Seeking advice on using tea tree oil for mold / mildew

Sep 29, 2013 14:55

I have a few questions about tea tree oil that I think you all would know the answer to ( Read more... )

home: maintenance, home: cleaning, essential oils, tea tree oil

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Comments 11

rubyspirit September 29 2013, 13:08:18 UTC
Wipe the area with white vinegar. Done!

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aletapita September 29 2013, 13:10:46 UTC
Unfortunately I'm in Spain; white vinegar is not commonly sold here. I'm generally a big fan of vinegar for cleaning and have been using white wine vinegar which is easy to find here, however my partner has objected to a treatment that will make our bedroom smell like vinegar.

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leatherfemme September 29 2013, 13:23:08 UTC
Has he smelled tea tree oil? That's a pretty strong scent and an EO will hang around longer than vinegar would.

Also, the vinegar smell can be masked with a few drops of lavender, which since you use it already I assume he doesn't object to. Bonus is that lavender has antiseptic properties. But if you do this definitely wipe rather than spray (see below).

Regarding oil/water separating: Shaking vigorously enough should create an emulsion (or a near-emulsion). So if you shake well and spray right away you should be fine.

As you're doing a spray I'd suggest good ventilation and a kerchief/bandana over your nose/mouth. Airborne aerosolized EO is a a different beast.

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aletapita September 29 2013, 13:35:13 UTC
Very helpful! This is exactly the type of info I was looking for.

Yes, he has smelled tea tree oil. He prefers it to vinegar. I assume that if we get sick of the tea tree oil odor, I can simply clean it off by wiping the area down with dish detergent.

I will try adding some lavender as well and wipe it on instead of spraying to avoid any concerns with breathing it.

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ninasafiri September 29 2013, 13:32:27 UTC
The water and oil won't immediately separate, it'll stay mixed in the bottle for a minute or so. Just reshake after every couple of spritzes.

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aletapita September 29 2013, 13:43:02 UTC
^ This is what I suspected would happen, and why most recipes suggest spraying it rather than wiping it on; to make it easy for you to mix it frequently.

Because I've decided to wipe it on instead, I'll figure out some way to close the container and shake it every so often while I'm wiping the shelves.

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dangerous_beans September 29 2013, 15:37:05 UTC
My big concern, if it's mould, would be that you're only treating surface. As it's a fungus and once it has gotten ahold it'll be hard to get rid of completely... I'd be interested in anyone else's opinion though.

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elenbarathi September 29 2013, 16:36:13 UTC
I agree. If the smell comes back after the tea-tree oil treatment, I would suggest painting the area with paint containing a mildewcide additive.

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aletapita September 29 2013, 16:59:44 UTC
You are one step ahead of me! That's my plan of attack, and thank you for the product recommendation.

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aletapita September 29 2013, 17:19:27 UTC
Update ( ... )

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