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 opted out of 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, but finally I couldn’t ignore it any more. In the past, before my green goddess days, I would march off and buy a bottle of mould cleaner, spray the toxic chemicals all over, breathe them in and drop half of the solution all over the floor and towels, bleaching everything in sight. You don’t need to do this. Instead, you can use baking soda and it only took half an hour to do my bathroom, with not much elbow grease at all. Here are two of my favourite recipes:

MOULD REMOVER

Fill a bucket with warm water, then add 1 cup 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 finally doing a final rinse with 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 and let it dry naturally. This should act as a repellent to any mould wanting to grow back in a hurry.