BREAK the mould
DITCH THE CHEMICALS IN FAVOUR OF A LITTLE ELBOW GREASE
Mould preventers
At this time of year, I get lots of emails from people who have mould and mildew all over their walls, and my bathroom is no exception. I stopped running a power-wasting dehumidifier a few years ago and reasoned that once a year I’d just have to wash down the walls. Well, I haven’t done it for a few years actually and finally I couldn’t ignore them any more. Before my Green Goddess days, I would march off to buy a bottle of mould remover, spray the chemicals all over, breathe them in, and drop half of them all over the floor and towels, bleaching everything in sight. You don’t need to do this and it only took me half an hour to do my bathroom with not much elbow grease at all. It’s amazing that what you think will take forever never really does. Here are my two favourite recipes for removing mould and then preventing it from coming back.
MOULD REMOVER
Fill a bucket with warm water, add 1 cup of baking soda and stir. Use this to dip your sponge or cloth in and wipe over the mould. You will need to go around once, then change the bucket and do it again before a final rinse of clear water. Leave to dry.
MOULD REPELLENT SPRAY
Nearly fill to the top a 1-litre spray bottle with warm water. Pour in 1 tbsp tea-tree oil and 1 tbsp lemon oil. You can just use tea-tree oil, but the lemon adds a great smell and also fights the mould. Set the trigger on a very damp spray and cover the walls with this spray. Do not remove – let it dry naturally.
This should act as a repellent to any mould growing back in a hurry.