Re: vinegar with moldy washing machines

[Guest guest]

I wanted to address this issue also. I have been using ammonia in every wash

for a few years now and my clothes smell very fresh and come out looking good.

What's wrong with ammonia. I put it in the bleach dispenser, not in the wash

water, although I have put it in wash water too without problem. I put baking

soda in the wash water and small amount of detergent.

>

> I posted this earlier but my experience was that vinegar made our

> mold/mycotoxin situation in our washer much worse IMHO

>

> maybe it was the type of vinegar (safeway white vinegar NFI) but I had been

> fine with that in the past for things like fragrances...

>

> Jill

>

[Guest guest]

At 06:57 AM 7/22/2009, you wrote:

> I posted this earlier but my experience was that vinegar made our

>mold/mycotoxin situation in our washer much worse IMHO

>

>maybe it was the type of vinegar (safeway white vinegar NFI) but I had been

>fine with that in the past for things like fragrances...

Jill,

Good to know. I'll include a YMMV when I tell others in the future.

Thanks.

Pete

[Guest guest]

Above all the other products that I have used on mold, mildew, algae, you name

it, white vinegar has given me the best results with stopping the growth.

As far as mycotoxins that's a whole different story. I do know when you apply

vinegar to live mold, if you didn't smell it beforehand you

will after it's applied. Which tells me it aggreviates and

stimulates mycotoxin release, but it does kill the mold. No one can

convience me that it doesn't, because wherever I've sprayed it on

live growth outdoors it only started growing back after about 2 1/2 years.

Mycotoxins are a whole 'nother creature.

You don't want to mix borax and vinegar together because they

will just neutralize each other out. The borax is on the high end of the pH

scale and the vinegar is on the low end. This may take 2 or 3

washes, but it all depends on your sensitivity and susceptibility to

these toxins.

KC

> > I posted this earlier but my experience was that vinegar made our

> >mold/mycotoxin situation in our washer much worse IMHO

> >

> >maybe it was the type of vinegar (safeway white vinegar NFI) but I had been

> >fine with that in the past for things like fragrances...

>

> Jill,

>

> Good to know. I'll include a YMMV when I tell others in the future.

> Thanks.

>

> Pete

>

[Guest guest]

At 07:32 PM 7/22/2009, tigerpaw2c wrote:

> Above all the other products that I have used on mold, mildew,

> algae, you name it, white vinegar has given me the best results

> with stopping the growth.

Vinegar has been tested against all other disinfectants, and won. Every time.

It's the best for household germs. Some hospital germs survive more than

10 minutes of wet contact time with vinegar, and is why hospitals do

not use it.

I've done my research here. I never tried it on live more, and timed the grow

back period. Why? The mold is gone when I get done, including the substrate

it was growing on.

>As far as mycotoxins that's a whole different story. I do know when

>you apply vinegar to live mold, if you didn't smell it beforehand

>you will after it's applied.

Interesting.

>Which tells me it aggreviates and

>stimulates mycotoxin release,

Very interesting. I'm not sure what you are smelling is mycotoxins,

but this needs to be scientifically invested, as of yet, no one has

really been able to predict when a mold makes mycotoxins, to

consistently duplicate it in the environment.

>Mycotoxins are a whole 'nother creature.

I'm ramping my knowledge there. There does not seem to be a single

source that will answer my questions, the gaps, I have come across.

Does anyone know of one?

>You don't want to mix borax and vinegar together because they

>will just neutralize each other out. The borax is on the high end of

>the pH scale and the vinegar is on the low end.

Interesting. I'll try without borax for a while.

However, it does depend on 'when' you add each one.

If the vinegar is used to cancel the chlorine, and is added first, and mixed

in with the tap water, then it does that job well. The borax is added last

it boosts the soap/detergent, but the vinegar will become less effective.

One day I will do the chemistry reaction equations for this. Hmm, why not

in August. We will see.

>This may take 2 or 3

>washes, but it all depends on your sensitivity and susceptibility to

>these toxins.

May I ask, what takes 2 or 3 washes? To get out mycotoxins with vinegar?

Or to clean up a washing machine? I agree to the latter. Some machines

need 4 cups of vinegar per tub of water, and several tubs. Consider adding

the vinegar to the rinse cycle water, to shorten this. And to even turn off

agitation (lift the lid, push/pull the knob off), and let it sit for 2-3 hours.

I would not let it sit longer, as vinegar is an acid, and does a number

on seals, especially very old ones. It dries them out, and they will leak.

[Guest guest]

Does anyone know if you can use vinegar outside for algae. I have to spray

algae killer every year outside, a product that will kill the algae but not my

plants. I wonder if grass and other plants can take vinegar. Has anyone used

it outside. There are parts of the yard where I get mold and algae growing due

to too much shade, like between my house and the house next door.

>

> Above all the other products that I have used on mold, mildew, algae, you name

it, white vinegar has given me the best results with stopping the growth.

> As far as

[Guest guest]

This is where I have been told ammonia works, on deactivating or breaking up

toxins, but not all toxins. I heard it's been tested on tricothecenes. Since I

don't have mold (growing) on my clothes I don't wash them in vinegar but in an

old house figure in air may be mycotoxins. My own clothes don't make me sick,

so I guess it is working for me and since I'm not chemically sensitive it may

not be so for others.

>

>>As far as mycotoxins that's a whole different story. I do know when

> >you apply vinegar to live mold, if you didn't smell it beforehand

> >you will after it's applied.

>

> Interesting.

>

> >

[Guest guest]

Barb,

It will kill the algae, but it will also kill any grass and most plants. It's

also a great weed killef.

KC

> >

> > Above all the other products that I have used on mold, mildew, algae, you

name it, white vinegar has given me the best results with stopping the growth.

> > As far as

>