Cleaning mold safely?

[sarahsthreads]

I'd like to try to avoid bleach, especially as I'm in the very beginning stages of switching to non-toxic cleaners for everything. So I have some black dots of mold on my bathroom ceiling, over the shower stall. What can I do to kill them and remove them? The ceiling is textured (not popcorn, something called slapbrush), so I'm assuming I'll have to spray something on it, but what, exactly? And then how do I wipe it off?

Thanks!
Sarah

[Marisa6826]

Try vinegar. The acidity of it might be enough to kill the mold. (To answer your question about wiping it off, I use Clorox cleanup spray and a sponge. I spray it. Let it sit till the ickies are visibly gone, and then wipe down with a damp sponge. Repeat.)

The whole thing with mold, is that it *usually* can't/won't grow if there's not enough humidity. So, either crack a window or run a fan during (and especially AFTER) showers - for a good 20 minutes. To disperse the humidity in the air.

Also, leaving the door open all the time really helps (we had the same problem with mold in our little bathroom off our bedroom). If you have to, put a baby gate in the doorway to prevent access. But just letting enough air in there should help. Oh, and if it's particularly damp, moist air, a little heater will help too. All you really need is 20 minutes (like I said above).

Good luck.

-m

BTW, they do have anti-mold paint for ceilings. My aunt who lives in Fla told me about it. Apparently, this is a pretty common problem there.

[sarahsthreads]

The whole thing with mold, is that it *usually* can't/won't grow if there's not enough humidity. So, either crack a window or run a fan during (and especially AFTER) showers - for a good 20 minutes. To disperse the humidity in the air.
Ahhh. The AFTER part is the part we don't do! I thought it was enough to just run it during showers, and long enough to clear off the mirror after (which takes maybe 30 seconds - we don't take super hot showers.)

I'll try the vinegar first, and see where we get with that.

Thanks!
Sarah

[ThreeofUs]

Believe it or not, ultraviolet light inhibits mold growth - and fluorescent lights shed more of this kind of light than other bulbs.

So, we keep compact fluorescent lights on in our moldy places. That and managing humidity are the best, natural preventatives to mold growth that I know. Bleach - while it kills mold well on solid surfaces - will like any topical application have a difficult time killing mold in porous surfaces.

Most anti-mold paint, btw, comes with an chemical load and high VOC levels. Check the labels carefully if/before you use, so you understand how to manage the chemicals.

Good luck!

[elliput]

Vinegar will definitely kill the mold even on porous surfaces. I have recent first hand experience with this as we discovered mold in the coat closet, around the interior of a basement window and around wood framed windows as we were cleaning our old house last week.

[vludmilla]

I hope this isn't a thread hijack, but how do you know when you have toxic mold? I've heard about the dangers of mold and I want to be sure we don't have a dangerous problem with mold (have it on bathroom and sometimes we have a leaky ceiling).

[bunnisa]

Alcohol works really well, both to kill existing mold and inhibit growth. We use a diluted alcohol/water solution in a spray bottle as a post-shower spray. Just be sure and keep it out of the reach of the children.