What to Purge
In order to get you on your way to healing, detox is key. But putting more garbage “in” as you’re trying to get it “out” is counter-productive! This is why it’s so important to get your home sanctuary as clean and mold-free as possible.
The most important first step for creating a mold-free environment is getting rid of dust collectors and paper items in your home.
Dust itself can be a medium for mold to grow on. If you live in a humid environment, this is even more of a risk.
It is best to temporarily store decorative items and knick-knacks during the first part of treatment in order to keep dust down. It is much easier to keep an uncluttered home dust and mold-free. Get rid of your excess stuff! I love the book (and TV series) called SPARK JOY, which encourages eliminating things in your life that don’t bring you joy. This is both a spiritual cleaning as well as a literal cleaning process.
Frequent cleaning, dusting, and HEPA vacuuming is helpful during this time, and reduced clutter will help speed up your cleaning time as well as your time to feel better.
Even more than dust, paper is your big issue. It’s better to get rid of or store all forms of paper for a while. Mold loves paper like humans love sugar. This is why paper-covered drywall is such an issue in damp buildings. Paper-containing items on the “no” list include books, paper files (store or scan), wall paintings/posters, photos (although some may be cleaned) and board games (unless you can wipe them down).
If there are things you can’t bear to part with, you don’t have to throw them away! If items have been in a moldy environment, store them in plastic-lidded bins outside of your home (in a garage or storage unit) until later.
Other items:
- Get rid of or store cloth furniture (impossible to clean properly)
- Musical instruments (if you can get to all the surfaces to wipe down, fine, but otherwise store)
- Rugs must be cleaned
- Carpet may need to be replaced with hard surface flooring if it’s older
- Mattresses can usually be saved by covering with an allergen dust cover
- Shoes can be washed in a washing machine if they’re cloth; leather shoes can be cleaned by wiping them down;
- Computers and laptops usually are just fine with surface wiping (see tips for cleaning hard surfaces).
Dr. Robin Thomson
