How To Prevent Household Mold

Household mold is a pressing problem for many households. Since mold grows where there is water or moisture, houses can provide the optimal breeding ground for mold. However, rooms like basements, attics, and bathrooms are more likely to have mold problems because of poor ventilation, high humidity, and zero access to the home drainage system.

Microbial growth occurs when mold spores, which can cling to clothing and animal fur, make their way inside your house and land in a damp area. It can take up to 72 hours for spores to take root and start increasing. Since mold can grow undetected (it’ll have grown a lot by the time you notice it), it is crucial for homeowners to learn how to prevent mold.

The Importance Of Preventing Household Mold

Mold prevention is crucial for many reasons, primarily health problems and the detrimental impact of an infestation on real estate properties. 

Microbial Growth Can:

• Cause Health Problems

No matter what type of mold grows in your home, uncontrolled microbial growth will inevitably put your household’s health at risk. Some mold variants release toxic mycotoxins, while others trigger allergic reactions like sneezing, runny nose, itching, eye irritation, rash, and nasal congestion. People react differently to molds and mold spores, but immunocompromised individuals have a much higher risk of experiencing the symptoms above more severely. 

• Lower Your Home’s Market Value

When mold grows extensively and it’s improperly remediated, the musty smell that comes with mold also lingers and is very hard to remove in a home. Finally, mold usually grows where there’s water damage. Buyers who see traces of mold inside a house would be right to suspect cosmetic and structural damage, discouraging them from making an offer for the property. 

Prioritizing your health at home means caring for your house. It also means ensuring that it’s structurally sound, has optimal air quality, and is free from harmful elements. Maintaining (if not increasing) your house’s market value would follow.

Four Ways And 15 Tips To Prevent Mold At Home

How do you protect your family’s health and real estate investment? Here are a few tips on how to prevent mold growth in your home.

How do you protect your family’s health and real estate investment? Here are a few tips on how to prevent mold growth in your home.

Control Moisture Inside Your Home.

Knowing that water is a crucial component of mold growth, it’s important to take measures to prevent moisture problems in your home. Here are some practical maintenance checks and tips you can implement:

• Check for condensation on glass windows and behind ceiling tiles. 
• Avoid overwatering indoor plants and allowing water to pool in the pot’s catch basin. Some plant varieties may love damp soil, but it can cause a moisture problem indoors because mold can grow quickly. 
• Manage the humidity levels indoors. Use dehumidifiers to regulate high humidity in indoor air.
• Set your air conditioner on “dry” to prevent excess moisture in the indoor air.
• Open a window in rooms that don’t get a lot of direct sunlight. Allowing fresh air to enter helps keep lower the humidity in the room.

Make Sure Your House Is Well-Ventilated.

Proper ventilation helps keep your house dry and the indoor humidity low because the airflow directs warm, damp air outside. However, this only happens when the indoor humidity is equal to or less than the outdoor humidity. Keep this in mind when doing any of the following:

• Turn the air conditioner on in the summer, especially if you leave the house empty for a few days. Air conditioning helps keep enclosed rooms cool and ventilated. They also help regulate humidity levels by removing excess moisture in the air.
• Open a few ceiling tiles every few weeks to air out the space between your roof and ceiling. 
• Open a window in your basement and attic and let the fresh air dry your rooms naturally.
• Install exhaust fans in rooms too big or hidden to keep dry through natural ventilation. Exhaust fans are very effective at keeping bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens – rooms that often have wet surfaces – dry. 
• Turn on the exhaust fan or open a window when using the washing machine or clothes dryer (assuming both are indoors). They generate heat, and since they are often installed against the wall, condensation typically forms between the washer and clothes dryer and the wall. Open windows and exhaust fans help prevent that.

Check Your Plumbing Regularly.

Leaky roofs and indoor plumbing are the most common causes of water damage and household mold. Preventive measures for plumbing leaks, therefore, can help prevent mold.

• Watch for signs of plumbing issues like rattling sounds, foul smells, rusting pipes, slow drains, low water pressure in some faucets, and spiking monthly water bills.
• Get your pipes inspected to confirm leaks and damage. This also helps you choose cost-efficient repairs like relining or trenchless pipe repairs. 
• Don’t wait to for plumbing issues to cause water damage before repairing your plumbing. 

Clean And Disinfect Your House Regularly.

Mold spores are everywhere and will inevitably make their way inside your home. While a normal amount of mold spores is harmless, uncontrolled growth can be an issue. The risks are even higher when you have pets, children, or housemates who spend a lot of time outdoors. Fortunately, you can control the environmental conditions inside your home and make them unwelcoming for any type of mold. 

• Have your air conditioning units checked and cleaned regularly. Moisture can accumulate inside defective ACs, allowing mold to grow on the unit’s fibrous filter sheet or damp corners. A mold problem in your AC harms your health as it propagates spores throughout your home instead of filtering air impurities and aiding in mold prevention.  
• Buy air purifiers with High-Efficiency Particulate Air or HEPA filters. Certified filters can remove up to 99.97% of air impurities like pollen, dust, bacteria, mold spores, and other particles measuring 0.3 microns (µm). HEPA air purifiers will improve your home’s indoor air quality and effectively prevent mold.

When Mold Strikes, Enlist The Best Restoration Company In Mohave County

Learning how to prevent mold and making it a habit to follow the tips above can save you the cost of doctor’s appointments, medical treatment, and repairs for damage to your home. However, if mold persists despite your best efforts, our mold damage restoration experts can effectively address mold problems and restore the damaged areas of your home.

At Restoration 1 of Mohave County, we address both mold infestation and water damage. If the cause of your mold problem is a leaky roof or flooded basement, you won’t have to call another company to do much-needed repairs on your moldy ceiling or drywall. 

Get in touch with Restoration 1 today. Call 928-235-4193 or fill out our contact form.