The Safe Way to Deal with Mold
When I moved into my last apartment, there were these little dark circles all over the bathroom walls near the shower. Over the first few weeks that I lived there, I noticed that the little circles kept getting darker and darker. They also seemed to get a little bigger with time. I scrubbed them with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and they almost completely went away. Of course they came back a few weeks later. This is when I decided to do a little research. I quickly realized that the little circles were actually mold.
Now you need to understand that mold is a living organism that requires certain things to stay alive. Mold needs moisture, food, and darkness to live and to reproduce. If you deny it these conditions, you will kill it eventually. My first goal was to reduce the amount of moisture in my bathroom. I had the exhaust fan replaced with a working model that turned on when the overhead light came on. Next, I changed the wall lights to twisted fluorescent bulbs and started leaving them on all of the time. Finally, I found the best way to kill the living mold and its spores.
The single best way to kill mold and its spores is with white vinegar. Pour some white vinegar and water into a spray bottle. Soak the area that you want to clean with the spray bottle before you start cleaning. This kills the spores that normal cleaning will only spread. Next, scrub the walls with pure white vinegar. Use a scrub brush and only work the areas that you have already sprayed with the vinegar and water mixture. Yes, the white vinegar smells horrible. Not to worry, the smell goes away after about a day or two. You can also blast the room with a little Febreze to reduce the smell.
Just scrubbing the mold with vinegar will only give you temporary relief if you have not dealt with the moisture and light issues. Adding extra light to an area will only slow the growth of the mold. Removing the moisture is really the key to keeping the mold away. My issue was in a bathroom, but if you have mold in your basement or other area of your home, you have to find a way to remove it. You may need to look into sealing your walls and getting the water away from your home with better gutters and drain pipes. Once you have the moisture in check, mold will no longer be a problem for you. Luckily, there are tons of websites that can help you with other ways to deal with moisture issues.
