4 Tips to Help Prevent Mold Issues
4 Tips to Help Prevent Mold Issues
When you find mold, professional mold remediation is the best thing you can do to protect your home. You never want to just ignore a mold problem, as it will only get worse. Being proactive and taking steps to try to prevent mold could go a long way to reduce the likelihood of dealing with this issue.
These four tips can help you prevent mold issues in your home or business.
- Pay Attention to Water Damage
When water damage occurs, this is an open invitation for mold to infiltrate your home. Water is one of the stimulants that causes mold to grow. When water damage is left untreated or a leak continues to develop, it’s going to cause mold.
If you want to prevent mold in this situation, there are two things to do. The first is to fix any leaks or issues that are causing water damages. The second is to clean up the area and dry it out as quickly as possible.
Often, water damage causes some of the worst types of mold to grow, and you certainly don’t want to end up with toxigenic mold that wreaks havoc on your health. Mold can also begin to grow in 24-48 hours, so moving quickly is imperative.
- Humidity Control
Humidity is another common cause of mold damages. This is a sneaky cause, because sometimes you don’t realize there’s a problem until the mold is there. If your home feels humid too often or you live in a high-humidity area, having moisture control options could be helpful.
Homes with crawl spaces, attics, and basements are the most susceptible to humidity challenges. You can be proactive by monitoring humidity levels and taking action when it seems too high. You can install a moisture control system, but you can also benefit from dehumidifiers and systems like this on an as-needed basis.
The optimum relative humidity is 45-55%. Whenever the relative humidity drops below 45%, things will start to feel really dry and can become uncomfortable. If your humidity goes above 55%, the air will feel thick and sticky, and that’s when you can start to have mold growth problems.
- Air Circulation & Ventilation
Certain rooms tend to have less air circulation, but their environments cause more demand for these things. The two rooms most at risk of this issue are the bathroom and the kitchen.
The kitchen gets the heat of cooking or washing dishes, which can lead to steam or excess heat. A simple vent fan could make a huge difference in adding appropriate ventilation and circulation to avoid mold growth.
The bathroom is where hot water for baths and showers can cause excessive condensation on the walls and around the room. Adding a vent fan or making sure things are dry following a bath or shower will make a huge difference.
- Clean and Disinfect Regularly
All too often, we think of disinfecting as something that is just done to prevent sickness. But it can also be beneficial in preventing mold from growing or spreading. Disinfectants can help to kill mold spores. This does depend on whether you just have spores in the area or you already have full-fledged mold damage.
When you clean, disinfect the furniture and surfaces, especially those that might be more susceptible to mold growth or moisture. You can also have your carpets, upholstery, and mattresses professionally cleaned from time to time to help reduce mold spores in those hidden places.
What to Do When You Find Mold
There are a lot of DIY recommendations for dealing with mold, but the truth is that you really need to hire a professional to come in and help eradicate the mold to restore any affected areas.
DIY solutions might be able to treat a small space up to 10 square ft or provide a temporary solution. However, they are not feasible for a larger mold problem or for making sure the mold is completely remediated so it won’t pose a threat any longer.
Hiring a professional is your best defense against mold problems. These tips can go a long way to preventing mold infestation, but they aren’t a complete guarantee. Things can always happen unexpectedly, and mold could grow without you realizing it.
Take the appropriate steps when you do come up against it.
Let Us Help with Your Mold Remediation Needs
ONEighty Solutions, Inc. has a detailed and specific process designed to help remove present mold and any threat of potential mold. No amount of mold is worth risking your health or your home. Contact us today to review your needs and come up with the perfect solution.
Our experts are highly trained to treat mold and remove it from every possible surface. From investigating mold damages to treating and remediating, we’ve got you covered.
