Cleaning Tips

Right now, I’m still in Atlanta at my parent’s house—the home where I grew up. My parents are the most wonderful, giving people, and are always, always taking people in and having various house guests. Their home is well over 20 years old, and has definitely undergone its fair share of renovations, repairs, updates and general maintenance. One of the many things that my parents will not compromise on in their home is air quality. The air quality in their house is top-notch and almost without parallel. My parents have spared no expense and have installed the best systems, filters, ducts, dehumidifiers and ventilation aids that money can buy. They also frequently clean for mold with the EC3 products.

The reason I’m telling you all of this is because I want to be crystal clear that even the cleanest homes with excellent air quality, can still have some mold-specific issues that need to be treated. Every home should be cleaned for mold sometimes. Mold is a year round antigen, and the only antigen that is often left untreated. Therefore, it is necessary to clean specifically for mold in every home to help keep those living in it healthy. After all, a home is a living, breathing, ever-changing structure, made of natural materials that can break, leak, flood and falter, just like the people who live inside of it.

Thus, when I arrived and settled into one of the upstairs guest bedrooms at my parent’s house, I encountered some dreaded pinkish/orangish mold dots in the paint over the shower stall. I assume that whoever had used the shower last had not been turning on the bathroom fan while showering, or after showering to help clear the bathroom of excess moisture. The steam from the shower created condensation on the ceiling that beaded into water droplets, and never really fully dried. Those droplets were sitting on a painted surface. So, here we have water, the paint for food and a cooler, darker room, because it wasn’t used, unless a guest was there. All of those components created the perfect environment for mold to grow. Yuck!

So, I realize that I have written a previous post about this subject, but I thought it was worth addressing again, for when those stains are STUBBORN–as in, all caps indelible.

My kids and I are gypsies right now, staying with family members here and there, wherever anyone will take us in. Our home in Tennessee needs a LOT of work right now, and we are unable to live there until a good portion of the work has been completed. Moving around constantly is definitely not ideal with two children, but I do have to say, I’m enjoying living light, seeing and loving up lots of different family members and relatives, and really, really making some great memories with my kids.

Another “up” side to our travels has been my ability to assist various family members along-the-way with their mold cleaning dilemmas. As I wrote in my previous article about my sister’s home, it seems, so far anyway, that every home I stay in has a small mold-specific cleaning problem that needs my help. That is why this particular project presented itself.

When our shower grout begins to show the telltale darkness and discoloration of mold and mildew, I almost can’t function until I clean it. In the past, I would spray it with Tilex or use a bleach pen, and then watch as the grout turned miraculously lighter and back to its normal color. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I performed this task, it always seemed to come back. Why? Wasn’t I killing the mold with the bleach? Shouldn’t that keep it away for more than a week or two?

The answer is no—bleach is not the answer, because it doesn’t eradicate the problem. Bleach actually does not penetrate porous surfaces, like grout. It just kills the top layer of mold/mildew, so the roots of the mold may still be there, and will return, sometimes, very quickly.

First, let’s address the obvious: Your bathroom and your shower or tub, in particular, is a perfect environment for mold. It is warm, airless (unless you keep the fan on), and damp—this equals mold, unless you maintain some established practices that will make your life easier.