{"id":1276,"date":"2018-04-05T14:40:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T03:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.airtasker.com\/blog\/\/?p=1276"},"modified":"2021-09-13T16:45:53","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T05:45:53","slug":"how-to-rid-mould-for-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.airtasker.com\/blog\/how-to-rid-mould-for-good\/","title":{"rendered":"How to rid mould from your home for good"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you live in Sydney, you&#8217;ll know it&#8217;s been a very wet autumn and a cold start to winter. Along with the awful weather, mould and mildew may have also snuck into the home and taken up residence in your bathroom or wardrobe.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4187\" src=\"https:\/\/airtasker-seo-wordpress-blog-assets-prod.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24064848\/kelly-sikkema-72695-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p>No matter how much <a title=\"house cleaning\" href=\"https:\/\/www.airtasker.com\/house-cleaning\/\">house cleaning<\/a> you do, it can ruin furniture, your clothes and there is a real health risk. Mould can cause issues such as sinus, asthma, yeast infections, headaches, fatigue, depression, skin and respiratory infections and aching joints. <strong>It&#8217;s toxic and needs to be taken care of immediately.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your first instinct will be to go to your local supermarket and stock up on mould killing products, but I hate to be the bearer of bad news &#8211; they won&#8217;t work. And I&#8217;m going to tell you why.<\/p>\n<h2>Mould vs. Mildew &#8211; what is it?<\/h2>\n<p>Mould is a type of fungi (yep, gross) and mildew is a type of mould. Mildew is what can show on surfaces like wood, wool, leather, silk, cotton and linen) and it&#8217;s pretty much everywhere and only needs water to get a colony started.<\/p>\n<p>Mould and mildew love warm, moist, sometimes dark spaces &#8211; that&#8217;s why it&#8217;s important to air areas like garages and cellars regularly (especially after rain).<\/p>\n<h2>How to get rid of mould?<\/h2>\n<p>Feel like throwing everything out? \u00a0Unfortunately, it&#8217;s the mildews food source, which means you&#8217;ll have to get rid of the water source. To do this requires you to dry out your home and eliminate any moisture and dampness.<\/p>\n<h2>Are you renting?<\/h2>\n<p>You should tell your landlord (in writing) as they have a duty to maintain the rental in reasonable repair, which includes mould. For more information head to <a href=\"https:\/\/tenants.org.au\/factsheet-24-mould\">tenants.org<\/a> to find out what your rights and responsibilities are.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4190\" src=\"https:\/\/airtasker-seo-wordpress-blog-assets-prod.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24064848\/byhuyen-405451-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Here&#8217;s a quick list of things you can do to prevent moulds from occuring:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure you have ventilation leaving doors and windows open on dry days.<\/li>\n<li>Insulate your ceilings to keep them warmer so it&#8217;s less prone to condensation &#8211; moulds water source.<\/li>\n<li>Open up the curtains and windows to let the sun in (remember it likes dark spaces).<\/li>\n<li>After a rainstorm check for leaks and water pooling on the roof.<\/li>\n<li>Dry all wet areas.<\/li>\n<li>Clean indoor plants of dust and extra water.<\/li>\n<li>Wipe away condensation.<\/li>\n<li>Use a dehumidifier &#8211; set it to less than 55% humidity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>What about bleach?<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Bleach will only mask it and not get rid of the mould <\/strong>at all and if you are suffering any allergies from the mould, those symptoms will stick around too.<\/p>\n<h3>To clean mould, you&#8217;ll need&#8230;<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Face mask<\/li>\n<li>Goggles (especially for ceiling and walls)<\/li>\n<li>Gloves<\/li>\n<li>Newspaper<\/li>\n<li>Micro-fibre cloth<\/li>\n<li>Bucket<\/li>\n<li>Broom<\/li>\n<li>Toothbrush<\/li>\n<li>Old stockings<\/li>\n<li>Oil of Cloves<\/li>\n<li>Vinegar<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Fixing Mouldy Things<\/h2>\n<h3>Washable fabrics (curtains, cushions, bedding, towels, clothing)<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>\u00a0Soak in 1 cup salt and vinegar in 10L of water with 3 drops Oil of Cloves \u2013 Leave overnight.