You can tell that it’s mildew from those black spots that appear on the tiles, walls, and even fabric. Mildew is a very stubborn fungus that occupies dark and damp places at home, and as the weather gets more humid, the growth of mildew goes out of control. Many of us turn to bleaches and other toxic solutions to get rid of mildew, but these treatments are not at all required. You can easily kill mildew with a few natural home remedies. Read below to learn more about how to kill mildew naturally and effectively.
1. Exposure To Sunlight And Fresh Air
A house that is exposed to sunlight and fresh air regularly has very less chance of getting affected by mildew. Fresh air and sunlight can easily eliminate mildew, so it is always recommended that you dry portable items like clothes and mats outside under the sun. Just make sure that you bring them home before it rains whenever you hang or dry clothes and other items outside.
If your basement or bathroom has a window, open it during the day so that sunlight is let in and place a fan inside the window to get the air moving inside. Once this is done, you can proceed further to attack the mildew with natural ingredients.
2. Treatment With Vinegar And Essential Oils
It has been found that white vinegar is safe to use as a natural and effective mold and mildew killer. Vinegar has proved to be 90 percent effective against mold and mildew and 99.9 percent effective in killing bacteria. You can fill a spray bottle with vinegar or soak a sponge with vinegar. Use them to thoroughly soak the affected areas. Once you let it sit for a few hours, scrub the affected areas with a brush or a coarse scrubbing sponge.
Although the smell of vinegar will fade away in a few hours, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to it so that the smell becomes pleasant. Any essential oil can be added for this purpose but if you are looking to boost vinegar’s power of killing mildew, you can use grapeseed oil as it has strong antifungal properties of its own along with a mild, pleasant fragrance. Tea tree oil can also be used as it is a great mold and mildew killer due to its powerful anti-fungal properties. You can either add two teaspoons of tea tree oil to two cups of plain water and spray on to the mildew-affected areas or add a few drops of it to the vinegar that you will use to kill mildew.
3. Baking Soda And Hydrogen Peroxide
Baking soda is known to be mildly abrasive in nature, which makes it ideal to scrub away any remnants of mold and mildew. It works great in tough spots like grout, where there is a chance of mildew leaving stains behind even after it’s killed effectively. All you must do is make a paste of baking soda and water and simply use it to scrub the surface with a sponge or a scrub brush. Once the scrubbing is done, rinse the areas with white vinegar to remove any white residue that baking soda might leave behind.
Hydrogen peroxide has also proved to an effective ingredient in eliminating mildew naturally. Just apply it directly on the areas affected with mildew. Let it sit for ten to twelve minutes and then, wipe the surfaces well to eliminate mildew completely.
How To Prevent Mildew?
To prevent mildew from wreaking havoc in your house, just be vigilant of dark and damp places. Open the windows and ventilators during the morning to let air and sunlight circulate inside the house. In the basement and bathroom, keep a spray bottle with vinegar and essential oils and spray down the shower, walls and tiles, bathtub, and allow the areas to dry. Check if any water is leaking from any pipe, sink, or water heater that might raise the chances of the growth of mildew. Make sure that you fix such leakages immediately. Choose to use dehumidifiers at home if areas inside your house are too humid.
With these effective natural prevention and killing methods, mildew won’t get a chance to colonize any area of your house at all.
