With summer just around the corner, we bring up the topic of the dreaded mould and mildew which might be a problems around the coastal towns of Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula.
Moulds and mildews are fungi that can grow on food scraps and linen in stuffy, dark and in high humidity conditions (temperature of 20-30ºC, humidity of 70% or greater). Being fungi, they can spread through spores from one area to other nearby areas.
These fungi can appear in different colours starting from pink and eventually turns green, brown and black. The word mould and mildew are generally used interchangeably to describe the process of the linen becoming mildewed. You can smell a musty odour on the linen in the presence of mould and mildew even before you see the growth and colour changes.
Once the linen or textiles are affected with mould and mildew, they will start to eat the material they are on, decaying it bit by bit. It is very difficult to remove. There are methods that uses harsh chemicals to remove them but the results are not always good and the damages to the linen material are always very severe, shortening its lifespan, causing discolouration and lowering the linen quality significantly.
There are known health problems associated to mould and mildew. Exposure to them can cause respiratory problems, allergic reactions, heachaches, joint paint and fatigues to name a few.
Even though our linen is treated to be resistant to mould and mildew, the fungi can still grow when exposed in the right conditions for a prolonged period of time. We have customers who come up with several measures to control their growth, giving enough time until we collect and process them in our laundry plant. Here are 3 simple methods:
- Storing soiled linen in cooler room to keep them cold and dry
- Leave the soiled linen out in the sun to dry and air them
- Clear food scraps away from soiled linen as much as possible before putting them in bags
What would you do to prevent mould and mildew from growing on your linen and textile? Visit us on our Facebook Page to post your opinion.
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