How To Clean Your House Of Mold Without Toxic Chemicals

Blog

While it's true that using more traditional methods such as ammonia or bleach can often be an effective way to get rid of mold, there are some downsides to this approach. It's often better to try other methods if you want to stay green.

The Problem with Ammonia and Bleach

The reason why ammonia is so effective at killing mold is because it will basically kill everything. It's dangerous to humans as well as mold. It's an eye irritant, and it's poisonous if you get it in your body either by having it touch your skin or breathing in the fumes. You actually need a respirator just to use it at all in an enclosed area without proper ventilation.

Bleach can also be dangerous since it has such a strong ability to kill organisms. In addition, if you combine the use of bleach with straight vinegar, as many people may do since they are two of the more common ways of killing mold, this can be quite dangerous because it actually produces chlorine gas. This gas can actually be lethal to humans if you aren't careful, which can actually be more difficult than you might think.

It's not always immediately apparent what has vinegar or bleach in it. Sometimes, these ingredients are only mentioned in passing or in small text. They may only be part of the cleaning product that you're using

Greener Alternatives

Here are a few alternatives to using the more dangerous chemicals if you want to get rid of mold in your house:

• Tea Tree Oil- All you have to do is combine two teaspoons of tea tree oil with 2 cups of water and then spray the combination onto the mold. You can usually find this substance at most grocery stores.
• Grapefruit Seed Extract-You'll want to use about 20 drops of this with 2 cups of water. This is also effective at killing mold.
• Citrus Seed Extract-Citrus is known for being a strong natural approach to getting rid of organisms you don't want around. Again, you'll want about 20 drops with 2 cups of water.
• Straight Vinegar-Vinegar by itself is effective too; you just need to make sure that you don't combine it with a genuinely dangerous chemical like bleach. Some studies have shown that it can kill over 80 percent of mold spores in an area. The agent is harmless by itself to humans.

For more information, contact Atlantic Heating and Cooling or a similar company.

18 November 2015