Here in the South East Asian tropics, mould is a very familiar household foe. It can sometimes feel like an evil spirit, lurking in dark corners, coming back over and over again to haunt us no matter what we do to exorcise it. But there is good news: You can do something about it; you can get rid of mould forever, and you can start today.
When an airborne spore floats through your house and finds a slice of paradise there, it will drop down, take root and develop into the fungus that we call mould (or mildew). What is paradise? It is a place where there is air (oxygen), water (in the form of liquid or humidity), and food (any kind of organic matter like paper, wood, fabric, concrete, carpet, foam etc). Now, because there will always be oxygen and organic matter in our homes, moisture is what we need to stay vigilant about if we want to win our battle against mould. Frankly, living in a humid tropical climate makes this battle an uphill one most of the time because there will always be a pretty high level of moisture in the air. But there are still precautions we can take to prevent mould from developing.
First off, you must make sure wetness and moisture are not coming from structural damage in your home such as leaking pipes, leaking aircons, water seepage from the outside, or roof leaks etc. If your mould issues are born from structural damage, then that will have to be taken care of before any mould battles can be truly won. Having said that, the most common culprit for mould development in our homes is condensation. So many things can cause condensation: cooking, showering, taking baths, drying clothes indoors etc. And especially in our aircon culture, temperature fluctuations from having a very cold room against the very hot outside, and then turning aircons off and then on again cause condensation as well (not to mention that inside aircons is one of mould’s favorite places to live for that very reason).
When you discover mould, you need to get rid of it as soon as possible because mould will spread like wildfire and take root into the tiniest nooks and crannies. Here are some basic yet effective How-Tos that you can do yourself:
First you should open the windows in the area you will work on, and close the doors off to other areas to prevent spores from spreading while cleaning. Then put on some plastic gloves, protective eye gear and a mouth mask because mould is nasty stuff that you really do not want to be breathing in. Make a solution of 1 part bleach to 4 parts water. Spray or wipe this solution on the mould with a cloth and gently wipe off (do not use a brush because this can release mould spores in the air). Repeat a few times. Dry area thoroughly with a dry cloth. Pleace the rags you used in plastic bags, seal, and throw away. If bleach is too harsh a chemical for you, a few natural alternatives are natural tea tree oil, vinegar or vodka. Put some in a spray bottle; spray some on the mould; let it sit for a few hours; wipe off with a cloth.
The 2 best things you can do to avoid excess moisture in your home and thus prevent mould growth are to 1) ventilate and 2) dehumidify. This means to open windows to “dry out” areas at times where there is water in use. Open windows when bathing, cooking, cleaning and keep air circulating well with fans. Use a dehumidifier when your windows and doors are closed to help suck out that excess moisture in the air.
But the most effective, efficient and powerful thing you can do to prevent mould from ever coming back again is to simply plug in a Medklinn Air+Surface Sterilizer.
Medklinn’s patented Cerafusion technology works by emitting Active Oxygen into your living space continuously 24/7, destroying all types of moulds and spores flying in the air and entrenched on any surface. Active Oxygen is an entirely chemical free and natural element that is created within nature itself. The earth creates Active Oxygen within its environment to constantly clean and heal the earth from contaminants, and Medklinn recreates this Active Oxygen to destroy contaminants at a molecular level and sterilize your indoor living environment. It is currently the most powerful, natural and effective cleaning system known to mankind today. This means that mould is continuously being destroyed and will cease to grow, effectively ending your battle against mould for good.