What are the Best Solutions to Remove Mold From Your Home?

Mold can be unsightly and smelly, which can lead to illness. You don't want mold in your home. Mold can be easily removed if it is caught early. There are many safe and effective ways to get rid of mold from your home.

You will only need basic household supplies, an understanding of mold and how to kill it to restore your home to its original mold-free state.

What is Mold?

What is mold, a nasty infestation in your home? Mold is a tiny, living organism that thrives in damp environments such as your basement or bathroom. Mold and its spores can be found all over the place. There are more than 100,000 types of mold. Every homeowner will find at least one in their home.

While many types of mold can be harmless, some are more dangerous than others. You don't want mold in your home. Mold can cause allergies and make people sick. It can also look like soil buildup.

Mold is a living organism so killing it and removing it are the best ways to get rid of it. You should be able to do this yourself as long as the mold is restricted to a small area.

Bleach vs Vinegar: What Kills Mold

Uh oh, you found the mold. What should you do? The most common response from homeowners is to spray it with bleach or other cleaning chemicals. These cleaners can be toxic for you and your family but they won't do much damage to the mold. Vinegar is the real killer of mold.

What makes vinegar so effective in killing mold? Although bleach can kill surface mold, its chemical structure keeps it from permeating porous material where mold spores have drilled in and created a protective layer. It can't reach the root cause of the problem.

Vinegar can, however, penetrate porous materials and attack mold membranes with their acidity. It effectively kills the entire mold colony, so that no spores survive and reproduce. While bleach may temporarily clean a moldy surface, vinegar can completely wipe it off.

Vinegar and other all-natural solutions to get rid of mold

Now that you know that bleach is not effective, you might be wondering how to remove the mold using vinegar.

Good questions! Vinegar can be used to kill mold easily. However, there are many other non-toxic options that you could also try. These are the top natural ways to eliminate mold from your home.

Vinegar Simply pour some vinegar into a spray bottle and spray the surface. Allow the vinegar to sit for at most an hour before you apply it. Let the vinegar dry completely with water, a towel or a cloth. Finally, let it air dry. That's it!

Hydrogen Peroxide: Hydrogen peroxide works in a similar way to vinegar for hard surfaces. Spray the moldy area with 3% hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle. Let it sit for 10 min. To remove any residue, scrub the mold and wipe it down.

Baking soda This mild ingredient is safe for pets and people. Mix 1/4 cup baking soda with a few drops of water in a spray bottle and spray the affected area. Rinse the area with water. Spray the area with water again, and dry it. Use a damp cloth to wipe off any remaining residue.

Tea tree oil Although you may not have it in your kitchen, you can still find it online or in health food stores. It can be used as a fungicide to kill mold. In a spray bottle, mix two teaspoons of tea tree oil and two cups of water. Spray the mold with water and let it rest for 24 hours. The dead mold should be removed.