Natural Mold Removal Products You Can Make Yourself
There are dozens of mold removal products on the market. You can walk into any grocery or hardware store and find what you need. With so many options available, deciding what to use can be difficult. Even worse, some of the products contain harsh chemicals. You want to kill the mold, but you don’t want to choke yourself in the process. A solution is to use natural cleaning products. You can make these at home with common household products.
First, you should know that bleach does not kill mold. So if you think bleach will do the trick, you’ve got it wrong. Some ingredients that should work include tea tree oil, grapefruit seed extract and vinegar. All three of these items should be easy to find. Check your local grocery or health food store. These items might not work as quickly as a commercial cleaner, but they are better for your health.
Vinegar is the easiest ingredient to obtain. You probably already have some in your kitchen. It’s also the cheapest ingredient of the three. Genuine tea tree oil costs more, and will probably only be available from a health food store. It also has a strong scent that some people dislike. Grapefruit extract is also more expensive than vinegar, but it is odorless.
Vinegar Mixture
Vinegar has a million uses. Homeowners have used it for years to remove mold. You can use white distilled vinegar alone or mix it with water. Put the mixture into a spray bottle, saturate the moldy area, let it sit for an hour and then wipe it away. The smell is strong, but it doesn’t last too long.
Tea Tree Oil
If you can stand the smell, tea tree oil is known as a great mold removal ingredient. You mix a few teaspoons of the oil with at least one cup of water. Put the mixture into a spray bottle and shake it well. Spray the mixture directly onto the mold. Do not rinse the mixture off the wall. Let it sit for at least thirty minutes, and then wipe it away with a sponge or rag. Keep in mind that tea tree oil has a strong scent. It may take a day or two for the odor to subside. If you dislike the scent, use an alternate cleaning method.
Grapefruit Seed Extract
The only advantage of using grapefruit seed extract is the lack of scent. It doesn’t work any worse or better than the other items on the list. If you dislike strong odors, the grapefruit is the best choice. Mix twenty to twenty five drops of the extract into one or two cups of water. Add the ingredients to a spray bottle and spray the contaminated area. Let it sit for at least thirty minutes, then wipe it away with a sponge or cloth.
Mold removal products are readily available. If the products sold in stores don’t appeal to you, it’s possible to make your own. The mixtures mentioned in this article should do the trick.
