What is the Best Way to Treat Household Mold?
The best way to treat household mold is through prevention. Once mold has taken up residence in your home, you may find that you are fighting an uphill battle.
If instead you find a way to prevent mold from occurring in the first place you’ll never have to face the task of removing it.
Many popular products on the market are designed to prevent mold.
Each claims to have the best approach, but it’s ultimately up to the homeowner to decide which is for them.
However, there are other products that you may not think to consider when it comes to preventing mold:
- A humidity meter (hygrometer): Although this may not seem like something that can work to prevent mold that is exactly what it does.A relative humidity meter measures the moisture within your home.Moisture is mold’s best friend and is the cause for a large majority of the mold spores that are found within homes.
The meter should be read regularly and if the homeowner notices an increase in moisture, they need to find the cause and treat it.
- New roof gutters: Roof gutters helps keep the rain flowing away from your home.If the gutters are old and rusting, they can spring leaks. This results in water falling close to the foundation of the home.Water can seep in through basement windows or cracks in the foundation causing the growth of mold.
- New plumbing: If you live in an older home you may notice a tiny leak in a pipe from time to time.This is inevitable but it’s important to consider the fact that a pipe may spring a leak while you are at work during the day, or away on vacation.The resulting leak can cause moisture damage which then becomes a ripe area for mold growth. If the plumbing in your home is beginning to show signs of wear, consider slowly replacing it.
- New ceiling tiles: If any of the ceiling tiles in your basement are showing signs of water damage, they need to be replaced as soon as possible.Even though they may appear to be dry, they still can retain some moisture from the initial incident. By replacing the tiles with fresh ones, you will be throwing out any chance of mold developing in your ceiling.
Doing routine maintenance on your home will help to prevent mold from growing. If you notice any water-damaged areas consider replacing the material if at all possible.
Another area that you’ll need to address is flooring. Mold can grow beneath carpeting and that is why it is advisable to replace carpeting in damp areas with flooring.
Having bathroom carpeting may provide for a cozier feeling, but it also encourages mold growth. The same can be said for carpeting found in the kitchen.
Flooring is a much better and healthier choice in these areas.
Preparing your home through prevention will result in a decreased risk of mold.
Keep areas clean, dry, and thoroughly clean, or replace any water-damaged surfaces as soon as possible.
Further Recommended Reading :
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger Team
8 comments