Protect Your Home From Mold

Owning a home is both a great adventure and a tremendous responsibility. It seems like just about the time when you get everything settled the way you want it, something else needs fixed, right? One of the most common problems that plagues so many American homes is mold, but the good news is that if you take some simple, proactive steps to protect your home from mold, you can avoid costly repairs, health issues and reduced property values. From top to bottom, mold can spring up just about anywhere when the temperature and moisture conditions are right, so here are some tips for keeping your home as mold-free as possible – plus what to do if you find a major mold outbreak.

1. Roof and Attic.
   Let’s start at the top, shall we? While these are two places that you probably rarely pay much attention to, they’re unfortunately where a lot of the moisture can enter your home because of rainfall outside on the roof and heat and humidity inside your attic. Conducting a careful inspection every so often – at the very least once per year, but ideally once per season – will allow you to identify any leaks or other moist spots and get them fixed before they develop into mold. We get it: the attic is probably dark and filled with insulation and all kinds of creepy antiques, and we know the thought of getting an extension ladder out and climbing up to check the top of your home isn’t exactly how you’d prefer to spend a peaceful weekend afternoon. But think about the alternative – what if there’s a leak and you’ve missed a moldy spot that’s now affecting your indoor air quality and the structural integrity of your home? That’s a much bigger headache, and a bigger bill, too.
   
   
2. Main Floors.
   When you include walls and ceilings in the square footage of your home, you get a lot higher number than the official number listed on your county auditor’s website. But here’s the deal: in order to prevent mold, you need to inspect every surface in your home on a routine basis to check for moisture control issues like damp spots and mildew that can become a full-blown mold outbreak. Take heart – if you have a routine plan to clean and organize things, this won’t be such a hassle. Keep your cabinets neat and orderly, and when you get under a sink cabinet to get your cleaning supplies, for example, do a quick visual check of your faucet, garbage disposal, and dishwasher hose fittings. You might save yourself thousands of dollars just by keeping a careful eye out while doing routine cleaning! If you see any discolored spots on your walls or ceilings, and warped or bowed places on your floors, or anything else that just doesn’t look right, these can be signs of water damage that can develop into mold. Preventing mold can also be as simple as cleaning out your dryer lint trap every load and replacing your furnace air filter on a recommended schedule.

3. Downstairs. 
   Basements and crawl spaces are great – until they’re not! It’s so nice to have a place to store our extra stuff, but when we leave boxes and other items in the same place for years or even decades, we give mold a big fat invitation to take up residence in our lower levels. Pay attention to your foundation walls and floors, because cracks can be signals that you’ve got a moisture control problem. If your downstairs air is especially humid, which is a common issue for basements, then you should invest in a dehumidifier to keep things dry. Proactive steps like crawl space encapsulation can also be a great solution for your home, so talk to a professional moisture control company like AdvantaClean to learn more about this important service. Making your crawl space clean and dry can actually improve your indoor air quality and reduce your utility bills by keeping warm, moist air from entering your home.

For additional tips on protecting your home from mold, visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website for many helpful resources, like this interactive mold tour: https://www.epa.gov/mold/interactive-mold-house-tour.

If you’ve found mold in your home and you’re not sure what to do next, then call the mold removal professionals at AdvantaClean. Our locally-owned service providers are standing by with their certified mold remediation technicians to give your home the most thorough mold inspection and mold testing available, followed by the most comprehensive mold removal processes using the finest HEPA-filtered equipment and proven anti-microbial solutions. We’ve been eliminating black mold and every other harmful spore from American homes since 1994, so contact us today for all your mold remediation needs. It’s not clean until it’s AdvantaClean!

More info? For more information about mold prevention for your home, read our post HOW TO PREVENT MOLD UNDER YOUR HOUSE?

Call 877-800-2382 to schedule an appointment with an AdvantaClean Mold Specialist today!