R. baccifera with mold

My Rhipsalis baccifera has some moldy colouration on some stems. I've read that 'dish soap' is good for getting rid of it.
Does that mean washing up liquid ?

 

I can see some white fluffy areas at the leaf joints which is a sign of wooly aphid, the black sooty areas are usually where the sap has gone from their activity. I would give it a good rinse under the shower and then maybe treat for wooly aphid. They are pugnacious little so and so's and unfortunately ripsalis seem very susceptible to them.

 

Dish soap is American for washing up liquid I think.
Actually dish soap is a lot easier to say.


Possible mealy bugs?
The staining is probably black mould growing on the sticky residue they create.

 

Yes, it is washing up liquid. Dawn is the one used there for all clean up issues, in home and out. Fairy is the European equivalent, both by Proctor and Gamble and have approximately the same ingredients.

 

I meant mealy bugs when I replied. I was talking to someone else earlier about wooly aphids and must have had them on my brain.

 

Sounds like you need spraying with something.

 

Thanks for replies.
I regularly treat the mealy bugs with meths but I didn't realize they caused the mold.