the most organic way to clean mold/mildew

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Tea tree oil is a good fungus remedy. I used it on my son's ringworm years ago - very effective. But I'd think it would be kinda expensive if needed in a large area.

Walk Hatfield wrote:We use hydrogen peroxide for cleaning up tile grout and moldy spots on wood. Hydrogen peroxide, when sprayed on a surface with vinegar, boosts the disinfectant quality of either product alone and will kill e-coli better than chlorine bleach (I think it was the University of Nebraska that did research on this)

Thanks for that - I did some poking around and it seems that Susan Sumner, who was at University of Nebraska, now at Virginia Tech, wrote about it in the 29 Sept 1996 issue of "Science News" - Here's a link to a scan of the article.

Hello good folks,

My first post on this forum...

Concerning natural cleaning products, I use the excellent booklet below. It is a free PDF with nice illustrations (a hard-copy version is also available for a fee).
The only glitch: it is in French.

http://raffa.grandmenage.info/post/2006/01/12/Livret_____Le_Grand_M%C3%A9nage_____Versions_finales

All the best and a merry 2012

Hi guys! Thanks for the wealth of information here and thanks, too, for the email from Paul Wheaton hilighting the topic!

I have a question. Once you have killed off the mildew... what next? We're in a fairly new knotty pine cabin and the mildew has left really ugly marks indoors. Same goes for painted surfaces. Any suggestions for clearing that? I've (until now) been using bleach, but to no avail at all

I live in a very moist environment on Vancouver Island yet have had few problems with this. Seems to be a too tight house problem.

When I've delt with it at jobsites I put bleach in a pump sprayer, the kind used for spraying fruit trees. I've used this sprayer for stripping wall paper, spraying mildew, dampening new mortar work, dampening asbestos, dampening drywall joints before tape, soaping large window areas, soaking recycled restaurant equipment.

Never sprayed a tree with it.

HI, Paul and gang,
I just found a better alternative to buying borax etc from Amazon, I think.
http://www.drugstore.com/20-mule-team-borax-natural-laundry-booster-and-multi-purpose-household-cleaner/qxp160587?catid=150360&fromsrch=Borax
Prices are a leeetle bit better, but the shipping is way lower - Free shipping on $25 or more of product! And the cost for a $19 order was 5.99, compared to
Amazon's $10.64... so that's my 2 cents!
Thanks for all the good stuff, Paul!

Ruso McCoy wrote:Heya, terrible events, vents didnt get finished on a greenhouse, now that is has rained for a few days and has seed trays, a couple started to mold, I have evacted but want to be 100% sure by spraying grapefruit seed extract on tables, trays,

my question is wdo you think I can spray a formula of grapefruit seed extract mist on mold seedtrays, or will the gse hurt seedlings, and not completely eliminate mold issues?

Thanks for your time,

I would be careful with any GSE products...... research has shown its the chemical preservatives doing the work not GSE.

Di, you say

Dj Guthrie wrote:I found that a tea tree solution can be made by diluting the oil and putting in a spray bottle.

What did you dilute it with?

BTW, if it is anything like as potent as citrus oil, I would also keep it in a glass container, not the spray bottle.

I hate to spoil the fun, but cleaning with borax is actually the standard treatment for dealing with mold. The first step is to wash with a mild detergent. This cleans up the actual mold. (Actually the first step is to seal off the room so that spores don't leave during the clean-up.) The optional second step is to use bleach. This doesn't clean mold, but only cleans the mold stain. The final step is to put on borax without rinsing. Some recommend vacuuming with a commercial-grade hepa filter vacuum, as well.

There are lots of sources for the info. Here's one from Washington State.

http://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Contaminants/Mold.aspx

~Peace~

I live on the Oregon coast, where mold could be harvested as a cash crop... If there was a market for such a thing. It is everywhere and on everything...

I have successfully used many things... Soapy water followed by vinegar works well... Hydrogen peroxide is excellent and fun to use

But my all time favorite, especially against that nasty black mold, is homemade silver colloid. That stuff is superior!

David Hartley wrote:I live on the Oregon coast, where mold could be harvested as a cash crop... If there was a market for such a thing. It is everywhere and on everything...

I have successfully used many things... Soapy water followed by vinegar works well... Hydrogen peroxide is excellent and fun to use

But my all time favorite, especially against that nasty black mold, is homemade silver colloid. That stuff is superior!

Hi, Dave, I wondered how you make silver colloid? I have been spraying borax/water mix on black mold patches and I don't feel sure it's killed the mold (the patch is still black). I don't use bleach so was ready to go on to peroxide and vinegar when I saw your post. thanks.

i used borax to kill fleas..worked like a charm..I sprinkled it liberally everywhere..waited as long as I could stand it around, then vacuumed and repeated (as eggs hatch when you vacuum cause of the vibrations)..

never had another flea..and had no reactions to the borax on the furniture, rugs etc..no ill effect to our cats either

Judith; pure distilled H2O, 99.99% silver (not 99.9%), a multi-meter (one that has has a 20milliamp range), a glass/ceramic container (not metal and preferably not plastic) to make it in, dark glass to store it in once made, "alligator" clips and a bit of copper wire, a variable VDC source (which can be done via several 9v batteries). A ppm meter is handy but not absolutely necessary.

My Dad put together some literature several years ago. I'll see if I can find a hard or digital copy

Just wanted to add a couple more thoughts to the borax and bleach parts of this (excellent) thread. (Hope you guys don't mind a thread resurrection like this.)

There's nothing intrinsically more organic or even safe about either chemical. (Should we ever assume that stuff we use to kill other stuff is safe to be around or consume?!) They do have some opposing pro's and con's that make one beter in some situations vs the other.

Some facts as I see them:

Borax is mined in the larget open pit mine in the USA - nothing very organic or eco-friendly about that.

Borax leaves a residue that can be highly toxic, especially to small children or pets. A big reason that bleach is favored for disinfection of most surfaces, especially in hospitals and restaurants. This residue is ironically also one of the main benefits in using borax for something ike mold control as suggested earlier in this thread - just place it smartly!

Chlorine is made by electrolosys of common table salt and can even be made at home. Chlorine off-gases (evaporates) from solution or surface very quickly and can form harmful compounds in the air. Ironically, this quick off gassing is also one of the main benefits of using chlorine, as noted aove. Just use it with adequate ventilation! (And never mix with ammonia or other cleaning chemicals for that same toxic gas scenario already mentioned.)

Also just one more thought: someone mentioned that bleach doesn't disinfect it just breaks down colors. That is how it whitens your laundry, but it's not the whole truth by a long shot. Just ask "What is Bleach?"

-Matt