ingredient to cause the mold to stop growing. The effect is similar to what happens when you spray a weed in the yard - if the weed is already dry (dead) then there is no effect. If the weed has sufficient moisture, is wet and actively growing, then the chemicals in the weed killer will cause the roots to die, effectively causing the plant to stop growing and to do. It's the same thing with mold. This product works by essentially making the roots unable to function. If the mold is wet this will have an effect on it. If the mold is dry you're wasting your money. If you need help knowing how to get rid of the mold, book a consultation.

Q: Can this be used on styrofoam inside of an air conditioner? Can this be used to disinfect duct work? 

A: Never spray, fog, or apply this into an air conditioner. Read the above about how this works. If you've got that much water in your HVAC you have bigger problems and need to remove the ducts. Chances are you don't, rather you think you will have a healthier (mold free) environment, if you use this. You won't. This product does not remove mold.  If you need help knowing how to get rid of the mold, book a consultation.

Q: Will this eliminate a mildew smell?  I have a Leather or fake leather table and chairs, they have a mildew smell ,I am not looking for bleach products due to breathing problems.

A: No, it will not remove the smell - it will mask it. And you might not care for the stew of new smells that result. Don't use this product to remove odors - you may create new problems. If something smells like mildew or mold you may likely need to throw it away. Not sure? If you need help knowing what to do, book a consultation.

Q: Should botanical decon 30 be used before or after bleach treatment?

A: Don't use either. Never use bleach at the same time with Benefect. It's unsafe! Read the warning above.

Q: I sprayed some Decon 30 on a plastic pipe that I thought had black mold on. How do I know if the mold was killed?

A: When mold dies, the proper word is it become non-viable, like a plant that died. The seeds (mold spores) are still viable. Benefect does not “kill” the spores - only the roots. To get rid of the spores you need to remove the mold (spores, hyphea, roots, and so forth) - remove all the mold. Treating it and trying to kill it will not result in a good mold test results as the mold will still be there after you treat it. If you need help knowing how to get rid of the mold, book a consultation. If you want to learn how to test if the mold was killed, I can help you with that too. You can send me a sample. I'll explain how in the consultation.

Q: Can this product be used on the wood door to remove mold and mildew?

A: It doesn't matter what type of material you try to use Benefect on - the way it works is the same (read the questions above). I would be cautious about applying it to porous materials (wood, concrete, drywall), as if you find you can't tolerate the odor of the chemicals and essential oils and fragrances, you will have to cut the materials out to get rid of the new odor.

Q: Does this kill mold on concrete block? Will it remove efflorescence? 

A: No. When mold dies, the proper word is it become non-viable, like a plant that died. The seeds (mold spores) are still viable. Benefect does not “kill” the spores - only the roots. Efflorescence is a mineral deposit that appears as a white, powdery substance on concrete and masonry. It's caused by water seeping through and carrying dissolved salts to the surface. It won't remove the underlying cause of the efflorescence - the moisture problem.  You need to stop more water from coming through first. Then wire-brush the block to remove the efflorescence.  If you need help knowing what to do, book a consultation.

Q:  Can it be fogged?

A: Anything can be fogged. Why would you want to do that? Doing so will not remove the mold. Doing so will not “kill” (make non-viable) the mold spores. This product only treats the roots, and only for mold that is actively growing and taking up nutrients through it's roots. If you fog this into mold that is dry there will be no affect on the mold. But your house might smell like essential oils, fooling you into thinking it did something more.

Q:  How's does thymol (a natural phenolic) compare for killing bacteria vs. how bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and quaternary ammonium compounds work?

BENEFECT

1 gal. All-Purpose Botanical Cleaner and Disinfectant Decon 30 for Germs & Mold Remediation on Multi-Surface (1 Unit)