
Last week, Stephanie went to the doctor after months of miserable sneezing and a cough. It turns out, after lots of tests, she’s allergic to mold and cat hair! So this week, we’re cleaning up old food, clogged sinks and anything that causes mold to grow. And we’re also looking for a pet vacuum cleaner to remove the hair that our beautiful Persian cat, Rory, has shed throughout the house.
We discovered that mold and mildew can pose significant health threats to both humans and pets. Mold has been linked to respiratory issues, allergy and even depression. Mold also aggravates symptoms in people with allergies and asthma. Worse than the mold you can see from the corner of the shower are mold spores, the compounds that come from mold clusters.
These are imperceptible to the naked eye and fill the indoor air with poisons. Mold loves warm, humid areas, such as bathrooms or a damp basement and in places you might not think of such as the swimming pool! Yes, it sure does look like we might need to invest in cleaning up our pool too. We found some decent pool cleaners but it sure does look like the new year has started off with a few unplanned expenses! Sigh!!! A further update to our investigations in pool cleaners…it seems like one of those robotic pool cleaners is the way to go, especially as we don’t want to spend all our free time scrubbing mold off the walls! It looks like the best robotic pool cleaner is likely to be the Dolphin Nautilus, which is a nice piece of equipment but not exactly cheap. So, we’re going to have to make some decisions about whether to spend our savings on one of those or a less expensive model.
Open windows and doors to increase air circulation, particularly after showering or while cooking. You don’t need bleach to eliminate mold, and you might also skip those harmful conventional cleaners in store aisles which claim to remove mold. These cleaners frequently contain severe acids and chlorine bleach. Cleaning with these compounds will only release toxins into the air, and unknown health risks if these products come into contact with your skin.
For small mold problems around the home, these two natural cleaners will work:
1 White vinegar
You can clean the house out of top to bottom with plain white vinegar, and which includes killing mold. As a naturally anti-microbial substance, vinegar will solve your mold problems. Let the vinegar sit for some time and after that wipe away the vinegar, mold and all. And there are some other cool ways to use white vinegar too.
2 Tea tree Oil
As a natural fungicide, tea tree oil may eliminate your nasty mold or mildew problems. Also, it’ll fill your home with a lovely medical scent. Simply add 10 drops of tea tree oil into a bottle of spray and fill it with water.