Green Cleaning part 2

I have recently learned that my mother‘s cleaning staple of bleach is not the healthiest product to use, especially for serious mold problems.

Bleach should never be mixed with ammonia or other chemicals – this I knew. But when one is challenged by a wet basement or other chronic moisture problems in your home, a serious form of mold can develop. The growth of mold can be dangerous and deadly.

The EPA now has updated its information and says: “The use of biocide or chlorine bleach is not recommended as a routine practice during mold remediation because:

1. Biocides like bleach do not remove allergens that can lead to allergies in sensitive individuals.
2. Commonly used chemicals do not effectively kill molds.
3. The object to killing mold is to kill mold at its “roots”. Mold clean-up involves the need to disinfect wood and wood-based building materials. All of which are porous .
4. Chlorine bleach does kill bacteria and viruses, but has not been proven effective in killing molds on non-porous surfaces.

One of the most important findings of more than 20 case studies completed by Dr. Edward Close is that diffusing the essential oils blend of Thieves* not only destroys mold spores, but also removed mold spores, dead and alive, from the air. This is a very important finding.
However, the antifungal properties of clove oil and cinnamon oil are well known.

If you see or smell mold follow 3 basic steps:

1. Have an environmental professional take a mold sampling to find out what kind of mold you have and at what levels.
2. Diffuse with Thieves oil*:
   A diffuser is a special devise that diffuses essential oils into a micro-fine vapor. These molecule size vapors remain suspended for several hours in the atmosphere, destroying airborne infectious pathogens, fungus, and mold and freshens the air with natural fragrances. Once in the atmosphere, the antibacterial and antiviral constituents of the oil quickly kill microbes as they come in contact with them. Testing at Weber State University proves conclusively that diffusing essential oils kills life-threatening airborne micro-organisms.
3. After sampling and diffusing, then, clean the area using Thieves* Household Cleaner that also contains the same propriety blend of essential oils.

Thieves* oil is only available from Young Living Essential Oils. This oil was created from a research of a group of 15th-century thieves who rubbed oils on themselves to avoid contracting the plague while they robbed the bodies of the dead and dying. When apprehended, these thieves disclosed the formula of herbs, spices, and oils they used to protect themselves in exchange for more lenient punishment.

*Thieves oil is a blend of clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, and rosemary

Blessings,
Marlene Leitman