Home mold growth may represent anything from a verified toxic health hazard to an unpleasant annoyance you'd prefer not to live with. Once active mold growth establishes an indoor foothold, eliminating it usually requires a mold remediation professional with the technology to track the infection to its source, identify the specific type of mold, and then utilize proven techniques and fungicides to neutralize it. As a homeowner, you can take certain steps to inhibit early home mold growth, however, and limit the scope of the contamination.
Eliminate Moisture
The critical common denominator in home mold growth is the presence of moisture. Without a source of water, inert microscopic mold spores remain dormant and don't convert into active growing mold.
- Moisture in a house may result from minor plumbing leakage, roof leaks in the attic or seepage into basement and crawl space. Identify and permanently repair these sources.
- High indoor humidity may occur in certain areas like the kitchen and bathrooms. Add exhaust fans to remove humid air through dedicated ducts that extend to the outside of the house.
- Where excessive humidity is a fact of the local climate, consider adding a dehumidifier to keep indoor humidity low enough to avoid triggering mold growth.
- If serious water damage occurs inside the house from outdoor flooding or an indoor source like a pipe rupture, professional mold remediation techniques must be included in water damage recovery procedures.
Locate Hidden Mold
Unseen causes may promote mold contamination. The central A/C evaporator coil, typically sealed inside the indoor air handler, produces condensation that can promote active mold growth inside the coil. Reproductive airborne mold spores then infect system airflow and circulate throughout the house.
Maintain Housekeeping
Tiny amounts of organic material feed mold growth. This invisible food supply may be present in household dust that settles out of the air. Vacuuming and cleaning thoroughly, as well as minimizing the accumulation of old papers and other potential organic mold food, is another way to deprive mold of vital nourishment.
For more strategies to combat home mold growth, ask a mold remediation specialist at Rytech, Inc.
