As skilled mold remediation professionals, we know that the best treatment for mold and mildew growth is prevention. Join us as we discuss a few ways to reduce the risk of mold in your house.
Tips for Reducing Your Mold Risk
Action NoCo
Mold is an incredibly resilient and opportunistic fungus that takes up residence wherever it can. Mold spores reproduce quickly, and before you know it, an entire colony can be thriving in your home. Mold loves warm dark places with ample organic food sources such as damp wood beams, subfloors, cabinets, carpet, tile grout, and more of your home’s structures.
At Action Restoration and Property Services of Northern Colorado, we specialize in mold mitigation and clean-up. Discover a few ways to prevent mold in your home.
Control Moisture
The best way to prevent or reduce mold growth is to control moisture in your home. Dehumidifiers reduce moisture in particularly humid areas. Fortunately, in the Front Range, we don’t deal with ambient high humidity levels, and HVAC systems do well to maintain environments that don’t invite mold growth. However, where there is standing water, mold can grow. You should aim to control moisture in your living space where possible. Dry showers, fix pipe leaks, and check on your sump pump regularly.
Identify Mold-Friendly Areas and Eliminate Them
As we discussed above, moisture and humidity are mold breeding grounds. To prevent and treat mold, it’s best to identify areas that are mold-friendly and eliminate them within your house. For instance, keep your bathroom well ventilated after showers and fix any leaks immediately — most bathrooms feature built-in ventilation for this very reason. If there are areas in your home where you notice condensation or flooding, you’ll want to identify the cause and correct it immediately. Poorly installed windows, tubs that don’t drain, and basements that leak are common sources of mold growth in modern residential homes.
Direct Water Away From Your Home
Your house is meant to protect you and your family, but to do so, it needs to be protected as well. Water should be directed away from your home through every method possible. Ensure that your rain gutters are functioning properly to carry water away from your foundation and take care to clean them out regularly to support optimal water flow. Before purchasing a home, take note of the water table and the grading of the property to ensure it whisks the water away from your house and toward the street or rain collection water reservoirs.
Immediately Dry Wet Areas
In the event of spills, leaks, floods, or excess moisture, be sure to dry the area well immediately. If you have a mudroom where snow melts off of boots and shovels, use rugs that prevent pooling water that you can launder frequently. If a plumbing pipe drips beneath your sink, thoroughly dry the area as soon as you notice it. For areas that receive more moisture, consider professional property drying and water damage repair services.
Get a Mold Inspection if You’re Concerned
If you have suspicions of mold growing in your home, it’s important to have it checked out right away. Where there is a small cluster of mold spores, hidden growth is completely possible and highly likely. Mold reproduces rapidly and will not slow down without intervention. The experts at Action Restoration offer mold inspections that can detect several kinds of mold that are both visible and hidden.
Preventing mold by creating an inhospitable environment is the best way to reduce your risk of mold and mildew. If it’s too late for prevention methods and your home has an active mold problem, call for an inspection right away. When you place a call to Action Restoration and Property Services in Fort Collins, we’ll help you solve your messiest problems, quickly! Contact us to schedule your mold inspection now.