Keeping Mold Out of Household Items

If you have a water bottle or you are a parent who has baby bottles and you are constantly having to replace them due to the insides (or the lids) becoming moldy, there is hope. Sometimes the odd shapes of the bottles are what keep them from drying out completely and when they do not dry all the way, mold starts to grow. The best thing that you can do to prevent mold from growing in your baby bottles is to not even bother trying to dry the inside completely after you’ve washed them. Simply dry the outside, dry as much of the inside as you can, and then stick them in the freezer. Many people put things like flour and cornmeal into the freezer to protect them from mice, bugs, and other pests, so why not do this to stop mold?

Clothes can also be a good source of food for mold, but some people are at a loss as to what they can do to stop mold from growing in their closets. The first thing that you can do is not pack your clothes in the closet so tightly together. Allowing air to circulate through the closet and amongst the clothing will hinder the mold’s growth.

Tossing dirty, damp clothes or towels into the bathroom closet or on the floor anywhere and just leaving them there can also cause mold to grow. Mold needs moisture, warmth, and a source of nutrients.

Mold has also been known to grow in mattresses that have gotten wet and have been allowed to dry naturally. Mattresses that are re-used over and over, especially in baby beds, are unsanitary and should be thrown away if they are found to be contaminated with mold. A study that comes from New Zealand says that when mold gets into a mattress (particularly Scopularipsis brevicaulis) and begins to feed on the mattress material. The danger of this is that the mattress probably contains antimony, arsenic, or phosphorus are used as fire retardants by law in some places. The mold digests these chemicals and as all organisms do when they digest something, gases are released back into the air. These gases are toxic to human beings and it is speculated in New Zealand that this is the main cause of crib death and it is not “unavoidable”, as many North American studies claim.


Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
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