Our houses can become breeding grounds for mould during rainy weather and after flooding. Fungi can grow on clothes, walls, doors, furniture and ceilings. It's important to clean and remove mould properly as it can lead to severe health effects.
Preventing mould after a flood
Queensland Health advises:
- When returning to a flood-affected house or building, open all the doors and windows to help it dry out.
- If possible, use fans or air conditioners on dry mode to speed up the process.
- If the roof space was flooded, it also will need extra ventilation to speed up the drying process.
- Throw out porous items that can't be easily cleaned and have been wet for more than two days. This includes items such as mattresses, carpet, leather goods and ceiling insulation.
- Control moisture around your house to prevent mould growth. In high-rainfall areas, such as north Queensland, this is difficult to achieve, but other issues such as leaky plumbing, roofs and other fixtures should be repaired as soon as possible.
- Add anti-mould solutions to paint if you are repainting walls or other hard surfaces prone to mould growth. Ask your painter or hardware supplier for details.
- Plants and bushes growing on or close to outside walls help to hold in moisture and promote mould growth. Try to clear plants, bushes and soil away from walls.
- Use moisture-removing packs in wardrobes or cupboards.
- Dust regularly.
- Low-wattage lamps may stop mould growing on clothes and shoes in closed-in spaces.
- Keep fans on so air can circulate around the house and in areas prone to damp and mould.
- Use dehumidifiers and air conditioners with dry mode.
If you have mould that keeps returning, you need to find the source and fix it, according to Cameron Jones, an environmental microbiologist from Biological Health Services.
Your mould might be coming back because you have a plumbing issue or your house is becoming dilapidated.
Dr Jones says you should not clean mould off anything yourself if you are allergic to mould or are immunocompromised. Use a professional mould- removal service instead.
Cleaning shoes, fabrics and soft furnishings
- Make sure you're protected before you start. The area you're working in should be well-ventilated. Victoria Health says to wear rubber gloves, an N-95 mask, eye protection, covered shoes and long-sleeved shirt and trousers.
- Mould expert and mycologist Dr Heike Neumeister-Kemp says clove oil can work on fabric but is expensive and has limitations. Dr Jones agrees and says oil-based products leave residue. He recommends hospital-grade disinfectant instead to clean leather and other semi-porous materials such as suitcases and backpacks.
- Dr Jones says microfibre cloths should be used to clean mould off these semi-porous materials as they will trap the spores instead of spreading them.
- If you have mould on soft furnishings, don't try to clean it off with liquid detergents or disinfectants. Dr Jones says you should use a HEPA-rated (high-efficient particulate air) vacuum to clean the mould off soft furnishings. It will prevent the mould spores leaving the vacuum and going back into the air.
- If the vacuum doesn't remove the mould from the fabric you should dispose of the furnishings.
- If there's mould over your entire wardrobe, Dr Neumeister-Kemp says to vacuum the mould off the clothes and wash them in warm vinegar water. If this doesn't remove the mould you should dispose of the clothes.
Mould on ceilings and walls
When it comes to cleaning mould off hard surfaces like plasterboard, Dr Jones says it's best to clean the area first with a detergent like sugar soap to physically clean the mould and dirt off.
- Once the area is clean, use bleach, hospital-grade disinfectant or hydrogen peroxide to kill any mould remaining.
- Dr Jones says vinegar (acetic acid) is also fine, but the sanitisers listed above are stronger and more effective mould killers.
- He recommends using canning vinegar if you can get it rather than what you find in the supermarket as it's much stronger than bleach, but beware that it will irritate your eyes.
- Use three buckets with multiple microfibre cloths. Rinse each cloth you use in a separate bucket before you use it again on the surface to prevent cross-contamination.
- Dr Jones says you can wash the cloths on a hot cycle with vinegar to clean them afterwards, but check it's safe to use vinegar in the machine first.
Removing mould from wooden furniture
- Use microfibre cloths and hospital-grade disinfectant to remove mould from wood. Avoid bleach and hydrogen peroxide as these may ruin or discolour the furniture.
- Use microfibre cloths as they will trap the mould rather than allowing the spores to spread.
- Don't forget to use three buckets of clean water to rinse the cloths in.
Safety tips for removing mould
Victoria Health says to make sure you open doors and windows before you start to allow air to circulate.
- Protect yourself with gear including an N-95 mask and eye goggles or safety glasses.
- Don't brush the mouldy area — spores that end up in the air can be breathed in.
- Throw out anything that can't be cleaned such as cardboard boxes and mattresses.