I tested £15 plant that’s said to prevent mould and was surprised by the results | The Sun

DISCOVERING mould in your home should set alarm bells ringing.

Not only is it unsightly, but it can also cause a host of health conditions, such as allergies and asthma.

If you’ve started to see green or black patches appearing on your walls or ceilings, and, perhaps, noticed a bit of a musty smell, these could be indications that it’s lurking in your property.

Since spotting the tell-tale signs of mould in our bathroom in our south-west London house a few months ago, I’ve been on a mission to eradicate this toxic fuzz.

We’ve only got a very small area of this nasty fungi at the moment, but with two young children to think about, I’m determined to nip it in the bud.

Mould is caused when there’s a high level of moisture in the air in your home.

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As a busy family of four, our bathroom is in almost constant use – meaning there is frequently a lot of moisture hanging around.

I’m constantly throwing open the windows, pegging our wet towels outside to dry, and ensuring the extractor fan is on while we’re bathing or showering, but I’m keen to try every trick in the book to tackle excess humidity.

After hearing a couple of friends extol the virtues of a snake plant as a helpful weapon in the battle against mould, I decided to give it a go.

A few weeks ago, I bit the bullet and invested in one I found on Amazon, costing £14.99.

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This was considerably cheaper than investing in a dehumidifier to deal with our excess moisture problem.

One of these could easily have set me back a few hundred pounds.

And even a cheaper model, such as the four-litre Daewoo Cooler and Humidifier, available from Robert Dyas, comes with a price tag of almost £70.

Instead, my more budget-friendly snake plant was delivered to my door just a few days after I’d ordered it, and I found a home for it right away close to the window in our bathroom.

The clever thing about the snake plant, also known as mother-in-law’s tongue, is that it can help suck moisture from the air.

For this reason, these plants are especially efficient in warm, wet rooms, such as bathrooms, making the space a less attractive habitat for mould.

We may not have had our green-leafed hero in our home for very long, but I genuinely feel it’s already making a difference in reducing the moisture levels in the air.

It may not have banished the mould completely, but it certainly seems to be helping prevent the build-up.

Feedback from my friends who have had their snake plants a lot longer is equally positive.

They have been really impressed by the results, saying their homes are really benefiting from these hardy mould-busting additions.

They love that their snake plants are a natural and practical way to control a humidity problem.

We also all agree that this greenery makes a gorgeous addition to our living spaces.

Plus, as someone who readily admits to not being particularly green-fingered, this plant is genuinely very easy to look after.

The fact our little one is still alive a few weeks after arriving at our house is proof of that.

Better still, not only do snake plants love moisture, but they can also help regulate airflow by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen, and removing airborne irritants.

One of my friends keeps her snake plant in her bedroom to benefit from purified air at night.

She is convinced this is improving the quality of her sleep.

The good news is, snake plants are not the only plants adept at mould prevention.

Other varieties which score highly for moisture absorption include peace lilies, palms and ivy.

Peace lilies love humid environments, and helpfully, don’t need direct sunlight to thrive.

But pet owners beware: these lilies are toxic to animals, so you need to keep them out of harm’s way.

Palms can also come to the rescue if you need to keep humidity at bay, as their leaves are perfect for absorbing moisture.

Options include bamboo palms, lady palms and reed palms.

If you’ve got a smaller bathroom, English ivy could be your go-to.

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Once again, you need to keep it away from your pets, though.

You must also remember to water it regularly.

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