For our Australian Friends...dealing with mold

A Kangaroo trying to escape the
flood waters.

Just answered an urgent email from an old friend and client in Queensland.  I am taking the liberty of quoting part of her message, because for obvious reasons, there was not time to ask and receive permission. (She's let me quote her often in the past.)

"Hi Natures gift team

You guys are holed up with snow, we are with water.  There has been all sorts of tragic, horrific damage and loss of life in our region.  Those of us who are not yet directly under water we’re watching our tv network which has 24/7 coverage.

The issue we are dealing with is mold.  The air is sooo damp that mold is flying around and I’m conscious of the health issues this causes.  Just wondering if you can let me/us know which essential oils are most effective in dealing with airborne mold (hoping  to kill it before it settles) and also for the stuff that has settled and growing green fur shoes, clothes, bed linen, walls etc  there’s also black spot type mold and I believe this is going to get worse over the coming months.

Please reply all as power supply to our office will be cut shortly and I’ll only have access to hotmail for the next little  while."

I dashed  off an answer immediately. For those who are threatened by mold, this is what I used during our flooding:

Lemon Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora) And Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) in approximately equal proportions.  I diffused these 24/7 in an Amrita Nebulizing Diffuser. (Because I wanted to super saturate the building, I used a Professional Deluxe model.

We are used to seeing Chlorine Bleach recommended to remove mold and mildew. It is my understanding that bleach will remove the stains left by molds, but will not kill the mold itself and keep it from returning.   I would wash washable surfaces with detergent and water with a good amount of the essential oil blend in the wash water, THEN think about wiping down with diluted Bleach.  I would also wash all affected clothing, linens, etc. in hot (if possible) water with at the very least the Euc. Citriodora added.

Other essential oils said to be helpful against molds and spores (and other fungii) are Myrrh, Tagetes, Palma Rosa, Cedarwood,  and Lavandin Super; but my personal experience has been with the two Australian oils listed above.  One would hope that since both are grown and distilled in Australia they would be available in bulk at reasonable prices to the flood victims.

Stranded Wallaby

As I said earlier on Facebook, our thoughts and prayers are with the flood victims; having been through "the flood of the millenium" last Spring, we can empathize.