Do you want a mold-free home? There are several effective strategies that you can use for prevention and removal. You just need to know where to start with the process. Mold can pose a legitimate and severe health risk to you and your family, so you must react quickly when you notice an issue.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know to prevent and remove mold. Let’s keep reading!
Mold Prevention Strategies
Let’s start with preventing a mold infestation because it’s much easier to prevent mold growth in the home than it is to remove it. Prevention will also drastically limit your mold exposure, helping to keep you healthier.
Here’s what you can do to have a mold-free home:
Take Care of Excess Moisture
First, you’ll want to ensure no excess moisture in the home. If there, it won’t take long for mold spores to find it and start growing there. Mold seeks out damp and humid places to grow, so keeping your home as dry as possible will prevent it from taking root there.
That means leaks, high humidity, condensation, and floods can all bring mold inside. So, if you have any of these issues, you’ll want to deal with them immediately. If you're unsure what to do, you may need a professional to help you with a leaking faucet or roof. You will still need to respond and take care of the issue quickly.
Not having proper ventilation can also cause issues with mold. For instance, if you don’t have a good fan in your bathroom, the humidity can linger, causing mold to take over the walls. So, you should ensure good ventilation there, especially if you often take steamy showers.
Track and Respond to Humidity Levels
Since humidity can be a problem in mold growth, using a dehumidifier can help keep your home dry and free of mold. You’ll want to invest in an accurate hygrometer to keep the air at a suitable range.
For your comfort, you should keep the humidity below 60%. However, you’ll want to go even lower to prevent mold growth. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends keeping it between 30% and 50% to prevent mold from forming.
If your home isn’t in that range, you’ll want to work on quickly bringing the humidity back to that level to prevent mold from growing.
How To Recognize Mold
Before removing mold, you’ll need to know what it looks like. Many people describe it as small dark spots, although the appearance can change depending on the type of mold.
So, if you aren’t sure, you’ll want a professional to do mold testing for you. They’ll be able to determine the species, allowing you to deal with it more efficiently.
Mold can also be fuzzy or even slimy. You’ll want to make sure that you familiarize yourself with it so you can react quickly if it appears.
Mold Removal Strategies
Next, you’ll want to know how to get rid of mold when you find it in your home. No matter what you do, you must wear protective gear. Gloves, goggles, and a mask are necessities for dealing with mold, as it can agitate you and make you feel sick.
You’ll also want to isolate the area to stop the spread of mold in the rest of your home. Then, you can get to work on removing it.
If you’re unsure what kind of mold you’re dealing with, it’d be best to contact a professional mold removal team. They can test the mold, ensuring you’re not handling a dangerous species. The team can also deal with it for you efficiently and quickly, stopping the spread of mold in its tracks.
However, there are a few steps that you can take on your own, including all of the following:
Clean With a Mold-Killing Solution
There are a few different mold-killing solutions that you can use. You must be consistent with the applications, so apply it every week until all the mold is gone. It’s also good to keep reapplying the solutions for a few weeks to ensure no lingering invisible spores might come back.
You can use undiluted white vinegar on hard surfaces to kill mold. A water and bleach solution also works well, but you need to ensure that you don’t damage the surfaces when applying these liquids. There are also premade solutions that you can buy that are safe for various surfaces.
Combine one part bleach with four parts water to make the bleach solution. Gently scrub the mold with the solution, then wipe it away with a cloth until the surface is dried.
Overall, using this method, you must be careful and consistent when removing mold. It takes time, but you won’t want to let the mold return.
Try Cleaning With Baking Soda
Baking soda is another safe way to kill mold at home. Combine it with water or vinegar, then scrub the mold away. Since baking soda is a bit gritty, it can cut through it.
Start by making a paste with the baking soda, then pour it over the mold. Scrub, then wipe the area clean with a damp cloth.
Contact a Professional Mold Remediation Service
Finally, you can contact a professional mold remediation crew. These experts will have access to mold removal equipment and tools you don’t have, allowing them to quickly remove all of the mold in your home. They also make sure to take it out at the source so you can trust that the mold isn’t going to keep coming back.
They can help you so you don’t have to expose yourself to mold, which is necessary if you have allergies or other sensitivities, including asthma.
A mold remediation service can also handle more significant amounts of mold. So, if you’re having trouble keeping up with it on your own, reach out as soon as possible.
Keep a Mold-Free Home
Mold can cause several health issues, making prevention critical. If you have mold in your home, getting rid of it quickly would be essential.
