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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Freddie Bennett

'I'm a damp expert - products need a specific ingredient to banish mould for good'

An expert has revealed the secret ingredient you need to banish mould for good - but you might have never heard of it.

While salt is normally used in products which claim to get rid of mould, this might not be the most effective ingredient and could actually cause the ugly mould to return, claims the expert.

Sam, known as @damp_sam on TikTok, claims the ingredient you actually need is one often left out of common supermarket products.

The little-known ingredient is called benzalkonium and Sam recommends using the Wickes Fungicidal Wash, which contains the much-needed chemical, priced at just £13 on their website.

In a recent TikTok clip, Sam shared his wisdom on the secret ingredient, saying: "If you've got issues with condensation and black mould's [sic] all over your bathroom, it's all over your kitchen, it's going into your room and you want a quick fix.

"The cheapest, the best value for money on the market at the minute, is a thing called fungicidal wash. It's at Wickes, it's £13 for four litres which is a decent-sized tube. You pour it into a container. You can either apply it with a spray, brush or a sponge.

"You put one coat on and you leave it for a bit, and then you get a warm bucket of water, you put your sponge in and then you clean it off."

He then explains that after this you can put another coat on simply leave it to dry so there are not many steps to this hack.

"Fungicidal wash by Wickes has got a product [sic] called Benzalkonium, and that's what you need in a mildew cleaner or whatever," Sam said.

"These big supermarket brands, and a lot of little ones, they've got sodium in. And what will happen is the salts, once they've been sprayed onto your wall, they'll absorb moisture and it'll come back quicker. But if you use this…you can't go wrong. It's good stuff."

Although it's tempting to just clean the mouldy area, Sam urged his followers to aim to treat the source of the problem first, such as poor ventilation. This product is to be used just to rid the mould that has been caused by the problem, and should not be the only solution.

In response to the clip, which has racked up over 158,000 views, many flocked to support Sam's hack and claim they will try it out for themselves.

One person wrote: "Just checked my Cillit bang mould remover, sure enough, sodium-based, used it a month ago and it came back three times worse."

While another stated: "Thank you big time mate. Will go to Wickes tomorrow."

Do you have another story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email yourmirror@mirror.co.uk.

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