Mold infestation is a common yet dangerous issue that homeowners should always take seriously. When you have mold in your home, it can damage any surface they grow and invade, compromising the overall structure of your home. They can also infest furniture pieces, ruining them. Worst of all, mold can cause numerous health issues such as sore throat, stuffy nose, coughing, skin rashes, asthma, allergies, and other breathing problems. Mold infestations can cause concern if you have family members at home who already have respiratory or lung problems.
Thus, when you spot any sign of mold growth in your home, you need to find the root cause and fix it immediately. Otherwise, the mold will spread even more to unreachable places, making it harder for you to detect or remove them. So what can you do to reduce the risk of mold infesting your home and ensure they don’t come back?
Here are a few ways to help prevent mold from building up in your home and maintain a healthy, mold-free home environment.
Clean Your Roof Regularly
One of the most overlooked areas in the house is your roof. After all, you don’t always notice your roof until you climb up there and inspect it. Unfortunately, leaving your roof uncleaned and unmaintained for several months or years will damage it and be an excellent breeding ground for mold. This can lead to costly roof replacement. Furthermore, the mold can also spread from the roof down to the attic, ceilings, and your house’s walls.
Thus, periodic roof cleaning is critical in keeping it in shape and discouraging mold growth. However, cleaning the roof alone can be dangerous when you don’t have the skills or necessary equipment. Therefore, it might be best to hire professional roof cleaners instead. Companies like Roof Cleaning Metairie, LA, and other roof cleaning companies can clean your roof for you.
Roof cleaning starts with soft pressure washing. This step removes mold and other contaminants from your roof. Finally, they’ll clean your roof more thoroughly and might recommend you to repaint or repair your roof.
Clean and Ventilate Your Bathroom
Mold thrives best in areas with moisture, and one of these is your bathroom. Thus, you must ensure that your home is clean and dry, especially in moist areas. You can start by cleaning the areas that are always wet, like the kitchen sinks and bathroom floors, and apply mold-killing products. If you don’t want to use chemicals, you can disinfect your bathroom safely with steam cleaners.
After you’ve kept the wet areas clean, the next thing you need to do is keep them dry and well-ventilated. For your bathroom, make sure you install a bathroom fan and use it before and after you shower to prevent any moisture from being trapped inside. If you don’t have a bathroom fan, you can keep the bathroom door open to keep it ventilated.
Dry Wet Areas Quickly
As mentioned, mold only grows when there’s moisture. So, if you find any wet areas around your home, tackle them immediately before the mold gets a chance to breed from them. This is important, especially if you recently experienced heavy rain or flood and the water may have seeped into the basement or roof. Even those tiny occurrences, such as spilling water on the carpet or bringing your wet shoes or umbrellas inside, can cause mold growth.
As much as possible, remind everyone to leave all wet items outside or hang them dry before taking them inside. For example, if there are spills on the floors, rugs, or carpets, dry them immediately by hanging them outdoors.
Close All Doors And Windows When Using An Air Conditioner
If you leave your doors and windows open while using the AC, you’re letting the cold air escape, which is a waste of money. You’re also unknowingly inviting humid air into your home, which causes condensation, which molds love to breed into. So, always keep the doors and windows shut when using the AC.
Monitor Your Humidity
Mold infestation isn’t always easy to spot. Most often, mold grows in places they’re hardly found, such as in the attic, basement, or behind the walls. Thus, if you’re unsure if you have mold, you can invest in an indoor humidity monitor to help you keep track of your home’s moisture levels. This way, whenever it gets humid in your home, it might be time to check for possible moisture or if certain species of mold have started growing.
Keep Mold Off Household Plants
Houseplants can help keep your indoor air fresh and clean. They’re also an excellent addition to improve your home’s aesthetic appeal. However, when you’re watering these plants, you’re leaving moist soil for the molds to breed and grow, spreading to the other areas of your house.
To keep mold off your houseplants, you can mix Taheebo tea with the water you use in watering your houseplants. This mixture will prevent mold growth in the plant’s soil and prevent them from spreading.
Wrapping Up
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when preventing mold growth in your home. However, educating yourself about your region’s climate and how your home responds to moisture will give you an idea of what actions to take to prevent mold growth. Also, these tips will be your starting guide to help maintain healthy humidity levels in your living environment. Thus, you can keep your home clean, dry, and safe from mold infestation.
