Mold. The word makes homeowners cringe and crawl. It’s a common problem, yet one that can be avoided with the right combination of knowledge, care and products.
Mold can grow almost anywhere in the home. It can be found on interior walls, carpet, damp or dirty clothing, food, paper, and even in places you can’t see, such as the backside of drywall, areas inside walls around leaking or condensing pipes, and above ceiling tiles.
In this BelRed blog series, we’ve put together some helpful tips to avoid, reduce or even eliminate mold problems in your home. Below are a few more tips to follow up our first post:
- Help prevent moisture inside your home with proper ventilation. Without proper ventilation throughout your home, especially in areas such as the kitchen or bathrooms, simple, everyday tasks could be causing mold to grow in your home. These areas that are prone to dampness or wetness more than others are sometimes the root causes of moisture problems that can lead to mold growth. Showering, cooking, doing laundry, etc. are a few of these common routines that a homeowner may not think can lead to moisture problems, but they can. Keeping your home ventilated to circulate the moist air and bring in fresh, dry air will help fight moisture problems inside. Also, remember that windows are your friends when it comes to moisture management as they can keep things properly ventilated—especially in well-sealed energy efficient homes.
- Monitor and manage the humidity inside your home. Knowing the humidity inside your home is the first step toward maintaining a moisture level that’s both comfortable and low risk for troubles like mold. Luckily, moisture and humidity can be easily monitored using a moisture meter purchased from your local hardware store if you don’t already have one. The Environmental protection agency recommends keeping your home better 30 and 60 percent humidity, depending on your individual needs, comfort and surrounding environment.
- Clean or repair roof gutters. Water management outside your home can sometimes be just as important as humidity management inside the home. Gutters play a huge role in keeping water from running down your exterior walls and getting into the home, where it can cause big problems. Regularly inspect and clean your gutters to ensure they are working properly. Look carefully for yellow or brown water stains on the gutters, which can indicate leaks that could lead to much bigger problems.
We’ll have one final post on mold risk reduction and elimination on the blog soon. Don’t forget to check back to learn more ways to prevent or avoid mold in your house.
If you have been experiencing mold issues or want some expert advice on avoiding any problems in the future for your home, don’t hesitate to give us a call at BelRed today.
