Monday, July 1, 2013

How To Clean Mold

Ok, ok...I suppose I should do some cleaning Pinterest Tests occasionally...but don't expect it to happen too often! This weekend, my husband and I got our RV out of storage to clean it up and get ready for a hopefully upcoming camping trip. We don't actually have a trip planned, but I'm hoping someone will want to cancel at some point and we can swoop in and take their camping spot. Anyway, once we got our trailer home from storage, much to our dismay, we discovered the tarp that was covering our trailer did not do as good of a job at preventing moisture from getting in the trailer as we had hoped. Inside our lovely, 1986 trailer (yep, it's an oldie, but it's a goodie) was mold on our ceiling. Eek! Thankfully, there was no obvious leaking, it just had too much condensation and needed to stay a little warmer than it had, so no leaks means an easier (and far less expensive) clean-up job. Woohoo!

Whenever I've heard of cleaning mold, you do it with bleach, which wouldn't have gone over well since I couldn't be ingesting those kinds of fumes with my little baby bump, but I read something different on Pinterest and decided to give it a try: vinegar. Straight, undiluted vinegar. Who knew? Anyway, to read more about how to clean mold and why vinegar is a better option than bleach, check out this blog.

I decided to give it a go and was quite impressed with the results! Here are some nasty before photos.

Ewwww! Mold!
 After I took the picture, I sprayed the vinegar onto the mold and immediately wiped it off.
Sprayed and ready to be cleaned
After the wipe-off of the vinegar, you can see the results were pretty great.


I am amazing and so grateful at how well this worked! Especially because otherwise hubby would've been stuck cleaning the inside AND the outside of the trailer on his own. So thankful for safe alternatives!

I think I will need to have a second go at the bathroom as the mold in there was pretty awful.

Ewww! Even more mold!
There were still a few spots that probably needed a bit more scrubbing, but you can still see what a difference the vinegar made.

Our trailer certainly had that nasty vinegar smell for a little while, but not too long with all the windows open. Besides, I certainly think it smelt better than if we had used bleach. I'm excited with the results and how easy it was to get rid of the mold. Yes, there's still a few spots - but it's way better and I bet after another go, it'll be as good as new...well, as new as a 1986 RV can be. :) Anyway, I'd highly recommend this. Give it a try if you have the need and be amazed at the miracle-liquid known as vinegar. Seriously, is there anything it can't do??

2 comments:

  1. Vinegar is really a lifesaver! Imagine, with just some sprinkle of vinegar, your mold problem was solved. What's better about it is that it's cheaper compared to other mold cleaning products, and it's not harmful to health, which means you can use it as much as you want. Good job, Heidi!

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  2. I'm glad you thought of turning to greener solutions. Bleach exposure is, indeed, not good for your condition. Although the cleaning takes a little more effort to pull off, it is undoubtedly safer. Do you have a bathroom exhaust? That should eliminate the moisture and keep the mold from growing back. So, you wouldn't have to do this every so often. It might be safe, but it sure can get tiring! :D

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