<\/li>\n<li>Next morning, squeeze out as much as possible and hang in the sun until dry and leave out for an additional hour as a salt crust forms.<\/li>\n<li>Use a soft brush to remove salt crust over the\u00a0newspaper and dispose\u00a0of it after.<\/li>\n<li>Machine wash with warm water and hang to dry as normal.<\/li>\n<li>Spray with 3 drops Oil of Cloves and 1L of water and leave to dry.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4186\" src=\"https:\/\/airtasker-seo-wordpress-blog-assets-prod.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24064849\/Cleaning-Laundry-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Non-washable fabrics (suede, leather, silk)<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Lay down sheets of newspaper and put the\u00a0items on top.<\/li>\n<li>Mix some coarse salt with a little vinegar and a drop of Oil of Cloves.<\/li>\n<li>Leave to sit for a day in the sunshine.<\/li>\n<li>Brush off mould as mentioned in washable fabrics and spray again with Oil of Cloves water mixture.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Leather goods<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Put 3 drops of Oil of Cloves with 1\/2 cup baby or coconut oil.<\/li>\n<li>Wipe mouldy area in a circular motion.<\/li>\n<li>Leave to soak and store in a light airy location.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Non-portable\/washable fabrics (carpets)<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Spray with a\u00a0mixture of Oil of Cloves (3 drops), 1\/2 cup vinegar, 5 cups of water and then sprinkle salt over the top in a thick layer.<\/li>\n<li>Leave overnight to dry and then vacuum.<\/li>\n<li>Repeat if necessary.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Mouldy grout<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4188\" src=\"https:\/\/airtasker-seo-wordpress-blog-assets-prod.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24064848\/rawpixel-com-539830-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Use a toothbrush or grout brush and dip into vinegar and then in a mixture of 3 drops Oil of Cloves and 1\/2 cup bicarb soda.<\/li>\n<li>Brush while fizzing on grout.<\/li>\n<li>Repeat and afterwards spray with clove oil and water mixture and leave to dry out.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Cupboards<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Hang a stick of chalk tied together with ribbon to absorb moisture.<\/li>\n<li>When chalk become damp, hang outside to dry.<\/li>\n<li>Reuse chalk bundle.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Walls and ceilings<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Mix 3 drops Oil of Cloves, 1\/2 vinegar and 5 cups water.<\/li>\n<li>Use a clean broom, and the leg portion of stocking over the head and dip into solution.<\/li>\n<li>Sweep over the\u00a0mouldy area.<\/li>\n<li>Allow it\u00a0to dry and repeat.<\/li>\n<li>Every month spray walls\/ceiling with a solution of 3 drops Oil of Cloves to 1L of water and leave to dry completely.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>All of this cleaning can take a lot of energy and time, so if you need a helping hand there are plenty of <a title=\"Airtaskers - House Cleaning\" href=\"https:\/\/www.airtasker.com\/house-cleaning\/\">Airtaskers<\/a> in your local neighbourhood who can help.<\/p>\n<h3>Do you have any more mould killing tips? Share with us in the comments below.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mould can ruin clothes, furniture and be terrible for your health. Here&#8217;s some effective ways to get rid of mould from your home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1850,1428],"tags":[186,114,94,185],"language":["en-AU"],"class_list":["post-1276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to","category-service-guides","tag-bathroom-cleaning","tag-clean","tag-house-cleaning","tag-mould"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to rid mould from your home for good | Airtasker Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mould will ruin furniture, your clothes and there is a real health risk. However supermarket mould killing products won&#039;t work, they only mask the mould.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.airtasker.com\/blog\/how-to-rid-mould-for-good\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to rid mould from your home for good | Airtasker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mould will ruin furniture, your clothes and there is a real health risk. 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