11 Ways Australians Keep Mold Out of the House — Without Bleach

Every adult puts about three quarts of water into the air of their house every day, just by breathing. In this video I show you eleven ways we get that water out of an Australian house, room by room, starting in the bathroom, and not one of them needs bleach. I am Nanna. I am 68, and I have kept house in Queensland for 50 years. In February 2022, Brisbane had its second-wettest month on record, and one morning my good black shoes had gone green in the closet. So I will show you what I do now: the bathroom fan, the towel that does two jobs, a vinegar spray instead of bleach, the washer door, the dryer hose, lids on the pots, a closet that can breathe, why I keep the windows shut on a wet day, the little water-drop button on the air conditioner, the two-day clock after a leak, and the ten-dollar dial on my windowsill that tells me whether any of it is working. Never mix bleach with vinegar or ammonia. If the mold patch is bigger than about 10 square feet, or anyone in your house has asthma or breathing trouble, talk to a professional or your doctor. The facts come from the Australian Building Codes Board, Queensland Health, the New South Wales Government, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Queensland building rules (NCC 2022, from October 2023), the US EPA ("A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home"), the CDC, the US Department of Energy's Building America program, the University of Florida IFAS Extension, Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension, and Whirlpool. Pick one this week, love. Then tell me in the comments where mold always comes back in your house.