There are poisons in the vinyl, too, that may be as dangerous as the mold. That smell you get from purchasing a new vinyl shower curtain is dangerous to your health. Please check that out, too.
John On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 3:39 PM, Mike Monett <[email protected]> wrote: > > So, Mike. I live in the south - where heat and moisture are > > common, especially in the summer. At least a couple times every > > summer, I find a mold patch or two on my shower curtain, where it > > folds together when the shower is not in use. I keep a spray > > bottle of bleach right in the shower area so I can spray these as > > soon as I spot them, then I rinse the area with clean water as > > soon as the mold disappears from the shower curtain. The shower > > curtain, incidentally, is vinyl. Are you saying that I when I do > > this, I haven't killed the mold? That the spores remain alive? If > > so, then where are they? MA > > Hi MaryAnn, > > Boy, this is the perfect example of how the list archives would > help. I posted a detailed analysis of mold growth long ago, and > spent considerable time finding the links with the best pictures to > illustrate the various components. All I would have to do is find > the post, which is easy in google or mail-archive, check the links > to make sure they are still valid, and post the link with a brief > message. It is starting to look like that might be possible again. > > In the meantime, I also keep a squeeze bottle with bleach in the > shower, and spray it on the mold when it starts becoming noticeable. > > I don't bother rinsing, but let the bleach dry into crystals. These > wash away the next time I take a shower. But like you, the mold > always comes back. > > There are three components to mold: the invisible spores which > propagate the plant, the visible part that you can see on the > surface, and a hidden part called the hyphae, which you cannot see. > > The hyphae is buried in whatever the mold is growing on, like the > root of a tree. > > Bleach will kill the visible part on the surface, but as far as I > can tell, it has no effect on the spores. The channels made by the > hyphae are too small for bleach to penetrate, so it can't kill the > root portion. > > So when you apply bleach to a surface, you only kill the visible > part. > > The spores continue to germinate, and the hyphae start growing back > immediately. > > In addition, new spores continually arrive. If they are the same > kind of mold, they will probably start growing. If they are a > different kind, they may not survive the toxins produced by the > existing mold. This is the effect that led to the discovery of > penicillin by Fleming in 1928, as well as Tyndall in 1875, Duchesne > in 1897, and Picado between 1915 and 1927. > > The mold coats the spores with toxins to destroy any competition. We > are just the collateral damage in their biological warfare. > > However, I am excited by the recent post by Pat and my private > emailer concerning chlorine dioxide. If this works as well to > inhibit mold as it does for libraries, it might be the perfect > solution for people with severe mold allergies. > > But it would have to be a multiple approach. Put the packets in > various rooms to kill the spores, and make a closet into a sealed > chamber to hang bedding. Hopefully the chlorine dioxide will > penetrate the fabric and kill the spores. I'm trying to locate some > right now, and will report the results to the list. > > More news later, > > Mike M. > > > -- > The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. > > Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org > > To post, address your message to: [email protected] > > Address Off-Topic messages to: [email protected] > > The Silver List and Off Topic List archives are currently down... > > List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]> > > >
