How To Kill Mold Around The Home
Written by Joe Hayes on March 17th, 2009Not only is mold unsightly to look at, it can pose health risks and make you and your family sick. While many people know that mold is a bad thing, few understand the importance of getting rid of it and how to kill mold around the home. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the common ways for getting rid of it and some tips for keeping it from growing in the first place.
The first thought most homeowners have is to buy a commercial cleaner, however in some cases the chemicals used in these cleaners can be more harmful than the molds itself. For example, a common home remedy for mold and mildew is mixing bleach and water – although the fumes are often dangerous. Often these cleaners require you to use them in a well-ventilated environment, and sometimes this just isn’t possible in closets and pantry’s. In those cases, more natural methods are preferred.
Tea tree oil – mix about 2 tbsp of the oil with 2 cups of water and spray onto the mold. This is highly effective and you only need to use a small amount. Tea tree has a strong odor but it will go away within a day and is not harmful.
Grape fruit seed extract – this is more affordable than tea tree oil and is odorless. To kill mold, mix about 10 drops per cup of water and spray or wipe down the moldy area.
Vinegar – this is the cheapest of all home remedies to safely kill mold. You probably already have some in your pantry, and simply spraying on the area (no need to mix with water) will kill up to 80% of all molds. Don’t rinse this off, just let it set and within a few hours the mold will be dead and the slight vinegary smell will be gone.
As you can see, you don’t have to purchase harsh or expensive chemicals for killing mold. Many of these ingredients may already be in your kitchen and, if not, buying them will probably be cheaper than purpose made products that can leave unhealthy residues or give off harmful vapors. Things like tea tree oil, grapefruit seed extract and vinegar are great natural ingredients for cleaning moldy cabinets, closets and other parts of your home.
