Five Great Tips for Mold Prevention in Your Home
Mold is kind of like you and me – if we don’t have any water, we can’t survive. Mold thrives in damp areas and can quickly grow colonies that take over these moist areas in your home. This could be a bathroom ceiling, a laundry room wall, or it could even lurk inside your walls where you can’t see it. You might not realize it’s there unless you or a loved one has an allergic reaction that prompts an investigation. Thankfully, you can strongly reduce your chances of a mold problem by controlling the moisture levels in your home and being on the lookout for high-moisture situations.
Here are five great tips with some help from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mold Information site for keeping your home at a safe moisture level and keeping toxic molds like black mold at bay.
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Keep everything well-ventilated by placing fans in rooms or opening windows if weather permits. Circulating the air in your home will help neutralize the temperature so you don’t have warm rooms and cold rooms mixing and causing moisture.
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Use exhaust fans and vents in your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room to expel the moist air outside and prevent condensation from forming.
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Run a dehumidifier if you live in a humid climate or if your basement tends to get damp.…or better yet for damp basements, hire a professional to install an Active Dampness Control™ (ADC) System from HomeAire. ADC Systems eliminate moisture at its source, before it enters the home, and most are ENERGY STAR® qualified. Basement dehumidifiers consume more energy and do not effectively vent water vapor away from the home.
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Be sure that you fix all leaky pipes and seal off your home’s foundation or install a pump in case any flooding should ever occur from heavy rain.
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Always run the fan in your kitchen or bathroom every time you cook or take a shower, and leave it on for awhile after you’re done in order to help ventilate the moisture outside and keep your walls mold and mildew-free.
Stay tuned for more information on how to help prevent and treat mold in your home! Do you have the proper equipment mentioned in this post? If not, be sure to have a look at HomeAire’s selection of:
and Other Home Ventilation and Mold Prevention Solutions
