House Maintenance And Cleaning

This room is for discussing Household Cleaning tips and ideas, repairs, painting, photos and anything you want to talk about cleaning and Maintaining a home.  

So I’m going to start by saying there are 2 issues stopping me from cleaning. One is that I have a chronic illness and mobility issues which make it difficult to do physical things. And two is that I don’t know how to do them. I was never taught to clean as a child. Mum would always do it for me.  It sounds so stupid to say I don’t know how but I honestly feel like I need a book with step by step instructions or something. I’ve kind of muddled through ever since I was married ( now divorced ) but never really got to grips with it. But it’s not daily cleaning I’m here to get help with. 
The biggest problem right now in my house is mould. Black mould on the ceilings and walls. ( yes I have let the landlord know multiple times and he doesn’t care). How do I clean a ceiling? I mean, what do I use? It’s not a smooth ceiling so although I do have some good mould spray and a mop I can’t get it off using the mop. I can’t stand on a ladder or chair ( balance issues) and it’s not reachable any other way. 
I need ideas on how to clean the ceilings. After that I know I can buy some special paint and use that to stop the mould coming back. 
My children’s rooms are the worst. I would attach a photo but I don’t want to scare you. Honestly it’s terrible and I’m sure it’s causing health problems. The house is very damp overall - the shelf under the kitchen sink has collapsed from the damp. I plan to move house in a year but until then there’s not much I can do. 
I really need some help. 

Grandma Donna wrote,  Kasia, I am sorry you are having such a difficult time. I do not know where you live but many places have laws where the landlord is responsible to take immediate action on treating a black mold problem with the first "written notice" from the renter. 

If you are renting you should not be paying for chemicals and repairs for something like this but I am not an attorney and cannot give legal advice.  I would suggest that you find legal advice and also go to a health department to discuss what to do.  I would give a written notice and not be intimidated to do so unless you think he will throw you out. Check how the laws stand in your area where you live about if you are renting is the landlord responsible to rid the black mold.  Sometimes this means ripping out walls and ceilings if chemical treatment does not work.  If your landlord does not care and you cannot find legal help you may be forced to move.  This may be difficult for you financially but you should get some advice from health department or somewhere.  Some mold treatments require you to leave your home for a certain amount of time.

Also, you said that you plan on moving in a year, I would suggest to you to start concentrating on the move and locating another place if you have not already.  This would be an excellent time to start throwing things away that may have mold and also get rid of what you can that you do not "Need" so you have less to worry about with your health issues. What you don't want to do is move anything to your new place that has mold on it.   When we have health problems and cannot get around easily we need less items in our home to clean.  

Your life must feel very overwhelming right now but there is help for many issues that can be weighing us down. Have you called any agencies for advice?   It sounds like the first thing you need to do is start with addressing the black mold.

Cleaning is another thing that needs to be taken one step at a time.  I would start with three things, one each day until you get things tidy.  Clean the bathroom thoroughly, go around the bathroom floor with a vacuum, and behind the toilet and behind the door. Then scrub the toilet with a toilet scrubber and disinfectant if you have it or good soap and water.  There are times when bleach is called for if it is very stained. I do not use bleach unless there is special disinfecting to be done.  Once the toilet is scrubbed then do the sink and tub, wipe down the walls or shower and then mop yourself out. The next day wash all of you dishes and clean your kitchen sink and counter after you have washed dishes and sweep and mop the floor.  Day three, vacuum at least one room if not all but do vacuum at least one room per day.  

A good start to the day is make your bed first thing in the morning. If you need to break down the steps above then do what you can each day.

We are behind you here, we want to help you, you said your landlord doesn't care and sometimes people like this can be very difficult so concentrate on your move so it will be easier to move your household items. 

I have never had black mold but I do understand it is difficult to treat.  If anyone here reading this knows how to get rid of black mold off the ceiling and walls "safely" and have done this, we would like to hear your suggestions. 

Gosh thank you so much for your long reply. 
The landlord situation is not great because I am on a rolling contract which means he can ask me to leave at any time so I don’t want to rock the boat and risk being made homeless if I make too much fuss about the condition of the house. 
I do plan on moving next year so I need to save for a deposit and also for a moving van. I can’t do anything for the moment due to my finances. It’s a bit complicated to explain but basically I’m unable to work so I’m on the U.K. version of disability. If I move house now it counts as a change in circumstances and I will have to move to a new benefit called universal credit. However if I do that willingly I lose £400 a month which is a lot. The government is planning on moving everyone over to universal credit by the end of next year I believe but if I wait until they tell me I have to change to universal credit they will top up the extra money. So I can’t afford to do anything to jeopardise that. 
I definitely need to declutter. I have too many things for sure. I’m a terrible hoarder. 
I do clean the toilet and bathroom sink daily but the rest of the bathroom is a mess. I have a huge mountain of washing that I can never seem to catch up with. I can only do about 5 minutes of cleaning before I run out of energy and have to rest. 

