Gransnet forums

House and home

Dettol Mould & Mildew Remover

(29 Posts)
Ceesnan Wed 23-Oct-13 08:31:58

Phoenix suggested this to me when I was asking about removing gunge from my bathroom tiles, particularly the grouting, which was in a disgusting state. After one application the difference is incredible with the grout now white again, with no sign of discolouration. This is the best £3.00 I have spent in a long time and there is still plenty left for more applications. If you don't like the smell of bleach this product might not be for you, but I certainly recommend it.

thatbags Tue 09-Sept-14 07:21:27

Sorry. Got confused about what was being cleaned.

I find a nailbrush and elbow grease works on shower tiles too, and a wipe down with an e-cloth after a shower (it's only after my showers as no-one else does it).

A wee squirt of mould killer on the sealant that you can't scrub works well and won't destroy your septic tank bacteria. As jess says, the quantities of bacteris in a septic tank will be huge. It'd take a lot of bleach (like a big slosh every day, which is not necessary in any circumstances) to spoil the, ahem, septic soup.

thatbags Tue 09-Sept-14 07:16:59

It's possible to keep a toilet clean without ever using bleach. The product required is usually referred to as elbow grease, I believe. Stick your hands in some rubber gloves (I don't bother with that, actually), get an e-cloth or a brush or both and rub. If you do this every day, there's no build up and no problem.

And if you wash your hands and the cloth or brush properly there's no problem about passing on germs either.

Alternatively, if you must use something pourable, try half a bottle of cheap vinegar.

ryanarguello Tue 09-Sept-14 07:00:11

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

newist Thu 09-Jan-14 16:57:21

Phoenix we could of done with Mr. P and his knowlege when we were building our house, after the build we had to put French drains the whole way round because of the water table. Its a long way from Devon, The Hebrides

Anne58 Thu 09-Jan-14 16:21:14

posie if you look on the products, some of them will say that they are suitable for septic tanks.

newist where are you? (Mr P was most recently doing some work for North Somerset Council, advising them on flood plain management etc, but he is currently "resting", i.e. unemployed!)

JessM Thu 09-Jan-14 16:14:16

You would have to pour down a fair amount of bleach to kill off a septic tank. If you dilute it according to the instructions (rather than sloshing it down neat but the cupful like some of us do) and use it sparingly you should be fine. But it does illustrate the bacteria-killing properties of bleach that it is ever possible - if you think of the billions upon billions of bacteria in even one cupful of the stuff in the septic tank...

newist Thu 09-Jan-14 14:32:23

posie I just use the loo brush much more than normal, and wipe with fairy trying to make sure not a lot goes down the pan

posie Thu 09-Jan-14 14:24:17

I have a septic tank and was told to only use bleach sparingly. I didn't realise I shouldn't use it at all.
I did ask someone once if there was anything I could add to the septic tank to encourage the good necessary bacteria and they suggested a dead rabbit or suchlike! shock Needless to say I haven't tried that.

Any ideas what to use instead of bleach to put down toilet?

annodomini Thu 09-Jan-14 13:04:02

I know that the Dettol product is not supposed to be used on paintwork but I found some mould on emulsion over lining paper and gave it a short burst, wiping it off very quickly. No harm done. Looks good as new.

newist Thu 09-Jan-14 12:53:15

phoenix a drainage engineer, up here, is worth his weight in gold, the whole island is a bog

Anne58 Thu 09-Jan-14 12:49:00

You're right about the septic tank newist it kills all the good bacteria that are needed for the tank to work.

Mr P (who is a drainage engineer) was forever trying got get this across to people. He would get calls from people complaining that their septic tank was smelling, they had put bleach down to try to get rid of the smell etc..........................

newist Thu 09-Jan-14 12:36:22

I have a septic tank and never use bleach, apart from upsetting the natural "workings" of the tank, bleach is not good for the environment here.

Nelliemoser Thu 09-Jan-14 12:11:14

Just dilute household bleach as per the Dettol product and and put it a carefully marked sprayer.

Anne58 Thu 09-Jan-14 12:01:18

When I lived in a house with a septic tank instead of mains drainage bleach was not allowed!

JessM Thu 09-Jan-14 11:49:16

This product in OP is mainly bleach. Very expensive bleach. Bleach costs less than 30p for 2 litres in places like ASDA and it degrades harmlessly in the drainage system. Unlike things like triclosan which is in so many products these days - from "antibacterial" this that and the other to toothpaste and deodorants. Bleach is the most effective anti-bacterial and is what they use in places like stem cell labs where they have to be hyper clean.

Charleygirl Thu 09-Jan-14 10:49:13

I never knowingly use bleach. It may be diluted in a product but I have never bought a container of bleach in my life.

Iam64 Thu 09-Jan-14 07:42:14

We had a new bath and kitchen last year and the fitters insisted we don't use "modern cleaning products" which they say are too harsh. When I made the christmas cake, using the new fan oven, I burned the thing, worse, the fat from the cake dripped onto the new oven bottom and somehow got underneath the foil I'd put down to protect it. Result, thick burned on gunk. I made up a solution of lemon juice and bicarb and left it on overnight. I was stunned at how well this worked.
I've also bought a couple of those micro e cloths, and clean the hob etc with a very weak solution of eco washing up liquid, and that works a treat as well.
I'm off to polish my too good to be true eco halo - until the next time I really do need some proper, modern too harsh cleaning stuff after another disaster.
Does using bleach mean I can't have an eco halo? I make good use of bleach

jinglbellsfrocks Wed 08-Jan-14 22:13:44

Does bleach, and bleach containing products, actually get rid of the mould, or just take the colour out of it so that it doesn't show anymore?

I suppose it doesn't matter really.

mischief Wed 08-Jan-14 21:45:54

Hi
Having read your post I bought some and tried it and... amazing, it works. I have had black mould round my bath tiles which I thought I would have to dig out and re-grout but I don't have to now, they look as good as the day I tiled the bathroom.

Thanks for the tip, I am really pleased.

Ana Wed 23-Oct-13 20:23:23

I've found silicone sealer goes mildewy after a while - and it's even harder to get rid of that.

Ceesnan Wed 23-Oct-13 20:11:47

That's an interesting tip. I might mention it to Mr. C.

absent Wed 23-Oct-13 19:17:32

If you apply a silicone sealer to the clean grout, it will keep it in good nick for ages.

Anne58 Wed 23-Oct-13 11:27:43

So glad it worked well, Ceesnan !

absent you are right about cost etc, but as I was needing to clean a large area, (the shower enclosure) I'm afraid that I wouldn't have the patience to do it with a toothbrush!

Although the Dettol product does smell slightly bleachy, it's not as overpowering as bleach alone might be.

Ceesnan Wed 23-Oct-13 10:48:53

absent I had tried the bleach with toothbrush tip before and though it is undoubtedly cheaper I found it to be time consuming, more labour intensive, (and painful, due to arthritic wrists), and in the end less effective than the Dettol which you just spray on, leave for 5 minutes and then rinse off.

Iam64 Wed 23-Oct-13 09:53:31

ah, thanks absent. I have been using bleach more recently, including on the tiles in the utility as they got very grubby recently.