Clove oil and mould
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Let’s check the science: Is clove oil the panacea for cleaning up household mould? |
Summer’s over, and in my part of the world it’s time to clean the mould from the doors after the heat and humidity of the wet season. It seems to grow only on the doors and other panels that painted with high-gloss paint.
I’m told I should use clove oil in water to kill the mould. After the Brisbane floods last year, it was all the rage for cleaning up waterlogged houses. Apparently suppliers could not keep up with the demand, and the price went through the roof. Clove oil is now regarded as the magic solution for cleaning up mould. Is this justified?
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The promoters’ arguments – science or red flags?
There are no really extravagant claims made for clove oil. Generally, the promoters say that there is a history of using clove oil for cleaning mould, and that it inhibits or kills the mould. For example, see here. The main red flag is that there is seldom any evidence presented.
Being skeptical
I’m prepared to accept that clove oil can kill fungal spores (although I’ll check on that). But I’m not sure that this is of any use to me. Now that summer is over, the warm humid conditions that I know are required for mould growth have gone. Even if I use plain water, which will remove all visible mould but not kill it, it won’t regrow until next summer. And I know that mould is everywhere in the environment and that the spores spread profusely in the air. So even if I kill every fungal cell on each panel, they will be easily contaminated again. What would really impress me would be the ability of the clove oil to remain as a coating on the panels, so that it prevented the mould from growing the next time the appropriate conditions arrived. Somehow, I doubt it can do this, because the oil seems very volatile (witness the odour) and I reckon it will all evaporate well before next summer.
The scientific evidence
A quick web search reveals there’s quite good evidence that clove oil inhibits and kills fungi in vitro, probably due to the main component, eugenol. See here, here, here, here, here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find reports of any trials that tested the effect of clove oil (or other oils) in real-life, controlled situations. Some websites tended to recommend chlorine bleach for treating mould infestations; others were adamant that it should not be used.
There’s a good overview of clove oil here. It explains that “eugenol is anticipated to be short-lived in the environment, and is rapidly dissipated and degraded via volatilization and atmospheric decomposition”. Just as I thought!
I did find out why mould prefers the surfaces painted with high gloss paints – apparently they are based on natural linseed oil, which the fungus can use as a nutrient, whereas most other paints are based on synthetics.
DIY evidence
I could carry out a preliminary trial myself. I’d need to find a number of panels in my house that are exposed to fairly similar conditions, clean each one with different substances (say clove oil, water, bleach, sugar soap and tea-tree oil), then wait and see what happens next summer.
Conclusion
From what I’ve been able to discover, clove oil is not for me. It may be good where mould has contaminated enclosed places, and the conditions favouring mould growth remain active, such as flooded buildings or air-conditioning vents. But it’s not magic, and in my case, I don’t see any evidence that it will make any difference. Basically, the only way to eliminate mould growth is to remove the source of moisture, and the change in the weather will do that nicely for me. It’s just a matter or removing the nasty black coating at the end of each summer.
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I am unsure why in this study you did not mention vinegar (white) solution 10% in water for killing mould. This is a well known treatment to kill AND inhibit mould, but you would probably need to test it in cultures or in your environment at the START of summer when you claim the mould grows best… I see you use research as your method, but try vinegar in situ to experiment/investigate. Try at the beginning of the mould growth period (summer), not just one lazy application per year expecting a miracle cure for every mould spore in future…!!? 😉
Karyn, I didn’t mention vinegar because this article was specifically intended to investigate the effectiveness of clove oil in combatting mould. I’m sure there are many substances that are effective for that purpose, but clove oil is not very good for most situations.
I haven’t been into it in great detail, but I suspect vinegar is likewise not very effective for my situation. Yes, acetic acid (the active component of vinegar) is a mould inhibitor. That’s why it’s used in pickling. But like clove oil, it will soon evaporate from the surfaces that have been treated. So while it may kill or slow down the mould on application, it won’t be too long before the surface becomes colonized by more spores.
I appreciate that vinegar is a useful substance, but for my money, in some circles it’s regarded as a panacea for all sorts of things and that reputation is not deserved. It’s a weak acid. Acidic environments don’t suit some pathogens, but it doesn’t go much further than that. If you need an effective fungicide, there are more efficient options.
Could clove oil be used in pure vinegar?
I’ve tried pure vinegar, black and gold from IGA, on books. But being sick again I could not get back to the books for a month or more. Books in plastic bags and pillowcases (meant to temporarily keep them from getting recontaminated while drying out before I put them in sealed cupboards, sprung up with bad mold, mostly black at that). But somebody told me that this vinegar is already diluted (I was depending on evaporation). So I don’t know if I have vinegar resistant mold now or if I could use a better brand vinegar with clove oil. The problem I have is that I have loose bound reference materials soaking up too much vinegar.
I have mould in my shower and cannot get rid of it. I’ve tried oil of cloves and it does not work, not even a little bit. I’ve also tried vinegar and lemon juice .. again it didn’t work … Neither method killed any mould …. In other words the amount of mould on my shower grout was exactly the same after using both methods. I perservered with the white vinegar and lemon juice, spraying and scrubbing, but it had no effect on the mould. I then tried the oil of clove with water and repeated the process … applied it, left it for the required time, then scrub it. Did this several time …again, not even a small amount of the mould has disappeared. I don’t understand why. I would love to hear from someone who has had success killing mould in their shower. Pam J
Pam,
I strongly suspect that what you are dealing with is not mould. Mould is not very resistant to scrubbing, even if you use straight water.
Could I suggest you use chlorine bleach. If that doesn’t work, it’s definitely not mould.
Pam you need to re grout your tiles, dig out the old and put in new grout . Then just keep it clean or use a grout sealer
I always do chorine bleach if I want to remove mold in my house. It’s just super easy and always readily accessible.
1 cup borax from the hardware store $7 for a whole tub, in one of there less than a dollar plastic pails 5 to 8 litres , put cup of borax in pail fill with hot water mix until dissolved. After bleaching to remove the stains from your bathroom . let dry , then sponge borax mixture on to anywhere you keep having mould . let dry naturally . good for up to 1 year less in places you have hot water running over regularly . I keep some mixed up to re sponge in hot water areas . places where it only gets steam or most this works very well with little or no attention. If it works for you come say hi at westleyy Huffmann on Face book and let me know how you went .