Bleach appears to do a sterling job of getting rid of mould, but when I lived in the wet north I too noticed its annual reappearance. I spoke to a university lecturer (pharmacologist) about this because I was forever hearing that bleach removes the colour, but doesn't kill the mould. This sounded like nonsense to me as bleach kills virtually every micro-organism that we come in to contact with. She told me that there was new research showing that bleach may be a food source for mould.
I went searching the science journal databases to read the original research, but I couldn't find anything like this. I have since read (in science journals, not hearsay on the web!) that the issue with bleach is moreso that it does such damage to surfaces, particularly painted surfaces (at the microscopic level) that it makes them MORE hospitable. So the issue may not be so much that bleach is a food source, but that it provides an environment for growth. Or perhaps it is a combination of the two, but as I said, I have found nothing in the journals about food sources.
Fungi is a bit of an unusual kindgom too because they are capable of growing even after they has been killed as a result of the spores which are also shed as the parent organism dies. This is why a two-step process is ESSENTIAL.
Tea tree oil is anti-fungal, but testing of clove oil (scientific testing too) has seen it dubbed a "mould-inhibitor". Whether this is really any different to being anti-fungal, I don't know. But certainly there is science supporting a coat of diluted clove oil as a preventative. I buy clove oil from pharmacies, where it is usually with castor oil and hydrogen peroxide.
As for my own experience, I find that sometimes the stain is impossible to shift and it is at that stage that I will bleach. Fabric is the hardest thing to remedy as others have clearly found. We treat our walls with a 1 L spray bottle, containing 5% oil of cloves, and the rest NEAT 'cleaning vinegar' (which is said to have a lower pH than regular food stuff... I'm not sure and haven't tested it to find out). We scrub with the old terry towelling nappies that we kept - that texture really helps :-) However if we don't get to it quickly, it often can't be removed with this mix. Mould just seems to stain, even if it has been killed. So I'll give the walls a couple of doses of this treatment and if it still hasn't gone from sight, I'll leave it a few days before using diluted bleach on it. At least then I can be fairly confident that the vinegar has killed it. I then have to respray with oil of cloves (but I use the same mix as before, with the vinegar in it). I play it by ear each time and just hope to find it early enough to remove it completely without having to bleach.
Our house now has six of those pots of absorbent crystals and you wouldn't believe how quickly they fill up with water :-O We have been horrified. We've actually just had a reverse cycle air conditioner put in to the lounge primarily to dehumidify it as it's one of the worst rooms for mould. It will also replace our useless and filthy wood fire (we're not air-con users for cooling purposes).
For those of you with poorly-ventilated bathrooms: mould won't grow without moisture. Keep an old nappy or thread-bare towel and dry the tiles with it when the last shower of the day has been had. It REALLY reduces the amount of cleaning that you'll need to do and will greatly deter the mould. It seems like a burden, but you'll only need to do it once per day if everyone showers in the same half of the day, and it's worth it for the benefits :-) As Rhonda pointed out, there's a few things that mould needs to grow. Do what you can to eliminate any of them and you'll see considerable improvement :-)
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I went searching the science journal databases to read the original research, but I couldn't find anything like this. I have since read (in science journals, not hearsay on the web!) that the issue with bleach is moreso that it does such damage to surfaces, particularly painted surfaces (at the microscopic level) that it makes them MORE hospitable. So the issue may not be so much that bleach is a food source, but that it provides an environment for growth. Or perhaps it is a combination of the two, but as I said, I have found nothing in the journals about food sources.
Fungi is a bit of an unusual kindgom too because they are capable of growing even after they has been killed as a result of the spores which are also shed as the parent organism dies. This is why a two-step process is ESSENTIAL.
Tea tree oil is anti-fungal, but testing of clove oil (scientific testing too) has seen it dubbed a "mould-inhibitor". Whether this is really any different to being anti-fungal, I don't know. But certainly there is science supporting a coat of diluted clove oil as a preventative. I buy clove oil from pharmacies, where it is usually with castor oil and hydrogen peroxide.
As for my own experience, I find that sometimes the stain is impossible to shift and it is at that stage that I will bleach. Fabric is the hardest thing to remedy as others have clearly found. We treat our walls with a 1 L spray bottle, containing 5% oil of cloves, and the rest NEAT 'cleaning vinegar' (which is said to have a lower pH than regular food stuff... I'm not sure and haven't tested it to find out). We scrub with the old terry towelling nappies that we kept - that texture really helps :-) However if we don't get to it quickly, it often can't be removed with this mix. Mould just seems to stain, even if it has been killed. So I'll give the walls a couple of doses of this treatment and if it still hasn't gone from sight, I'll leave it a few days before using diluted bleach on it. At least then I can be fairly confident that the vinegar has killed it. I then have to respray with oil of cloves (but I use the same mix as before, with the vinegar in it). I play it by ear each time and just hope to find it early enough to remove it completely without having to bleach.
Our house now has six of those pots of absorbent crystals and you wouldn't believe how quickly they fill up with water :-O We have been horrified. We've actually just had a reverse cycle air conditioner put in to the lounge primarily to dehumidify it as it's one of the worst rooms for mould. It will also replace our useless and filthy wood fire (we're not air-con users for cooling purposes).
For those of you with poorly-ventilated bathrooms: mould won't grow without moisture. Keep an old nappy or thread-bare towel and dry the tiles with it when the last shower of the day has been had. It REALLY reduces the amount of cleaning that you'll need to do and will greatly deter the mould. It seems like a burden, but you'll only need to do it once per day if everyone showers in the same half of the day, and it's worth it for the benefits :-) As Rhonda pointed out, there's a few things that mould needs to grow. Do what you can to eliminate any of them and you'll see considerable improvement :-)
