Follow these suggestions to keep mold from growing in your home:
1). Keep humidity levels between 40% and 60%.
2). If you ever see dark spots, bubbling or dampness in a wall, get the wall opened to see what’s causing it.
3). If your house sits above a foundation and there’s a heavy rain, put electric fans under the house to dry the ground.
4). Fix leaky faucets, pipes and other leaks Including leaky roofs and windows as soon as you find them.
5). Have your heating and air conditioning system serviced each year.
6). Thoroughly clean and dry out wet or damp areas immediately.
7). Vent bathrooms, laundry and cooking areas to the outside, using exhaust fans, air conditioners and dehumidifiers or opening windows.
8). If you have a leak that saturates carpet, ceiling tiles or upholstery, quickly remove them.
9). Use paint that has an EPA-approved mold inhibitor or add to your paint before painting.
10). Clean kitchens, bathrooms and laundry area with mold-killing cleaners.
11). Do NOT carpet bathroom floors.
12). Do NOT put vinyl wallpaper on walls that are at risk of sustaining water damage.
13). Check the exterior of your home regularly for accumulation of ground water.
14). Ensure the ground under your home is well ventilated and walls are properly sealed against moisture entry. Putting polythene (visqueen) over damp ground can help prevent dampness from rising into the house.
15). Get your basement waterproofed through a professional service
16). Prevent rising dampness from entering a foundation wall by improving your home’s perimeter drainage. Direct all surface rainwater away from the home through drainpipes, culverts, French drains, etc.
17). Ensure your attic has sufficient air exhaust outlets and airflow is distributed evenly throughout the attic (peak mounted ridgevents maximize air flow).
18). Clogged or faulty rain gutters can cause excessive water leakage through the walls, roof, and foundation of the home. You can clean your rain gutters with a light broom, a garden hose with a controllable-spray nozzle, or by using one of many gutter-cleaning devices on the market.
19). Change your HVAC filters on a regular basis. If this is not done, the filter itself can become a fertile breeding ground for all the molds and other biological contaminates that are collected. Once this happens, the spores from the mold will multiply, and will be circulated throughout the home or building through the ductwork.
20). Do NOT store firewood anywhere inside a home or basement/crawl space, or outside close to entry doors and windows. Store firewood away from the house, and off the ground and covered by a waterproof tarp to reduce rain and high humidity on the firewood, and thus minimize mold growth on the firewood. Moldy firewood indoors or outdoors generates airborne mold spores that can mold cross contaminate a home and its heating/cooling system.
21.) Replace shower curtains when mold begins to become visible.
22). Keep water out of crawlspaces, by digging ditches around the sides of the house down to the footing. Install gravel and drain lines that are sloped about 2 inches per 10 feet to carry water away from the house. Direct the water to a natural drainage, to the street, or a French drain. Before backfilling, place waterproof membranes against the foundation wall. Also, ensure water from downspouts is directed away from the house.
23). Airborne mold spores from live indoor plants can travel in air currents to cause health problems for occupants and possible mold growth in the home through mold cross-contamination. To help prevent mold, do not keep live plants indoors. Also, you should not keep inside dried flowers and plants upon which mold loves to feast, utilizing high indoor humidity to drive the mold growth.
24). Don’t leave wet clothes in the washing machine where mold can quickly grow.
For a FREE 16 page report about mold, “Protect Yourself from Mold” issued by the Federal Centers for Disease Control, you can email me at davidoconnor@windermere.com. or phone me at 206-755-9547. If you have any tips that you would like to include to the above, please email them to me. This is a work in progress for us fellow asthma and allergy sufferers.
