Have you noticed mould growing in your bathroom, bedroom or living area? If you have, it’s incredibly important to treat the mould immediately as it can be damaging to your and your family’s health.

 

If you suspect mould growth in your home, it's crucial to address the issue promptly.

In this article, we look at the signs of mould, the health implications of mould, treating mould naturally and 3 easy steps to prevent mould.

 

Signs of Mould

 

Mould can spread quickly and cause damage to your property and potentially impact your health. Here are 3 common signs that suggest you may have mould:

 

1. Visible growth
   The most apparent sign of mould is seeing it on walls, ceilings, bathrooms or other surfaces. Mould may appear fuzzy, slimy, or powdery in various colours such as black, green, white, or grey.
2. Musty odour
   Mould often emits a distinctive musty, earthy smell. If you notice an unusual odour, especially in enclosed spaces like bathrooms and bedrooms, it may be an indication of mould growth.
3. Water damage
   Areas that have experienced water damage such as leaks, floods, or excessive moisture, are susceptible to mould growth. Check walls and surrounding areas for hidden mould behind surfaces, in particular, look for:

• Discolouration
• Peeling or cracked paint
• Stains or dark patches
• Bubbling wallpaper
• Warped or bulging surfaces.

 

Health Implications from Mould

 

Mould produces allergens, irritants and potentially toxic substances called mycotoxins. When mould spores are present in the air and when inhaled they can trigger various health problems, especially for individuals with existing respiratory conditions. Additionally, mould can trigger:

 

• Allergic reactions such as sneezing, runny nose and skin rashes.
• Respiratory issues such as asthma, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.
• Respiratory infections for those who have compromised immune systems.
• Gastrointestinal problems and sensitivities.

 

The severity of health effects is dependent on the type of mould, individual sensitivity and extent of exposure. To protect yourself and your family from any potential health implications, eliminate the mould and prevent it from reoccurring.

 

Treating Mould Naturally

 

Most of the mould cleaners you buy from supermarkets and cleaning supply stores are laden with toxic chemicals. Essentially, you are treating toxicity while exposing yourself to more toxicity from chemicals. We highly recommend taking a natural approach, which is just as effective.

 

All cleaning products used by Bliss Home Care have bio-bacterial and enzyme technology which keeps on working even after you have finished cleaning. These natural cleaning products are made up of “good” living bacteria to break down and liquefy soils such as fat, proteins, carbohydrates and grease while eliminating odours. These products keep on working even after you have finished cleaning.

 

In particular, for bathrooms, we use Shower Blitz^TM. This product can be used all over your walls, shower, tiles, sink and toilet. It contains cultured bacteria that eat away and decompose hard to remove soap scum and prevent the growth of mould. The bacteria bio-degrades matter rather than mask or bleach the problem.

 

For more information on safe and natural cleaning products you may like to read our article, An Insight to Natural Cleaning Products which breaks down the facts on these Australian made natural cleaning products. The range has been certified by Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA), an independent body that assesses the products to ensure they meet environmental, human health, and ethical impact criteria.

 

3 Steps to Prevent Mould

Preventing mould growth in your home involves keeping moisture levels under control and creating an environment where mould cannot grow and thrive. Here are the 3 most important steps to prevent mould growth in your home:

 

1. Open doors and windows regularly
   This helps you control humidity levels in your home, especially in the bathroom, kitchen, laundry and bedroom. By simply opening doors and windows on a daily basis and using exhaust fans will enable moisture to escape.
2. Address leaks immediately
   Inspect your home regularly for leaks in the roof, plumbing or walls. If you identify any leaks have them addressed immediately to prevent water build up and mould growth.
3. Regularly clean your home
   This helps eliminate the build up of mould spores from settling on surfaces. Use natural cleaning products and focus on wet areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry. We recommend drying these areas on a regular basis for best results.

