{"id":3187,"date":"2008-07-17T07:50:35","date_gmt":"2008-07-17T13:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=3187"},"modified":"2008-07-17T07:50:35","modified_gmt":"2008-07-17T13:50:35","slug":"sustainable-solutions-for-conquering-mold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/sustainable-solutions-for-conquering-mold\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable Solutions for Conquering Mold!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><em>Rain, rain, go away. \u00a0 Come again some other day&#8230;<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Mold, mold, meet your end. \u00a0Never, ever come again!<br \/>\n<\/em><\/h4>\n<p><em> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"vertical-align: top\" src=\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/c2\/Heavy_Rain.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"510\" height=\"350\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p>A couple days ago, I <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/2008\/07\/15\/hard-lessons-in-sustainable-living-the-tent-trauma\">recounted my story<\/a> about how I was forced to abandon my abode (a small tent) due to a blight of mold. \u00a0The old children&#8217;s song of the first lyric is what Pittsburgh&#8217;s been singin&#8217; all summer. \u00a0The second is a little ditty I&#8217;ve been singin&#8217;, ever since I kissed that tent goodbye.<\/p>\n<p>I haven&#8217;t tossed the tent in the garbage (that wouldn&#8217;t be very sustainable!) \u00a0I do plan on redeeming it: even if it ends up stained by the mold, its function shouldn&#8217;t be reduced by the event. \u00a0Since my close encounter of the fungal kind, I&#8217;ve been doing research about methods for removing mold. \u00a0Read on for sustainable solutions for dealing with moldy clothing.<!--more--><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"float: left\" src=\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/6\/64\/Schimmelmandarijn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Mold is a form of fungus. \u00a0It is transmitted through airborne spores, and it grows in a unique way: thin, branching hyphae threads. \u00a0It thrives in an aerobic environment, and one that is moist and dark, with no ventilation.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, your first line of defense against mold is <strong>preventive measures.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Make sure anywhere that you store clothes or blankets is dry<\/strong>. \u00a0If you must use a dehumidifier in your home, do so&#8230; the energy use will be made up for by the fabrics, headaches and health problems you save!<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make sure the area is well-ventilated<\/strong>. \u00a0Open up your windows in the winter months if the air is humid. \u00a0 Instead of storing your clothes in a dresser drawer, considering hanging them spaced slightly apart in a closet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once your clothes become moldy, there is no quick, breezy five-minute solution to dealing with the problem. \u00a0(Much like <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/2008\/05\/13\/an-evil-kind-of-green\/\">my poison ivy reaction<\/a>&#8211;go figure.) \u00a0However, if you are persistent, you will be able to save your clothes.<\/p>\n<p>First of all, if you want to do this sustainably, <strong>stay away from chlorine bleach<\/strong>. \u00a0Surely, bleach works well on mold and has many other functions in the home. \u00a0On the other hand, the production of chlorine bleach puts the ultra-harmful <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ejnet.org\/dioxin\/\">dioxin<\/a> into our waterways. \u00a0Also, chlorine bleach may react with certain other substances that are acidic, producing harmful or even <em>fatal<\/em> fumes! \u00a0In my opinion, nothing you bring into your home ought to passively kill you. \u00a0I&#8217;d rather give up convenience in exchange for a healthy body and environment. \u00a0If you&#8217;d still like to use bleach, <strong>use oxygen bleach or other benign bleaching agents<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Many online solutions for dealing with mold involve <strong>soaking the cloth in an acidic solution<\/strong> for a while. \u00a0<strong>Lemon juice or vinegar<\/strong> will work for this (note: DO NOT clean with bleach after soaking the item in acid! \u00a0See above).<\/p>\n<p>Once the item is soaked in lemon juice and water, it should be washed immediately. \u00a0<strong>Hot water<\/strong> is best for exterminating mold. \u00a0Use regular detergent.<\/p>\n<p>For drying, the best option is to <strong>lay it out in the sun<\/strong>. \u00a0UV rays from the sun provide a naturally bleaching effect&#8211;if any mold spores are left, you can bet they&#8217;ll be killed after exposure like this. \u00a0The downside to this method: long term exposure to sunlight may cause a fabric&#8217;s color to fade. \u00a0In this case, you may opt to use a clothes dryer on high heat. \u00a0(Since sunny days in Pittsburgh have been hard to come by this spring, I opted for the hot dryer.) \u00a0Dry the fabrics thoroughly before putting them away, lest even more mold appear.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re dealing with stains left from the mold, you may wish to (safely) bleach the spot, or <strong>scrub with the Sustainable Home cleaner&#8217;s favorite cleaning product ever: borax.<\/strong> Always test for colorfastness, and wash several times if need be.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hope these tips help you combat your own mold invasion!<\/strong> Removing mold promptly is important, because it won&#8217;t spread further, plus it&#8217;s better for your health. \u00a0But remember: don&#8217;t compromise the health of the environment for the health of your home&#8211;there are sustainable alternatives to fighting mold, no matter how annoying its fuzzy presence may be! \u00a0Good luck.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rain, rain, go away. \u00a0 Come again some other day&#8230; Mold, mold, meet your end. \u00a0Never, ever come again! A couple days ago, I recounted my story about how I&nbsp;[ &hellip; ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":17556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,79,13,1],"tags":[995,74,75,996,977,997,446],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sustainable Solutions for Conquering Mold! &#8226; Sustainablog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/sustainable-solutions-for-conquering-mold\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sustainable Solutions for Conquering Mold! &#8226; Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rain, rain, go away. \u00a0 Come again some other day&#8230; Mold, mold, meet your end. \u00a0Never, ever come again! 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