Mold Removal

[goosenapper]

My wife and I live in an old (120yr+) house, and our bathroom doesn't have much in the way of ventilation. I had been trying to convince myself that the gradually swelling dark discoloration on the ceiling above our shower was merely dust and dirt sticking due to our forced-air heating system, but I finally broke down and accepted that it was indeed mold growing. Cringing at the thought of cutting away the drywall and trying to reattach new stuff to the crumbling plaster and lathe behind it, I sought out an alternative remedy.

Enter vinegar! If you find yourself with mold growing on painted drywall, you can simply sacrifice a spray bottle, fill it with regular everyday vinegar that you can grab at the foodstore, and saturate the area where mold is growing. Leave it be for an hour, then wipe the area clean with a rag or sponge soaked in plain water. The mold will wipe right off just like it was dirt on a windshield. Since the area I was dealing with was on my ceiling, I wet a wash-cloth and attached it to the end of a Swiffer stick. This left the ceiling damp, so I just angled a fan towards the ceiling to dry it. That worked well enough and now my ceiling is mold free!

Now for the down-side, the vinegar smell was quite intense, even after wiping the surface with water. I began this process yesterday afternoon, and the smell was still slight when I went to bed last night. However it was completely gone when I woke up this morning.

Also, spraying vinegar up causes you to fight gravity, so I went overboard and wore a plastic face-shield so that I didn't inhale and taste it while spraying. I'm sure if you have one lying around, a hazmat suit would be preferred. Personally, I hate the stuff. The smell, the taste, I can't stand it. But in this case, vinegar came to the rescue. So if you find yourself staring at mold growing on your walls, don't break out the utility knife and hack away, instead just reach under the counter for a bottle of vinegar and kill it the easy way!

[FootScoot]

Vinegar is great for a lot of things. It's even good for you, if you use raw apple cider vinegar in your recipes that call for it. I use Bragg's unrefined raw apple cider vinegar with the "Mother". Makes a great drink with honey, or agave syrup for sweetener, and purified water. It's the acid in it that kills the mold. Kills a lot of bad things in you also. :)

[goosenapper]

Apple cider vinegar- I didn't even think of that. Thanks for the tip! My wife and I go to local orchards from time to time and I'll have to remember to keep an eye out for that.