It's the words no one ever wants to hear: "Tom, all our shoes and coats are mouldy." Was I upset? Yes. Was I surprised? Absolutely not. There's been a leak in my roof for two years that no one wants to fix, we open our washing machine door with a piece of string and the extractor fan hasn't worked since before I moved in like four years ago. The fact I didn't think we'd need a hanging dehumidifier by our coat rack is probably my bad at this point.
When I say mouldy, I mean it - the fuzz covered unused shoes and our autumn jackets, leaving our much more used winter coats untouched. It's one of those things where if you're not checking up on it, suddenly it pounces on you. Blitz washing all of our coats on 60 degrees and hoping at least a few of them would come out not shrunk, we needed a solution. But thankfully, a mum came to the rescue.
Specifically my flat mate's mum, who sent us a care package of hanging dehumidifiers. I try to stay sceptical about any product because I want you guys to trust me and also we live in a hell world of cons. But these... actually work. And they're so cheap too - a pack of 12 is just £9.90 on Amazon right now from 151 products (4.6 rating out 2,606 reviews), or there's Nyxi's pack of six (4.6 out of 3,950 reviews).
READ MORE: Amazon's 'small but mighty' dehumidifier that 'costs pennies to run'
The 151 products holds 500ml while the Nyxi has 230g (which equates to 230ml), so you're probably better off with the 151 option. Since using these, we've stopped having the problem completely, so I genuinely can't recommend having them around enough if you're plagued by mould.
Get the best deals, sales and bargains sent straight to your phone
You can now join MyLondon's new WhatsApp Community to get the best deals, sales, bargains and much more.
Through WhatsApp, we'll send the latest exciting new products and bargains straight to your phone, both across London and online.
To join our community, you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the MyLondon team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
We're experts at dealing with water in flat because, as I mentioned in the intro, I live in an unregulated hell. Other than the paddling pool we use to collect water from the roof leaks, we also need to deal with the sprouts of mould creeping in around it and the windows.
Obviously we use a big boy dehumidifier to deal with a lot of the heavy lifting (specifically the Blyss corded, £97.19 on eBay). It's a bit loud but it does the job, as seen in the tank at the end of the day. But there's also a spray I've sworn by since I went to uni: Dettol Mould and Mildew remover.
You can get a three pack on Amazon for £9.99 or a single on Tesco for £3.50. Make sure you follow the instructions with this one as it contains bleach, but all you need to do is spray on the affected area, wait, and rub it off.
It works like magic. In an instant the mould is gone and we got back to breathing properly again. In an ideal world I wouldn't have to rely on hanging dehumidifiers and mould spray to have a home that is liveable, but we have to do what we have to do.
(Feed generated with FetchRSS)