Easy Tips for Cleaning Household Mould
It's important that you take action against any mould growth in your home. Mould cleaning takes time and involves plenty of elbow grease. However, the release of poisonous spores and vapours can be harmful to your health. Allergic responses, flu-like symptoms and asthma attacks are just some of the possible outcomes.
Here are some tips for success if you decide to go ahead and tackle the problem yourself.
Safety Is a Priority
Note that certain people should avoid the area where the mould is located. They should not participate in its removal since mould spores can be harmful to a person's health. This includes people with chronic lung disorders or compromised immune systems, pregnant women and children.
Make sure the area is well-ventilated, and wear clothes that cover the body completely. Use safety gear including a face mask, disposable gloves, eye protection and proper footwear.
Avoid dry brushing mould because doing so can cause spores to fly into the air and be inhaled. If you want to vacuum, make sure your vacuum cleaner has a decent HEPA filter; otherwise, you risk spreading the mould and making the issue worse.
Prepare for Cleaning
Gather your equipment using simple household supplies. You need:
- three plastic buckets,
- diluted bleach or vinegar
- plenty of microfibre cloths
Dilute the bleach using around one cup to every eight cups of water. If using vinegar, you need about a one-to-one ratio of water.
Fill one bucket with the bleach solution, and the other two with clean rinsing water.
Follow These Steps
- Take a cloth and dip it into the first bucket of bleach solution and begin cleaning a small area of mould
- Rinse the cloth in the first bucket of water. Wring out
- Rinse again in the second bucket of water to avoid cross-contamination and further spreading
- Repeat the steps with the remaining mould patches
- Avoid making the area too wet and dry off carefully with cloths
Should you decide to use a mould removal product available in stores, always check the label to see how much to use and what surfaces it can be used on. Make sure you abide by any safety instructions
Know When to Call the Experts
Some situations need professional assistance. For example:
- For larger areas - roughly over a square metre in size, mould will be too difficult for the home handyperson to remove
- For porous surfaces- where mould hyphae, or roots, get a firm grip in the tiny crevices. Once it gets into the bathroom grout, for instance, it thrives and is extremely challenging to remove
Reach out to mould cleaning services near you to learn more.