Today I did 5 loads of laundry - washed, folded and mostly put away. I want to start ironing again as I actually enjoy that but haven’t had the energy or space to do that. I have sheets that don’t have a storage space and also I need to sort through my own clothes so I have somewhere to actually put the clean ones. The mountain of laundry is slightly smaller. 
I have decided, going forward, everyone will have their own laundry basket in the bedroom and everyone will have their day to do the washing. Sheets and towels will be at the weekend. My washing machine takes hours to do a load and uses too much electricity so I’m going to save up for an old fashioned twin tub as that will use less electricity and also less water. And because I know the spin dry cycle is good, clothes will dry quicker. 
I cleaned the toilet and sink and part of the area around the bath. I can’t do it all at once as it causes back ache. 
Tomorrow I’ll be doing more laundry - I think it’ll take me 2 weeks to get through it all and that’s if I can do 5 loads a day.
I have a quilt that won’t fit in the washing machine so I need to ask my older daughter to take that to a laundrette for me. 
I haven’t managed to do much else sadly. 

I have a washing routine - towels, tea towels and kitchen cloths: two loads per week; sheets once per week but quilt cover and top pillow cases only every 2 weeks;  clothes: 2 loads per week. I only put the washer on after 10am when the electricity rate is at it’s lowest. I plan on ironing when clothes come off the line - there are not many items I iron now so that’s just a matter of sticking to the routine. I usually iron while watching the TV News or listening to the radio.

I fit my deep cleaning around washing loads, preserving loads, baking etc. Any time I am waiting for something to finish I do another bit of cleaning. If all the general cleaning is done then I might wipe out a cupboard or two

I wash up dishes by hand - no dishwasher. I like to wash up as I go and between different stages of cooking. When the dinner is ready to plate up, I already have everything else washed up and in the draining rack, and the benches wiped down. That leaves just the plates, servers, saucepans and stovetop, all of which I do after dinner. Then I set the stovetop coffee pot up for the next day.

For mould I use a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water and put it in a spray bottle. Rule of thumb is if it bubbles on contact then it is still active. It doesn't need to be washed off so can be sprayed on and left to kill the mould spores. I also use a double strength vinegar as a washing solution for rubbing on walls etc again no need to wash off just rub. The hydrogen peroxide is normally available at chemists/pharmacy in larger quantities. I buy it there as it is a lot cheaper than the supermarkets.

The vinegar I sometimes water down by half or use full strength depending on the circumstances ( warning note wear gloves it stings cuts) The hydrogen peroxide I mix about 1 to about 3 parts water (this is the 6% solution) again it just depends what I am trying to achieve.

I'm no chemist or authority on the subject of mould but have been told/read that hydrogen or vinegar both kill the mould spores. They don't always remove the marks though. 

Kasia A I truly hope your circumstances improve. It is so wrong that you have to deal with all this. Baby steps and stay positive. xoxo

Do you happen to know what strength the hydrogen peroxide should be? From a quick google I can get 3%,6% and 12% here in the U.K.  I presume the stronger the better? It sounds like that could be a good method to try as it doesn’t have to be washed off. 

The other thing I thought of was to try and get a brush of some kind with a long handle to get into the grooves on the ceiling but I don’t know what I’m looking for exactly. 

Grandma Donna wrote, thank you Cindy for the suggestion of hydrogen peroxide.  Sharon H, you have a very good household routine, thank you for sharing that with us. Kasia, it sounds like you are starting to move in the right direction now. Sometimes we just get stuck in the ditch so to speak and need a tug to get us out we have all been there to so me point.  Your children can help you and if you tell them you want everyone to work as a team to get the house cleaned up that could encourage them to help you knowing that everyone will be trying to achieve the same goal. How old are your children? 

Your laundry may look like a mountain but you are going to knock that out with your new plan. 

Maybe you could celebrate your accomplishments with the children with something they enjoy.  A special ice cream or game they would enjoy playing.

Kasia A wrote:

"The other thing I thought of was to try and get a brush of some kind with a long handle to get into the grooves on the ceiling but I don’t know what I’m looking for exactly."

What about just getting a broom with plastic bristles, and using it like a scrub brush?  It would be a messy job with lots of drips, but I'm picturing dipping it in a bucket of hydrogen peroxide, then scrubbing the ceiling with it.  I have a textured ceiling too, so I understand the difficulty of getting anything in full contact with it.  