 

By taking these preventive measures you can significantly reduce the likelihood of mould growth in your home. This will result in a healthier living environment for you and your family. Our approach is all about being eco-friendly, local, and thoroughly professional. For you, that means house cleaning that is better value, more reliable and healthier for your family and your community. Click here to enquire about regular house cleaning, vacate cleaning or one-off/spring cleaning.

Do you feel like you’re living in chaos? Can’t seem to find anything? Sick of looking through piles of things only give up on finding that item?  Keeping your home organised and neat can be tricky, particularly when we’re busy and rushed. But it doesn’t have to be difficult and organising your home will make you more efficient, give you time to rest and relax and also make the task of keeping it clean faster and easier.  Here are 28 genius tips for organising your home to keep each area of your home organised, from your kitchen to living areas to bathrooms and bedrooms and everywhere in between…

Having an organised home is refreshing.

KITCHEN TIPS

1. Utensil drawers can quickly get messy and only take a few minutes to organise. Pull everything out and group things according to size. Place all the larger items together and use containers for the smaller items so they can be easily located.
2. Use large cardboard or plastic containers to store packaged items to avoid these being spread across shelves taking up lots of room. For example, in one container group together different types of pasta and rice, in another group together packaged items such as crackers, nutrition bars and nuts, in another group together tinned items such as tuna, beans and beetroot. You’ll know exactly where to find each item when you’re looking for it.
3. Chopping boards and baking trays can be difficult to access when piled up on top of each other. Try stacking these vertically for easy access. If you’re handy you can even create vertical dividers to keep these separated and even easier to access.
4. Drink bottles can be difficult to store, but magazine holders tilted on their side enable you to stack these in the pantry or cupboard. Simple, effective and inexpensive.
5. Do you have a stack of take away menus that you throw in the cupboard or drawer? Use a plastic sleeve folder to store them all in the one place. When it’s take-out night you know exactly where all the menus are.
6. Hang a shopping list or note pad inside your pantry or cupboard door so that you can make a note whenever you are low or run out of a product. Before you pop out to the shops grab the shopping list and never forget another thing.

LIVING AREA TIPS

1. Invest in storage ottomans for a triple treat. You can use these as extra seating, a coffee table and storage space! You can use storage ottomans to store extra cushions, blankets, magazines and any board games. Your items will still be accessible and all in one place with added benefits.
3. Gadgets and electronics should have a place in your living area. Use a basket or box in the living room where these can be stored. It makes tidying the room faster as you can drop them into their home and you and other family members will know exactly where to find them when needed.

BATHROOM TIPS

1. Do you find it difficult to grab that bottle at the back of the cupboard without knocking over everything in front of it? Adding a lazy Susan to your bathroom cupboard will help you store extra shampoo, creams, deodorants and give you easily accessibility.
2. Keep your make up brushes or hair brushes in a jar or small vase on a bathroom ledge or in the cupboard. You will know exactly where that brush is when you’re looking for it, rather than rummaging through drawers.
3. Use drawer dividers to keep things neat and tidy in the drawers. Group things together in your drawers which helps keep smaller items neat and accessible when you’re in a hurry.
4. If you have young children, you’re probably sick of the bath toys that roam the bathroom. These can be stored easily and effectively in a laundry wash bag. Hang the bag on a suction cup hook and they will also drip dry one bath time is finished.

BEDROOM TIPS

1. The space under your bed is area you don’t want to waste, especially use this to maximise the space in a small bedroom. You can easily store away non-essentials or seasonal items such as blankets, sheet sets or mattress and pillow protectors under your bed to make more room in your cupboards.
2. Kids’ rooms are often strewn with toys. Consider a colourful cube storage system that can be used to sort out groups of toys. It will add bright colours to a kid’s room and enables you to keep things tidy with a few simple steps. It may also encourage kids to help you out. Allocate them a coloured box to fill with all the Lego, Barbies or stuffed toys.
3. Declutter your dresser and make use of the space wisely. Use a tray to store special things on – a favourite photo frame, perfumes and jewellery. Make use of small pretty dishes or bowls to keep trinkets or jewellery in one place.

