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How to Get Rid of Mold Smell

Get Rid of Mold Smell

A mold doesn’t always have a strong smell, but you can start feeling gross when it is present anywhere in the house. The mold’s smell is meaty, earthy, or like an odor of wet socks or rotten wood. Besides being gross, it also emits some gasses known as microbial volatile organic compounds or MVOCs. It is an unpleasant smell that doesn’t go away quickly.

The aroma is mostly from basements, sinks, AC, and mainly from wet towels. We often observe that when the towels are not properly dried, they start giving a mold smell. To avoid this, we should start using quick drying towels, and this will help you prevent mold smell and make you feel satisfied while using without making you feel gross.

Cause for the Mold Smell

Most of the fungi are airborne and can travel from one place to another within the home. But they need moisture, dark and warm environment to spread, breed, and thrive.

Spores are mold seeds responsible for their expansion and reproduction. Although often accused of creating a repulsive odor and spores aren’t usually the source of the smell. Mold produces microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOC), which cause a smelly home.

How to Get Rid of Mold Smell

When many air fresheners don’t work and letting all the fresh air in the house doesn’t work, you should use some homemade techniques to get rid of this disgusting smell.

  • Sprinkle baking soda around the affected area after cleaning it with vinegar (leave it for an hour before wiping it). It will help absorb some of the foul smell of the mold.
  • In most cases, after you finish cleaning the affected areas with vinegar, the bad smell is reduced. But for an extra boost, you can use lemon juice mixed with water. After you finish cleaning the surface, spray the solution on it and allow it to dry. The high acid content of lemon eliminates the musty smell and inhibits the growth of fungi.
  • You can also make use of muriatic acid, known as hydrochloric acid, for mold-infested bathroom tiles. Besides the odor, it can wipe out the entire mold colony. Since it is highly corrosive, it is recommended for use in bathroom molds only.
  • Bleaching is also an excellent medicinal ingredient, but there is speculation as to whether one should use this product. Experts found that bleach is still ineffective against mold infestation and poses a health risk to young children and pets. In this case, vinegar is a safe and reliable alternative

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Harmful smell

Mold spores are to blame. These fine particles range from 3 to 40 microns. They are transmitted through the air and can be easily inhaled into our lungs, which can cause allergies, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses.

Often the strength of the scent is unrelated to how dangerous the colony is to our health. For example, mold produces an incredible amount of spores during the reproductive cycle but very few VOCs. It means that the scent will be light, but germs will be present and very active.

Precautions to be taken:

There are the following precautions that need to be adopted while cleaning for the Mold smell;

  1. Wearing a mask: To avoid inhaling mold spores, we recommend wearing a mouth mask.
  2. Protecting glasses: The fungus can cause irritation and inflammation in the eyes. Moreover, the combination of mold and cleaning products can cause enough discomfort to stop the cleaning session. So it is imperative to wear goggles.
  3. Gloves: Even natural ingredients like borax can irritate the skin. Use rubber gloves to prevent direct contact with skin.
  4. Proper Ventilation: Ensure the area is as well ventilated as possible – open doors and windows to help.
  5. Outlying colony: As you clean up, germs are bound to be flying everywhere. Therefore, always clean one room at a time. It also helps if you close the door to prevent germs from getting into other living quarters.
  6. Sealing systems HVAC: If you have a heating, air conditioning, or ventilation system, turn them off. It will prevent germs from escaping and finding shelter inside your HVAC system only to make their way back in.
  7. Disposal of equipment: When the cleaning is finished, put all your tools inside a plastic bag and seal it. Ignore it immediately.

How to Get Rid of Mold Smell

Conclusion

However, it is concluded that the smell of mold is nasty, but we can get rid of it by taking some precautions and using some homemade remedies if the air fresheners don’t work.

Many substances are available to help you to fight against this smell. There are many options, from hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, baking soda, borax, bleach, and essential oils to commercial products.

We hope that the techniques and precautions mentioned in the article will surely help you eliminate this gross smell if it is unfortunately present in your home.