How to Get Rid of Mould in Wardrobes? 5 Practical Tips

One of homeowners’ worst nightmares is waking up one day and noticing mould is creeping up through their wardrobe. This damages your furniture, hurts your health, and introduces foul odours throughout your home.

So, how do you deal with your mould issues? Are there any mould prevention methods you can adopt? This article goes over everything you need to know to keep your wardrobe spaces free from mould!

What Encourages Mould Growth in a Wardrobe?

Understanding what leads to visible mould growth is the first step in fixing the problem. Sadly, most homeowners don’t have a concrete idea about the precise causes of wardrobe mould, so here are the primary reasons you are dealing with mould in your wardrobe:

Moisture buildup: The biggest cause of mould growth on wooden surfaces is the existence and accumulation of excessive moisture in the wardrobe. This can happen due to a number of reasons, including the lack of proper ventilation, leaking pipes, damp cloth, and even the regional climate.
Source of food: Mould spores feed on organic material and natural fibres to grow. This could be crumbs of food stuck in your clothes, dead insects, or any other manner of organic stuff. To stop mould, you need to find and eliminate its source of food.
Poor ventilation: Poorly ventilated spaces are the perfect environment for mould. The lack of sunshine, the buildup of heat and high humidity, and the musty odour all act to promote the growth and spread of mould. Ensuring proper ventilation is an important step in eliminating mould.

What Are the Negative Impacts of Mould Growth?

It is hard to overstate the negative impact of mould on your household. From financial to health, unchecked mould can have dire consequences:

It damages the integrity of the furniture: Mould growth slowly eats away at the foundation of the wardrobe, regardless of the type of wood or finish used. This damages the integrity of the furniture piece, eventually leading to decay and draught, which both harm the functionality and aesthetics of the wardrobe.
It introduces an unpleasant odour: Mould emits a rancid, unpleasant smell, which can easily transfer to the clothes and items you’ve stored in the wardrobe. If not handled quickly, this smell can become permanent, ruining both your wardrobe and
It is a health hazard: Moulds are associated with various health hazards. Mould allergies are all too common, especially as the spores can clog up the respiratory system and make breathing harder. But mould is also an excellent host for bacteria. Cleaning mould is a necessary step to prevent diseases and protect your family.

Effective Solutions to Cleaning Mould

#1 White Vinegar

By applying undiluted vinegar to the affected surfaces and carefully scrubbing them, you can root out most types of mould with relative ease. Be careful, though, vinegar is a strong compound that can damage your clothes or lead to discolouration in the applied area, so be sure to completely clear out the wardrobe before applying this solution and dilute the solution in a spray bottle before applying it.

#2 Baking Soda or Rice

Chemicals or household items that can absorb moisture are an excellent way to stop the spread of mould in your wardrobe. The most common and affordable of these items are baking soda and rice. By simply putting a bowl of uncooked dry rice or baking soda near the place the mould is growing, these items can kill it by slowly eliminating moisture in the environment.

#3 Lemon Juice and Grapefruit Extracts

Much like vinegar, many acidic fruits can help remove mould in a natural, non-invasive way. The best one for the job is arguably lemons, which not only get rid of the remaining mould spores, but they can also eliminate the smell associated with them, which is very important if you want to restore your wardrobe completely.

How to Prevent Mould Growth?

Part of coming up with solutions for mould growth is adopting preventive measures that eliminate the potential for their regrowth. Do you want to spend a weekend every month reapplying vinegar to your wardrobe? The answer is clearly no. This is why we’ve outlined a number of solutions you can adopt that will not remove mould but prevent its regrowth!

#1 Avoid Overstuffing

Adding too many items to your wardrobe traps moisture and prevents air circulation, both of which greatly aid mould growth. To prevent this from happening, make sure you properly manage the space inside your wardrobe and avoid clothes piling up.

#2 Install Wardrobe Ventilation

You can prevent the growth of mould by improving ventilation in the affected area. Fresh air can prevent humidity levels from rising and make the space uninhabitable for mould spores.

Sadly, introducing ventilation to a wardrobe not properly built for it can involve a bit of DIY work, because the best way to do it is by creating gaps that facilitate air circulation throughout the wardrobe.

#3 Fix Leaks

Leaks in the bathroom or kitchen pipes can spread humidity throughout your property, including your wardrobes, furniture pieces, and even bedding. Beyond aiding the growth of wardrobe mould, this also introduces a musty smell inside your home and can result in a variety of health hazards since humidity is a great conduit for bactertia and various viruses. For all these reasons, you should always be on the lookout for leaks in the pipes and heating systems throughout the property.

#4 Eliminate The Source of Humidity

Are you in the habit of putting damp clothing in your wardrobe? This could be inadvertently leading to mould growth. A great safety precaution is making sure all the clothes you use are completely dry before you store them in the wardrobe.