WARDROBE TIPS

1. Cleanse your wardrobe by getting rid of anything that no longer fits or you haven’t worn in the last 12 months. If you’re getting rid of clothes you can make a few extra dollars by selling them or donate them to a charity.
2. Once you have cleansed your wardrobe organise your clothing into groups – group pants, shirts, dresses, etc. You can then even organise these again by colours, length, occasion and seasons.
3. If the wardrobe space is tight consider storing away non-seasonal clothing to make room for what you need this season. For example, in summer you can store away heavy winter coats and jackets, woolen jumpers, gloves, scarves and hats.
4. Knitwear should be folded as they can lose their shape when placed on hangers. Stack them neatly on shelves but avoid high piles which will just spill and create more mess. If you do have lots of space between shelving use movable cubes to create extra shelving.
5. If you have bedside drawers, se containers or dividers to keep things separate and neat. Drawers can quickly become cluttered and messy but dividers work a treat.
6. If you love accessories such as scarves and belts consider adding a towel rail to the inside of your wardrobe or unused wall area in your wardrobe. You can hang your scarves, belts, ties and any other accessories neatly. The bonus is they will be visible and easy to access.

LAUNDRY TIPS

1. Create a laundry station. Depending on the size of your laundry you can either stack pull out baskets or have 3 side by side baskets for your dirty laundry. Use these to separate your dirty laundry by colours, dark clothing and white clothing. This is a space and time saver.
2. When you’re cleaning, save yourself lots of trips to the laundry cupboard by using a durable caddy or box to store your regular cleaning supplies. Keep all your favourite green cleaning supplies, brushes, cloths and gloves in there and take it with you when you move from room to room.
3. Struggling to find sheet sets and pillowcases? Fold your sheets and store sets inside one of the pillow cases and stack these in your linen closet. You will be quickly be able to identify the sheet set and know that everything you need is in the one place.
4. Once you’ve done the laundry use laundry baskets for each family member’s clean laundry. Simply place each person’s items in their own basket to make the task of putting clothes away easier. When not being used, the baskets can be stacked away in the laundry.

OFFICE/STUDY TIPS

1. Where there is lots of wiring and cables in the office or leads plugged into power-boards it can be difficult to know which one you are unplugging. Label the cords so that you can easily identify which one is for each electrical item.
2. When you purchase a new appliance or electrical item store the manuals and warranties in a clear plastic folder and store in your office or study. This way you will know exactly where the details are should you need to locate them or refer to instructions.
3. Maximise office wall space by using floating or hanging shelves. These enable you to place prized possessions or books while not taking up any of your floor space.

If you feel that the task of organising is overwhelming, simply start off by tackling one cupboard or one room at a time. Once you’re done working your way through each room of your home, you will feel a renewed sense of serenity and the chaos will dissipate, making it much easier to you’re your home clean and tidy.

With so many choices for vacuum cleaners on the market the choice can be difficult, particularly if you are seeking an environmentally friendly vacuum cleaner. Here we have prepared a list of things to help you pinpoint what you need to look out for when making your next vacuum cleaner purchase.

The purpose of a high performance vacuum cleaner is to get as much dirt and soil out of carpets to ensure your home is clean and fresh. During this process we should take note of the toll this may be having on the wider environment, our home environment and our lives, particularly if you are an allergy or asthma suffer or have family members who are.

Environmental Rating

These sucking machines consume energy in the form of electricity to operate efficiently. It’s important to note that corded vacuum cleaners are deemed more energy efficient than cordless/battery powered vacuum cleaners. This is due to batteries that require recharging which in the long run, increases your energy consumption. The batteries also increase the presence of toxic particles in the environment. So opt for a corded vacuum cleaner.

