About Mouldy Rooms and Mould and Healthier Living

Every working day Curtain Clean deals with, and cleans, mouldy household items. They come from all manner of housing.
As a Landlord of near 20 years I have also dealt with the issues of mouldy ceilings etc in rental houses. Here’s what I know to be true.

Mould doesn’t normally grow in the cold.

Mould grows in warm, humid conditions. Bathrooms and bedrooms with en suites are great places.

Mould doesn’t smell when it is live and well.

Mould, when its live, is usually a yellow to orange colour and shows on walls, furnishings etc as spots in that colour range.

Live Mould on a curtain. Note the colour

Mould only goes black once it gets cold. That’s when it changes.

At the point that the warmth has gone the cold causes the bacteria to go into its hibernation and create spores to survive the cold. Spores which will give rise to new bacteria colonies when the “weather” gets warm and humid again.

The life cycle of household mould.

So over time we have a build up of many generations of mould and bacteria spores.

The other precursor to mould is dust, dirt and animals. All carry the bacteria that turns into mould.

I have been in houses with DVS’s, double glazing, heat pumps and more, all with issues with mould, because mould grows in warm and humid conditions. All of which are encouraged by those appliances.

Mould doesn’t grow in a dry atmosphere.

Dehumidifiers are the way to go, but at anytime that you open a door or the windows you then ventilate the house with the outside ambient temperatures and humidity. Dehumidifiers are great in bedrooms as you expire lots of water when you sleep.
Because we, in many places, are close to the Tasman Sea we have a humid atmosphere. Places such as Canterbury and Hawkes Bay are not so humid so the problem is not so bad.

So, to remain mould free in our humid environment one needs to be clean, use Janola or similar often on surfaces prone to going mouldy. i.e bathroom walls and ceilings, window frames both wooden and Aluminum (especially the rubber around the window). (30 seconds now have a cleaner you can also use.) Don’t use them on your soft furnishings, unless you don’t want them anymore!

Wipe the water from your windows in the winter.

Go here for more explanation about this. What causes Mouldy curtains.

Reduce the humidity in your house, and here I will give a plug for using a Shower Dome, especially in an en suite.

Make good use of your Kitchen stove hood which is best vented to the outside.

Ventilate your bedrooms each morning.

Dry your clothes outside.

If you have a clothes drier make sure it is ventilated to the outside.