Top Ways to Prevent Mold Growth in Your Home

2/27/2018 (Permalink)

Top 10 Ways to Prevent Mold in Your Home

No one likes mold in their home. Whether it’s moldy food in the refrigerator, mold in the bathroom, or sudden mold growth from a flooded basement or leaking roof; mold is an unwelcome addition to any home.

While some mold may not be preventable, there are many times that mold in a home can be prevented. Below, we will cover the top ways to reduce the risk of mold occurring in your home.

How to Prevent Mold

Eliminate Standing Water

Standing water is a breeding ground for mold and mildew. Check around your tub, shower, toilet, sinks, dishwasher, and clothes washer after you use them for any leaks or areas where the water may pool up.

Other areas where you may find standing water is around your fridge, windows after a rain, basement doors, and sump pumps.You may also find standing water in your crawl spaces which can lead to mold growth that can go undetectable for months.

To prevent standing water, you can try to seal where the water is coming from or remember to air out or dry the area where the water tends to gather.

Dehumidify Your Basement

Basements tend to be a hotbed for potential mold growth. Due to being below ground with little airflow, basements tend to be damp or high in moisture.

While the typical cool temperatures of a basement keep mold and mildew from growing quickly, the high moisture has the opposite effect.

The best way to prevent mold from growing in a basement is to remove the moisture from the air using a dehumidifier.

Keep the Air Flowing

If you have areas of your home where there isn’t much airflow, this can lead to mold growth. This can include poorly ventilated bathrooms and rooms that are shut off and aren’t used often, like storage rooms and guest rooms.

It’s a good idea to make sure that even if you don’t use certain rooms or areas of your home that you still regulate the temperature and airflow in the rooms. Don’t close air ducts and occasionally open the doors to let fresh air circulate through.

If you have a poorly ventilated bathroom, you want to be sure to open keep the door open to allow fresh air to circulate through.

Check Your Ducts and Air Conditioner

If your air conditioning ducts run through a hot attic or crawlspace, water can condensate and leak around the duct joints. You can seal the duct joints with special tape for ducts.

You also want to check your actual air conditioner and blower. You want to make sure the condensation drain pipe is clear to keep water from pooling.

You also want to make sure the cooling coils are clean of dust and debris as dirty coils can spur mold growth quickly.

Call the Experts for Mold Remediation

If you should discover mold growing in your home, it’s important to act fast and call the mold remediation professionals at SERVPRO of Indianapolis West.

They have all the tools and experience to handle any disaster including mold growth. Contact SERVPRO of Indianapolis West online or call them at 317-243-3149.