Ah, spring...the time of year when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of ... mould.
The weather has been getting warmer lately, for which we are thankful. The problem is that for the last few weeks we have had humidity in the high nineties. Remember the feel of wet sheets on the bed at night in the Solomon Islands, Amanda? We've got that too now. This week Craig took five items in to be dry-cleaned as they had grown mouldy. Belts, suitcases, Jemilla's wooden doll house furniture...they've all succumbed. Our friend Paul wrote on his blog about his "feral sandals". I've heard about someone opening a box of important papers to find them covered in green fuzz. It's like something from a horror film: "Killer Mould takes Hong Kong!" I'm scared to check the damage done to the stuff in the back of all our cupboards and drawers. I know I lived with very high humidity in the Ivory Coast, but I don't remember problems with mould like we've encountered here in Hong Kong.
You can see here the condensation on the outside of the windows of our lobby
Keegan's cupboard doors are covered with pictures and posters that need reapplying daily because the blue-tack doesn't stick well in the high humidity.
Craig attacked most of the mould on the walls in our bedrooms, but I found this patch to show you what it looks like. Mostly it wipes off easily, but the stuff grows back within a week after being removed.
Craig's drumstick bag
Craig's souvenirs from Papua New Guinea
My backpack
Craig moves this dehumidifier machine from room to room to try to suck the moisture form the air. We have frequent debates about its actual effectiveness. He loves to show me how much water has collected in the little tank.
I'm happy for other suggestions on how to combat our mould problem...
Oh dear... I do sympathise Renee. I really did not like the damp sheet scenario in the Solomons.
ReplyDeleteMum and Dad have had tried countless ways of removing mould in the downstairs section of their home. The best solution for them has been air movement. They had a fan installed that permanently blows through the worst area, and they've noticed a big improvement. That obviously won't work everywhere for you, but it might work in your storage cupboard or something?
We had a problem with higher humidity in our previous home. Nothing compared to what you have, though. We also had a dehumidifier and Burritt loved to show me how much water was collected in a day just like Craig. I also wasn't convinced of its effectiveness alone. I found that in conjunction with that using containers of a compound we can get here for removing water from the air. I think it is calcium sulfate. I found it in stores with a lot of things like Wal-Mart. I found it either in the automobile, sports or cleaning sections. People here use it to keep their campers or boats clear of odor and humidity. The other thing we later discovered was that our windows were not well sealed and that our dryer vented into the attic. Hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteMindy
Oh dear,what a problem.How do other people cope? Maybe it was not too bad in Africa because we usually had the house wide open.
ReplyDeleteI have just read that vinegar is effective. Can you get it?
ReplyDelete