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Comment by CarRamrod | Hacker News Reader

The best thing I've found after dealing with mold is a simple 3% hydrogen peroxide solution that is sold in any drugstore. Put it in a spray bottle and soak the area deeply enough and it should kill it down to the roots.

And a plus is that when it breaks down the only fumes it gives off is pure oxygen, unlike other cleaners like bleach. It did such a good job that I use peroxide as a general purpose cleaner now.

I will add one note that you should rinse your hands regularly if cleaning with peroxide. Just a few days ago I had a leaky spray nozzle, and the peroxide was on my finger long enough that it was able to soak in. It turned my skin chalk-white and caused an uncomfortable bubbling sensation inside my skin. I had no idea it was even a reaction that could happen. It only lasted for a few hours, but it's not something I would want to happen again.

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You should note that while a single use (like to kill mould) may be fine, regular use on stone, metal or wood (i.e. most stuff in a bathroom) is not recommended because it is a powerful oxidizer that will considerably damage these surfaces if used regularly. That's because it releases hydroxyl radicals that destroy not only molecular bonds in stains and microorganism cell walls, but also attacks treated surfaces and corrodes metals.

Duly noted.

I recommend dehumidification over chemicals. It's much simpler and way more thorough. It also suppresses pests like silverfish. Allergies probably much better too.

If you can keep your home under 45% RH, mold simply cannot grow. You'll never have to think about it. The longer and more persistent the dehumidification, the better the outcome. It can take weeks for the moisture to get pulled completely out of your drywall, interior framing, insulation, etc.

I recommend getting one of those units that has the integral pump. Run it 24/7. But don't use the pump for the first day. Dump that water out manually so you get a visceral understanding of how bad it was. That water was in all your stuff. In your walls, in your sheets, furniture and clean clothes.

I don't understand how they don't end up just drying the fresh air?

The average home has a certain amount of fresh air coming in. Outside is often 50-80% here in the UK. Am I just spending 150 watts to constantly dehumidify fresh air?

Is it really dehumidifying the walls, furniture etc or just the new fresh air?

In the US a lot of new buildings are build with ERVs or HRVs that allow deliberate outside air exchange through the central ducting without losing heat/cooling or without gaining/losing humidity

> Am I just spending 150 watts to constantly dehumidify fresh air?

Yes. And it's probably closer to 800-1000 watts if you have a reasonably large living space. Someone living in the UK is likely to find this extremely offensive, but it's quite common in Texas and Florida.

I had a feeling. The dehumidifier manufacturers (and their paid partner bloggers etc) insisting it takes weeks and weeks to start taking effect always struck me as odd - probably because even at full whack you're probably drying out the furniture etc at a very very very slow rate, because you're mostly in a losing battle drying out the fresh air.

I wouldn't be surprised if energy companies were behind their popularity.

If it didn't work I wouldn't be paying to run it.

Note that in (low enough concentrations) hydrogen peroxide is also used as a wound disinfectant so its not as horrible to get on yourself as some other cleaning substances.

Hydrogen peroxide is also great for disinfecting just the edges of a reflecting pool.

Good pointer. Bleach isn't more effective than regular soap or hydrogen peroxyde.

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