The best way to prevent mold from growing in your home is to keep your house clean and dry. Discovering mold in your home can be scary, especially since mold can cause awful health complications.
It’s easier to prevent mold than go through the hassle of mold removal. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of five ways you can inspect for mold and prevent it from growing in the future.
Seal Windows and Doors
Since mold comes from excess moisture, it is important to prevent that excess moisture from entering your home through loose or leaking windows or doors. This requires ensuring that the windows and doors are correctly fitted and sealed.
There are a couple of tricks to see if your windows and doors are sealed well enough to prevent water from getting through.
- Paper test
Take a piece of regular paper and place it in an open window. Close it with the paper still in place. If you can wiggle or pull the paper out from between the window and the frame, your window needs to be sealed enough to prevent water from getting in.
- Incense Test
On a windy day, light a stick of incense and hold it close to the door or window frame. If the smoke from the incense moves either towards or away from the frame, the seal is not functioning as it should and needs to be tightened or resealed.
- Condensation
While cleaning your windows, if droplets have dried on the inside, condensation has accumulated on the inside, and a leak is present. Another sign is foggy windows that can be wiped clean from the inside.
If any of these tests show that the seal on your windows or doors is faulty, it’s important to repair the seal as quickly as possible. This could include caulking the frame or adding some new weatherstripping materials.
While this might not seem like a priority, spending the time and effort to ensure your windows and doors are sealed can save you even more time, effort, and money on mold removal down the road.
Use a Dehumidifier
Depending on the climate in which you live, you may experience higher humidity levels inside your home. If the humidity gets too high, the excess moisture in the air can lead to mold growth in certain areas of your home.
Humidity is measured as a percentage of water vapor present in the air. Optimal humidity inside your home should never go above 60 percent. While a good HVAC system can help maintain the appropriate humidity levels, your home needs more help controlling the amount of water vapor that gets inside your home.
A dehumidifier can help eliminate excess moisture and prevent mold from growing in your home. Some air conditioning units may also help with this.
Washer and Dryer Placement
Certain areas of your home may be more prone to mold than others. One example is the basement. In most cases, the basement is not as well ventilated as the rest of the house and may not see as much activity or cleaning. Basements can also be prone to flooding if the drainage systems, such as window wells, aren’t functioning as they should or if you experience extreme weather.
Because of this, having your washer and dryer set up in the basement is not ideal and can quickly lead to excess moisture and humidity, resulting in mold. Moving the washer and dryer to a different location can be tricky, depending on how applicable hookups are installed in your home. However, there is much less of a chance you will have to deal with mold and the unpleasant issues that arise from it.
If you choose to keep your washer and dryer in the basement, be sure that the vent leads directly to the outside and is properly cleaned and maintained. Don’t let wet clothes sit in the washer, and avoid hanging out laundry to dry in the basement.
Proper Ventilation
One of the best ways to prevent mold and even exposure to unpleasant germs and substances that may be found in your home is to ensure proper ventilation. Mold thrives in dark and dank areas, so it is important that your home has adequate airflow with vents and filters to help eliminate anything that shouldn’t hang around the air in your home.
Mold spreads through the air as microscopic particles called spores. These spores can stay dormant in the air for an extended period and then activate when they find a location that fits their needs. If you can eliminate the spores before they multiply and spread, you prevent mold from growing in your home.
It is also essential to maintain your HVAC system for this reason. Clogged filters or vents that aren’t working properly can cause more problems than you think.
Wipe Up Spills
Spills happen, especially with small children around. If a liquid is spilled and not cleaned up quickly, it can provide the needed moisture for mold to grow. Be sure to clean up any spills as quickly as possible, especially if the spill occurs on an absorbent material.
For example, if you spill a glass of water on the carpet, be sure to soak up all the water as quickly as you can. In some cases, the top layer of the carpet may feel dry, but the padding or other layers underneath may still be wet. Since the padding is absorbent and doesn’t see any light, it can be a great place for mold to thrive. So be sure to clean up spills immediately and as thoroughly as possible.
Get Help from Utah Disaster Cleanup
The expert team of licensed technicians at Utah Disaster Cleanup can help you remove mold from your home and prevent the mold from coming back. If you or someone you know is concerned about mold in their home, contact Utah Disaster Cleanup today!