Whatever you decide to do, make sure to ventilate the room well and wear some sort of breathing protection - black mold is toxic stuff, and you will be stirring it up.  It's so toxic that it's usually considered a job for professionals, but it sounds like you don't feel you have that choice.

Is there any chance of getting free help from the health department?

Hi Kasia I use 6% but I'd buy the 12% if it's available as you could just water it down more or use it stronger depending on the mould area to cover. I've used what looks like a large scourer that is attached to a long broom handle before, I don't know what this type of cleaning apparatus is called. But it really is just a large scourer on a long mop handle. I've also used a sponge mop on a long handle (the type you can just replace the sponge on the end) 

It's probably the wrong time of year for you to open the house up but any circulating air and sunshine you can get into your home the better for killing the mould even if it's just for small amounts of time.

Last  year here we had mould grow very quickly when the conditions were right. I had to empty out all my wardrobes etc as well as do all the walls etc. I saw it on the inside of the front of the house walls and within 2 weeks it was out of control so I literally had to clean the whole house from top to bottom. I only used the vinegar on the walls and it seems to have worked as a barrier as I haven't had it come back since. 

It was winter here at the time but what I did was as I cleaned a room I would then open it up to air out as much as I could after that even if it meant shutting that room off from the rest of the house. I also left the cupboard doors and drawers open to have the air circulate through them.

Strangely neither the hydrogen peroxide or vinegar left any lingering odours. It just made that horrible mould smell go away. 

My younger kids who live with me are 14 and 12. (The older ones are not very helpful sadly. )
I’ve had them washing the ceilings with a mop today ( wearing a mask ) just with soapy water and it’s helped a little bit. The paint is flaking off so we will have to repaint the ceilings with anti mould paint.

I actually ordered some mould removal spray and sanitiser which should arrive tomorrow - I think the hydrogen peroxide will be good to keep it under control once the main part has been removed but as it’ll be quite drippy I think it’ll be better for the bathroom and the walls rather than the ceilings. 
 I’ll take a look for the scrubby brush if I can find one long enough. If not I’ll try a plastic or rubber broom. 
I cleaned the living room window today so I can actually see through it. Tomorrow I will clean a different window. I wish I had more energy so I could do more every day. 

Kasia A., I'm not a doctor, but my guess is you aren't going to feel better while you live in mold.  I hope you can get out of there as soon as it's time.  I worked with a young woman who ended up hospitalized because of black mold in her rental.  Her landlord got in trouble for not fixing it after she told him about it (this is in the US).  

Re:  cleaning - I clean using the Flylady routine.  She has an online site called Flylady, and while it can be subscription, it can also be accessed for free.  Her first rule is to get rid of the clutter.  It's impossible to clean when surrounded by clutter.  My house in not cluttered, but I work constantly at getting rid of things so that they don't creep up on me and I suddenly find myself cluttered up.

I clean in zones, per the Flylady.  Only one zone (one or two rooms) gets a deep clean at a time and I have a week to do it.  All else that week gets the light, general weekly cleaning - sweep or vacuum high traffic areas, mop those same areas if needed, dust just the tops of the furniture with a duster, make sure laundry and dishes are put away, dispose of trash/garbage, go through and get rid of a "hotspot" or two of piled mail, papers or clothes, and make sure bed linens and towels are changed.  Since I have glass in my front doors, I also wipe away the doggy nose prints.  The bathroom is quick cleaned every day - quickly scrub the toilet bowl, spray and wipe sink and counter tops, clean splatters off of mirror.  It takes a couple of minutes only.  A bathroom is deep cleaned when I clean the zone it is in.  I also dry my shower walls after every shower and hang the old towel I use so it will dry out between showers.  It keeps my shower looking clean much longer.

I have come to report success with the mould! 
I actually have one room left to do. I’ve had to do it in stages as my son is the one who can climb the ladder. He wears a mask and a plastic visor and gloves to make sure he’s safe. I’m so glad to get rid of that horrible mould!! 

That’s my only success really. I’ve been feeling really sick the past few weeks and am in a lot of pain at the moment. My bedroom is frustrating me as it’s not a calm restful place at all. It’s cluttered and the layout of the bed and furniture means I can’t get to the window easily to open it. I really need to try and declutter but it’s so difficult. 

I’ve tried flylady and found myself get overwhelmed very quickly. I feel like I need someone to give me one or two things to do a day as doing more just isn’t possible. I’ve tried so many methods but get overwhelmed by them all.