Mould creeping in everywhere? Here’s how to deal with it

Most of the time, though, the fungi that turns up after minor water damage won’t poison us or cause infection, but will have an unpleasant smell, can cause allergy-like symptoms and will grow unless treated.

Solving mould

The first step is always to fix what caused the problem in the first place, whether a leak somewhere with an ill-fitting window frame, a sliding door that has gaps in the tracks, a crack in the ceiling or a gap in the roof, or a more serious problem like rising damp.

For minor mould cases with clothes and soft furnishings, thoroughly washing and drying, or dry-cleaning items, should fix the problem, advises Jan Fleming, the co-author with Shannon Lush of housekeeping book Spotless.

“For hard surfaces and leathers, put a quarter of a teaspoon of oil of cloves in a litre of water and spray the area, leave for 24 hours, then spray again and wipe the mould away,” Fleming says.

“A lot of people go for bleach, but that just makes the area white so you can’t see the mould – but it’s still there. Oil of cloves will kill it. But for more serious mould issues, get expert help.”

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MouldMen founder Gerard Murtagh says, as a quick rule of thumb, if the damp comes from the sky or humidity, then you can let it dry. If it comes from floodwaters, then throw out anything that’s affected.

“There are so many pathogens in floodwaters, mud and black sludge, from faeces, dead animals and silt, and these can make you very sick,” he says.

“If walls are damaged, these may need to be cut out too at least 50 centimetres above the waterline because the plasterboard and insulation will have absorbed the floodwater and it might be accumulating in the cavities behind. But if it’s just a result of humidity or rainwater, then you can dry it then treat it.”

Ventilation is always key too. Opening windows and doors might let more damp air in, but that’s at least diluting the mould spores that are already in the air. A dehumidifier can also be useful to remove moisture from the air particularly in enclosed spaces and basements.

Mould Buster chief executive Matt Reardon says many people are seeing spots of mould at the moment and are panicking, but minor cases are just symptomatic of our climate.

“A little mould can be normal with so much moisture around, and easily treatable,” he says. “White vinegar can be very useful … and research has found microfibre cloths are great for plucking mould from surfaces.”

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