Check Dust Containment

Let’s face it vacuum cleaners are dirt and dust collectors. Essentially that’s their purpose, however there are many vacuum cleaners that leak dust because they don’t have strong quality seals. If you suffer from allergies or asthma or someone in your home does, it can also increase the likelihood of health concerns if dirt and dust are being moved around in your home, rather than being eliminated. It’s also important to choose a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter which will be the most effective at reducing particulate matter in the air.

Bag or No Bag?

Bagless vacuum cleaners create less waste and are most cost effective because you don’t have to replace the bags. They are also easier to clean however, it’s important to consider how and where you dispose of the waste that collects in the canister. We recommend you wear a mask when emptying the canister because of the dust that is released, particularly if you are an allergy or asthma sufferer. However there are pros and cons for both bag and bagless cleaners. You can read more about these at: https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/laundry-and-cleaning/vacuum-cleaners/articles/bag-versus-bagless

How to Keep the Odours Out of Your Vacuum Cleaner?

If you are using vacuum cleaners that have cloth bags, you may have noticed odours coming from the vacuum.  This is due to improper maintenance or not servicing the vacuum cleaners.  The odours are caused by bacteria or mould that grow inside the bag.  It is important to empty the bags to keep the vacuum running efficiently, it is also important to keep it emptied to prevent bacteria and mould from growing and causing foul odour.  It is also equally important to clean or replace the filters regularly.  If you vacuum any food items, strongly recommended to empty or change the bag daily.  You may also consider investing in vacuum cleaners that have sealed HEPA filtration system.  This will keep odour-causing bacteria from escaping the bag.

We hope this guide helps you when it’s time to make your next vacuum cleaner purchase. Look for environmentally friendly factors that give the best results whilst also caring form our future and our health.

Bathroom Cleaning:

Traditional Cleaning:

If you're cleaning bathrooms the traditional way, you're probably using disinfectant cleaners, glass cleaners, and acid bowl cleaners. Although these products do a good job of cleaning, they can be toxic to the environment and to the people who use them. In addition, some cleaners are made from petroleum products, which is not a renewable resource, so using a product that is water based would be a "greener" alternative.

Many residential companies or home owners who clean in the traditional way also use white cotton cloths for cleaning surfaces. When using cotton cloths, you take a chance that you will cross-contaminate surfaces as they move from one area to the next.

Cleaning bathroom floors in the traditional way may include sweeping with a broom or dust mop, and then using a cotton mop, sponge mop, or cotton rag to clean the floors.

Green Cleaning:

When you clean bathrooms using environmentally friendly products, tools and methods, you use safer cleaning products, and more efficient tools and cleaning systems. First, consider switching to products that are safer for the environment, aquatic life and human life. Check with your local distributor, as they should carry at least one environmentally friendly product line.  Ideally, cleaning product is eco-friendly, non-hazardous and certified.

Bathroom cleaning involves disinfecting a number of different surfaces, so you want to avoid cross-contaminating surfaces. The best way to do this is to use color-coded microfiber cloths. Each color is used for a particular task. For example:

• Blue - mirrors and taps
• Yellow - sinks and benchtops
• Red - toilets

Cleaning floors using green cleaning equipment and methods means you'll use a good quality approved vacuum cleaner with HEPA filter to vacuum the floor, rather than sweeping, which spreads soil around and causes dust to become airborne.

Mopping floors using green cleaning equipment and methods means you'll use a microfiber mop instead of the traditional mop and bucket. Microfiber mops are lighter weight, use less water, and are able to trap more soil in the fibers than traditional mops. In medical facilities, you can quickly switch mop heads from room to room to avoid cross contamination.

Conclusion:

As you can see, making a few simple changes in chemicals, equipment and cleaning methods can make a big impact. Not only will you be making a contribution to protecting the environment, but you'll also be protecting your family, pets and employees from toxic chemicals and outdated equipment that can cause unnecessary injuries.