Molds have inhabited the Earth for about millions of years. They are the microorganisms which grow best in warm, damp, and moist environments. Molds are known for reproducing by making spores with the help of which they can withstand harsh and unfavorable environmental conditions.

With the word ‘mold,’ an unwelcomed fear creeps up the minds of the homeowners and business owners, in particular. Molds are a constant source of worry and trouble for them. But not to fret, getting acquainted with quite a lot about molds, you can help mitigate this fear easily. A greater understanding will surely help home and business owners to deal with the burden of molds in their homes and workplaces.

10 Essential Things You Need To Know About Mold

Here, we’ve listed 10 indispensable things about molds which each one us ought to know if we really don’t want molds to take a toll on our health and damage our properties and surroundings.

Found everywhere

Molds are ubiquitous in nature. They are present in the air we breathe, the dirty water we drink, the hard surfaces we sit on. Virtually, they can grow on any substance or object they encounter, provided that moisture is present. They are well-known to grow on wood, paper, foodstuffs, carpets, leather, fabric, walls, cement, ceiling tiles, etc. Thus, where ever you are, there are molds alongside.

Health hazards

Exposure to molds can trigger allergic reactions, pneumonia, and many other respiratory problems. Molds pose risk to human health as their spores act as potential allergens that are able to cause a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, reddening of the eyes and skin (rashes) and more intensely they function to aggravate asthma.

Immuno-compromised individuals find it hard to bear what these molds impose. Not only a mold is an irritant but also can be toxic as it releases toxins most commonly known as mycotoxins. If these toxins begin to aggregate in your body, it may result in mild to severe complications. Therefore, if anyone of you has a serious mold issue, immediately get yourself checked by a doctor.

Control moisture

There is practically no way to keep the mold and mold spores out of the house. The only best strategy you can use to eliminate molds is by reducing humidity or controlling moisture. If you simply identify where the moisture is actually coming from, you can easily prevent it from entering your house.

Reduce indoor humidity to 30-50%. You might be wondering how can this happen?

This can be accomplished by:

1. Employing air conditioners (ACs) and dehumidifiers
2. Installing exhaust fans in kitchens and bathrooms
3. Increasing ventilation either by using fans or by opening doors and windows when outdoor humidity is minimum.
4. Venting dryers and the bathrooms to the exterior

This way you’ll need not pay for any remediation process as you can do most of it yourself.

Avoid carpets

In areas where you cannot avoid moisture, it’s advisable never to set carpets in such areas as they would absorb perpetual moisture. If you’ll go for carpets, you’ll rather go for breeding molds in them wildly. Also, you need to bear in mind that once molds pave their way in carpets or any other absorbent materials such as furniture, you’ll be left with no option to clean them. You’ll altogether have to replace everything that houses molds.

Clean and dry damp materials

In order to prevent the growth of molds, you need to be really quick in cleaning and drying home and building materials that are damp or wet. Just do it within 24-48 hours.

Clean off hard surfaces

Using water and detergents, you can wipe out molds from the hard surfaces. Make sure after cleaning, you dry the surfaces completely. Materials that are porous in nature such as ceiling tiles, are pretty hard to clean. It’s better to get them replaced. Moreover, if you yourself can’t deal with the molds in your home, it’s good to let the service team in.

Prevent condensation

Homeowners need to take preventive measures to keep the molds from attacking the cold surfaces such as pipes, floors, windows, doors, walls, etc. It is the water from condensation that builds up to favor the growth of molds. The sooner you work on reducing the potential of condensation via insulation, the better it is for your sustainability.

Fix water leaks

Water leaks provide the molds with the optimal conditions to grow. Leaking taps, leaks in pipes and ceilings, cracks/splits in walls, all promote the growth of these troublesome molds by letting the moisture in.

Leaks often go undetected for longer periods of time. If you have water leaks in homes and workplaces, you are likely to have molds as well. Thus, promptly fixing water leaks is necessary.

If you ever have water damage in your home, it’s a good practice to turn to restoration experts to repair the damage.

Install a proper ventilation system

Having a damp basement points towards the abundance of molds by virtue of excessive moisture. This is because the basement is usually a colder room with poor ventilation which suggests that there drying of the moisture is almost impossible. Homeowners need to be careful to have proper air passages and ventilation systems.

Don’t let the water stand

Usually after heavy rain, water pools up in your home vicinity. This is among one of the biggest mold problems.

Also, try not to let the water stand in your kitchens and bathrooms for longer. Otherwise, no one can keep molds from ruining everything.

The Takeaway:

Remember, no home or building is completed protected from molds. No moisture, no molds—that’s the key to war against molds. For this, you mostly don’t always require costly remediation processes.

Just protect yourself, your home and your environment from molds by taking a few safety measures. Read more on Which molds are most dangerous to my health?