Find and destroy, or how to remove the smell of mold with improvised means
An unpleasant musty odor in a room indicates the presence of mold. This fungus loves damp places, poorly ventilated or unheated rooms.
Mold is hazardous to health and can spread, so if mold smells, you need to get rid of it as soon as possible.
The most important thing to do for this is to eliminate its source. That is, it is important to find where the mold has settled and remove it.
Content
What will help get rid of?
The first thing to do is find the source of the smell. Mold typically affects walls in damp areas such as bathrooms or kitchens. It can also live under wallpaper, in the corners of a room, on carpet, furniture or in a closet.
To remove mold, first of all, you need to reduce the humidity in the premises, eliminate pipe leaks, dry all things. Sometimes, to completely get rid of the fungus and its smell, it is necessary to make repairs.
Read more about how to remove mold. here... How to remove mold on the walls, will tell this article; on the ceiling - this publication; how to remove fungus on wallpaper read here.
In the apartment
So how to remove the smell of mold in the apartment? It is necessary to treat the affected areas with one of the folk remedies:
add 1 part bleach to 10 parts water;- spray hydrogen peroxide on the stains, but it can eat the color, so you should carefully apply it on painted surfaces;
- ammonia is used to treat hard surfaces, after diluting it in half with water.
It is not enough to eliminate the mold itself, you still need to restore a pleasant smell in the apartment. To do this, you can make a flavoring: pour diluted vinegar into a spray bottle, add a few drops of essential oil there, preferably tea tree.
You can also use:
- incense sticks
- candles,
- aroma lamps.
If that doesn't work, you can buy an HG odor neutralizer.
In the bathroom
There is always high humidity here, so an unpleasant smell appears most often.
If this does not help, you can purchase the industrial remedy "Stop Damp"... It absorbs moisture and prevents mold and odor from forming.
And to clean the walls and floor from black spots, you can use "Anti Mold". This product also removes unpleasant odors.
Read how to remove mold in the bathroom. here, on the elimination of fungus on the sealant - here.
On the balcony
Despite the fact that the balcony is constantly ventilated, mold often forms there, especially in damp and cold weather.
To eliminate the fungus and the unpleasant odor from it, you need to treat all surfaces with the following solution. Dilute 10 liters of warm water:
- 2 tablespoons of acetic acid;
- 500 g of copper sulfate.
An easier way is to clean the balcony with chlorine bleach.
On upholstered furniture
Mold is difficult to remove from such surfaces. It is best to do this outdoors in order to immediately ventilate the furniture:
- First, brush off the stain with a brush.
- Then you need to treat it with a solution of soda, if the pile is long, you can sprinkle soda on the stain.
- After 2 hours, you need to remove the soda, rinse the surface and dry well with a hair dryer.
From the refrigerator
It often smells unpleasant in the refrigerator. Not only can it ruin your appetite, but it is also unhealthy.
Therefore, you need to immediately rinse all surfaces of the refrigerator with laundry soap.... After that, wash it again, this time with a regular detergent mixed with lemon juice.
You can also use special industrial products. OdorGon spray effectively removes odors. It is safe as it contains plant essential oils.
How to get rid of mold in the refrigerator after a long vacation, the video will tell you:
From a thermos
If stored improperly, a moldy smell may appear in the thermos. But you can get rid of it too.
To do this, pour a few tablespoons of salt and pour boiling water... After a day, rinse, pour boiling water and juice of half a lemon. Leave for an hour, then rinse and dry well.
You can also pour boiling water, baking soda and vinegar over the thermos. After an hour, rinse well.
Odors can absorb:
- ground coffee;
- rice grains;
- Activated carbon.
On clothes
On clothes, an unpleasant moldy smell can appear if the fungus settles in the closet. This can happen when damp things are stored there or the walls behind it are infected with fungus.
If the clothes still smell unpleasant, you need to wash them with bleach.... You can rinse them in a solution of vinegar or lemon juice. But this is suitable for light colored things.
The rest of the clothes can be washed with a special odor remover. After washing, dry it in the air, preferably in the sun.
Those things that cannot be washed, such as jackets, should be wiped with a cut onion head or a rag dipped in a vinegar solution.
There is also a commercial tool Active Wash... It is suitable for all types of fabrics, and not only removes unpleasant odors, but also cleans clothes.
For more information on removing mold from fabrics, see this article, about removing fungus from clothes - here.
In shoes
Storing shoes that are damp can lead to moldy odors. This is often found in the fall when winter shoes are taken out of the pantry. Do not get rid of it right away, the unpleasant smell can be easily removed.
For this shoes should be washed with warm water and soap, wiped inside with a solution of chlorine bleach, and then treat with a mixture of vodka and ammonia. After that, it is good to dry the shoes in the air, preferably in the sun.
If the shoes or boots cannot be washed, the mold is removed with a brush. After that, wipe it with a napkin dipped in a solution of vinegar.Then the shoes must be well dried with a towel and ventilated in the air.
If the unpleasant smell is only inside the shoes, you need to throw out the old insoles, put cotton swabs soaked in vinegar inside. Pour coarse salt or ground coffee into shoes every other day.
They will absorb odors in a few days. After that, treat the shoes with ammonia, dry them and insert new insoles.
Prevention
After the mold odor has been removed, you need to take care that it does not reappear.
If mold often appears in the corners, you can put a container there in which 100 g of salt and 20-30 crushed tablets of activated carbon are mixed.
Conclusion
To remove mold odor from any room and household items, you need to eliminate its cause.
Having destroyed the fungus itself, you need to treat the surfaces with vinegar, lemon juice or a solution of tea tree essential oil. These products not only provide a pleasant scent, but also prevent mold.
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