$2 Miracle Mold Remover

Now, that title doesn’t really leave much to the imagination.  I was trying to come up with something fun and came up with squat.  :/

Because seriously, when I think of mold it’s hard to be all fun and jokey and hahaha.  That stuff sucks!  There’s really no two ways about it.

But lucky for us (I’m not sure in what world this situation constitutes lucky exactly) we’ve actually had to deal with mold on more than one occasion.  So I’m going to give you a little play-by-play of what has worked really well for us in the how to get rid of mold category of DIY.

I’ll start by saying that we’ve never had to deal with mold inside.  So, in that arena we are lucky.  And that means that everything you are about to see is specific to how to get rid of mold on the exterior.

A
not really interesting point of reference is that I have pretty severe asthma.  As in have been hospitalized a few times … once I was in the hospital at the same time as my 96-year-old great-grandmother and my situation was so bad she was the one who had to come visit my room.  So I’m pretty sensitive to breathing concerns, and you might know I’m a huge fan of upcycling ideas, so I’m always looking for ways to stay green.  With all that said, sometimes you just have to go with what works.  

Here’s how to get rid of mold for $2 or less with no scrubbing required.

It’s worth mentioning here that I’m not at all claiming to be an expert mold remediator (not a word?) … just sharing what has worked great for us.  :)

Supplies:

 - Spray bottle from the dollar store, similar to this one - Bleach from the dollar store, any generic kind will work - tap water

Step 1 - Add about 3-4 inches of bleach to the bottom of your spray bottle and then fill the rest with water.  I tend to go heavy on the bleach, and I’ve heard a ratio of a cup of bleach to a gallon of water will work.  You really can’t go wrong with supplies that only cost $1.  I’d rather be sure the mold is dead than skimp on the bleach.  But that’s just me.

Step 2 - Spray like crazy.  You can consider this your forearm workout for the
month day.

Step 3 - Repeat steps 1 and 2 as needed.  :)  I actually like to let the bleach do all of the work.  Over the course of a week or so I sprayed all around the exterior trim of the house 3 -4 times.  Keep in mind, we are new to this house and clearly no regular exterior upkeep has been happening.  Most situations would most likely take only a spray or 2.

 After Once

After Twice

After Three Times

Four Times

Step 4 (optional) - Scrub and rinse.  This is where the no scrubbing required part comes in.  You may be tempted to scrub the surface and put a little more elbow grease into it.  Consider that your bicep workout for the day.  :)  But for areas that are high and out of reach, don’t sweat it.  Leaving the bleach there will actually continue to kill any residual mold and help to prevent future mold growth.

Update:  After a couple of months when evidence of mildew starts to show again it only takes a few spritzes to clean it up again.  

Of course, in areas that are within reach, especially with children or pets around, you want to be sure to rinse the area with a hose so the bleach isn’t ingested … but the whole scrubbing part is still completely optional.  ;)

A few tips I’ve learned along the way
that may seem common sense to some of you:
- When spraying vertical areas spray from the top down, the drips will pick up a lot and then you can catch the rest on your next spray round.
- Stand up wind … kind of no brainer … but it took me a couple of times to get it.  :)
- Wear a respirator or mask over your nose and mouth.
- Wear glasses to cover your eyes.
- Wear ragged old clothes because they will end up looking like this.

*cute puppy not included

- Take off all cheap jewelry … or it will get tarnished from the bleach.

And that my friends is how to get rid of mold for $2 or less with no scrubbing required.  And how nice is it to actually cross something off of the good old curb appeal ideas check list?  I will attest that the answer to that is “very nice”.  :)

Update:  We’ve also added a little fun to the front door, created a small yardscape on our little Key West lot and I made a little house tour video before we started remodeling the inside.  Come stare and gawk.  :)

Source: TheSpaceBetween