Ask Moxie
Product Review: Concrobium Mold Control
May 2, 2008
I've been owing you guys this review of Concrobium Mold Control spray for a few months. Sam, the witty Canadian guy who invented it, sent me a sample months ago. I was a little surprised when he emailed me about it, because I've never written about the mold that plagued our bathroom walls and ceiling, but I was super-happy to accept a sample to test.
See, the mold I had is all over the ceiling above the shower. But I live in a building that was built in the 1890s, so we have high ceilings. And there's no way to put a step-ladder in the bathtub (sloping sides), so I was basically going to have to reach over my head to spray blindly up at the mold.* Which meant that whatever toxic mess I was spraying up there would get all over me.
Sam solved my problem, though, because the beauty of Concrobium is that it's non-toxic. He says it's made from two "food-grade additives" that when combined kill mold spores and prevent them from coming back. But since they're food-grade additives, they're not going to hurt you. Or your kids. Or pets. (Sam claims that he's done demonstrations in which he drinks some of the Concrobium to prove how harmless to humans it is. I wasn't willing to go that far, personally, without some dark rum and crushed ice.)
So I tried it out on my ceiling and walls. Concrobium has no scent whatsoever. And when I sprayed it over my head and it misted back down onto me, it felt like water. My dumb cats came in to see what was happening before I could shoo them away, and neither of them suffered any ill effects from getting it on their fur and licking it off.
I wished that the Concrobium would make the mold stains just vanish like magic. It didn't, but the part that I could reach on the wall (a spot that I'd scrubbed at at least four time with bleach cleansers, but it always came back after a month) came off easily with a damp sponge the next morning. And no mold has come back to that spot in two months, which to me is a miracle.
A miracle of chemistry! I'm wracked with curiosity about what those two additives are now. MSG and guar gum? It's clear, so it's not a dye. Soy lecithin and HFCS? Whatever they are, I'm pretty sure I'd rather have them on my walls controlling mold than in my stomach.
You can buy Concrobium at hardware stores and home centers in the US and Canada, and conveniently for me, at Amazon through this link. Check out their site for more info on the product.
* I took pictures of the mold, but can't find them now. Perhaps the computer ate them because they were so disgusting? If they turn up I'll add them to this post later on.
Access this review and readers’ comments here.