by katystreet
Effects of trace amounts of mold?
February 7, 2010 in Materials and Resources, Seeking Advice, questions by katystreet
I’m considering making my bottom reservoir with an assembly of old soy milk cartons. (I have a window sill that it can sit on.) However, one of the soy milk cartons I’m using wasn’t cleaned out properly, and had some mold growing on it. I was able to scrub most of it off, but I’m afraid trace amounts of mold are left. I could use some sort of cleaner (vinegar would probably be my choice) to get rid of it, but I’m not sure if introducing that (would it leave trace amounts?) would be any better than the mold in the first place.
So my question is: how sensitive are the plants to what the water may be in contact with? Is there something I should do to minimize any risk, or should I just abandon this idea?
Yeah. Really probably not a good idea to use that container. In general, you are trying to ward off organic pollutants, especially ones that spread and multiply super fast like molds. I’d find something else to reappropriate whose cleanliness you can vouch for. Starting a system like this is kind of like starting an aquarium. You want to establish a healthy ecosystem and battle problems as they come, not start with them and have to work twice as hard to correct early mistakes.