I first encountered mold and fungus in the bathroom a year ago. Just at that time, the builders completed everything that was supposed to, assembled their tools and hastily retreated, leaving me alone with a fresh repair. However, as you already guessed, he was destined to stay fresh not long and not everywhere - after a few months strange dark spots appeared in the bathroom.
The war on mold, stage 1 - storming the invader by folk methods
The territory occupied by the fungus, not only loses its aesthetics, but also becomes dangerous to health. Disputes, in huge quantities in the air, enter the lungs, then into the bloodstream, after which they are carried throughout the body and settle in all organs, including the brain. An infected person suffers from memory impairment, dizziness, lack of vitality. Sometimes a fungus causes asthma and, according to the latest scientific data, it causes a number of oncological diseases.
In general, it was clear that the situation could not be left to chance. The very first evening, I, waving a virtual flag with the inscription "SOS", went to the forum of housewives mothers, where they advised me about a dozen folk ways to combat mold.
Vinegar
To defeat the invader, it was necessary to take table vinegar of 9% concentration, pour it into a bottle with a sprayer and generously treat all surfaces where the fungus settled. After a few hours, wash these areas with a normal cleaning agent. But for the sake of fidelity, I also walked at the seams with a cotton swab dipped in vinegar.
The result, to put it mildly, did not please. There was less mold, but she clearly did not plan to lose ground.
Laundry soap
A week later, making sure that the black coating did not disappear anywhere, I set about implementing an alternative:
- I used a usual kitchen grater to cut a piece of 72% laundry soap.
- Pour the resulting flakes with a liter of hot water and leave it for 20 minutes to dissolve everything. To speed up the process, periodically stir with a wooden stick.
- A part of the ready-made solution was used to wash off traces of mold - after 20 minutes of active friction of the joints with a washcloth for dishes, the amount of dark plaque significantly decreased. Soaked with the remnants of soapy liquid the surface, which became almost clean, and, since it was already late in the afternoon, left the bathroom in this condition until morning. As it turned out later, the second step was superfluous - the overall picture did not noticeably change.
Laundry soap was able to slightly pacify the fungus on the walls and on the bathroom floor, but it was still far from a complete victory over the enemy.
Hydrogen peroxide
Then I had an emergency at work, which lasted almost a month. To devote time to some mold, when he and his beloved are not enough for himself, is blasphemy, so I did not take any measures. However, then still I had to remember the danger of the fungus and move on to the third method.
Having packed in a pharmacy with three bottles with a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide, I again armed myself with a sprayer and, without regret, processed all the places where moldy bloom had grown. Peroxide hissed and foamed - it seemed that he was going to scare the fungus, and not burn it with the power of an oxygen-reduction reaction.
Nevertheless, the mold gradually began to disappear. This happened literally before our eyes, so I added another portion of peroxide to the tile joints. And - lo and behold! - an hour or a half later the bathroom was unrecognizable. In some places there were still dark traces (for example, at the junction between the wall and the side), but in general, the result pleased. To fix it and "finish off" the fungus, I repeated the treatment twice with an interval of one day.
In this war with the spore-bearing enemy could be considered over. However, in a state of euphoria, I managed to stay a little more than three months. During this time, the mold managed to get bored and returned, now occupying also part of the ceiling.
Lemon juice
One day I started cleaning in the fridge and found a bag of lemons there that had already begun to deteriorate. Immediately I recalled another tip from the forum - the girl said that the juice of these citruses kills mold and fungus in the bathroom for one or two. It was hard to believe, but why not try it?
I didn’t have a special juicer, so I had to use a method checked by the culinary experts — roll lemons on the table, turning their entrails into porridge, and then cut them in half and squeeze by hand. Having obtained in this way a whole glass of juice, I sprayed it in those places where the plaque was freely located.
Either my lemons were wrong, or the mold turned out to be a lover of sour, but the result was not pleased even after re-applying the juice and a whole day of waiting. Fungal spots brightened only a little.
Break in hostilities and visit of neighbors
One day, the neighbors also started repairs and decided to change the water pipes, in connection with which they came to me to discuss this issue. At the same time, they asked me to look at the bathroom to decide where and how to make joints.
Naturally, the mold, which by that time had become almost dear to me, did not escape their gaze. As it turned out, once the neighbors faced a similar problem and searched for a solution for a long time. Chemicals gave a short-term effect - the fungus returned every time.
As a result, after shoveling tons of literature, the neighbors found out that the cause of the appearance of mold raid is:
- high level of humidity, which is constantly maintained;
- lack of good ventilation (this problem is often found in old houses);
- the use of building materials, in which there are no fungicides - substances that do not allow the fungus to settle on the surface and germinate.
The neighbors did not have money for a full-scale repair of the bathroom, so they went the least expensive way - they installed a forced exhaust hood so that the moist air did not linger in the bathroom, but immediately went into the ventilation pipe. And since at the same time they had another member of the family - a cat - they made a mini-laz specially for him at the door. This hole had to perform two functions at once - to provide the animal with round-the-clock access to the tray and guarantee constant air exchange.
Hole the door, especially in the absence of pets, was not included in my plans, but I liked the idea with an exhaust fan. But there was one more nuance - I used the bathroom not only for showering, but also for drying clothes. So that the hung laundry does not become a source of moisture, I had to buy a tumble dryer. It was expensive, but as it turned out later, the acquisition was fully justified.
Mold War Stage 2 - Professional Attack on the Enemy
After installing the fan and dryer, there was one unresolved problem - the same plaque on the seams between the tiles. I did not want to wait until he disappears on his own, having failed to adapt to new climatic conditions. To continue a series of experiments with folk remedies - too, although soda, boric acid and tea tree oil still remained on the list.
I had to go to the same neighbors for a consultation. True, they could not remember the name of the remedy that they themselves used, but they assured me that in any hardware store there is a huge selection of anti-mold drugs.
And indeed - on the shelf were five or six bottles of different colors, volumes and prices. By the way, the sums on the price tags started from 250 rubles and tended to a cloudless height.
I’m not used to buying household chemicals at random, so I set about studying labels. Surprisingly, but in the composition of these funds were:
- sodium hypochlorite (in different quantities, but everywhere less than 5%);
- nonionic surfactants;
- flavors (by the way, they were present in only two samples).
And what happens? Need to pay so much money for a mixture of tap water, bleach and soap? Putting the bottles back on the window, I went for other goods - Belizna (it cost only 16 rubles per liter of a 3% solution) and laundry soap (the cheapest cost 10 rubles). Total 26 rubles against 250 - almost ten times the savings!
At home, they chopped soap and diluted it with water to a state of thick sour cream. I poured “White” into the sprayer, sent some soap there and shook it. The resulting solution sprayed all the places where the fungus was visible. After another half an hour, I wet the washcloth and thoroughly washed the seams with it. The window in the kitchen and at the same time the front door had to be opened so that the pungent smell disappears faster, but fortunately there was no limit - the mold disappeared. Absolutely. I hope forever.
Now I periodically add bleach to the water, which my tile in the bathroom. Just like that, for prevention. Perhaps these are unnecessary gestures, but purity is not excessive.
I would be glad if my experience helps someone destroy mold in the bathroom without wasting time and money pointlessly. And besides, he knows other ways - effective and personally verified - please share your story about the fight against fungus.
Author: Zhanna Tsvetkova