Mould produces obnoxious colours on clothes, household furniture

The loathsome stains are due to the rainy and cold weather in Douala.

Since the beginning of ‘daily’ rainfall in Douala, dresses, shoes and household furniture like wooden and leather chairs, cupboards and even some cemented floors, have been in constant danger of moulding. Mould; a woolly network of threadlike strands that may be white, green, grey or black in colour, grows on objects as a result of severe cold, thereby changing their colour.

It is common for Douala city dwellers to brush and iron mould-affected clothes every morning before putting them on. Since brushing clothes contributes to reducing the quality, people who pay attention to what they put on find solace in dry-cleaning companies for thorough washing.

When washed in dry-cleaning machines and parcelled in plastics, parasitic fungus like mould hardly grow on them, an employee in a dry-cleaning company suggested. When clothes are exposed to cold, they are easily attacked by mould.

For those who cannot meet dry-cleaning expenses, constant sunning or airing of dresses and other objects is advisable. Though it rains often in Douala, the sun does not necessarily have a very big role to play. Just spreading out clothes and placing furniture in the open is enough to reverse the trend.

Though preventive measures are free, there is often no time for busy city dwellers since the cosmopolitan population, made up of civil servants, private employees and a bulk of businessmen, leaves home alongside children involved in all sorts of petty trading.

Consequently, sunning clothes before leaving for work may just cause another problem should it rain; given that only the very little ones often remain at home.

For now, Douala inhabitants will only “brush and wear” or dry-clean their clothes while waiting impatiently for the dry season to put an end to the unbearable parasitic fungal attacks on their belongings.