Discovering mold in your home can be alarming. Mold spores require moisture, warmth, oxygen and organic matter for food to grow. Exposure to mold can cause fatigue and weakness, morning stiffness and joint pain, headaches or light sensitivity, sinus congestion or a chronic cough. Mold growth can lead to the production of allergens and irritants that can be bad for your health. Mold is only beneficial when making penicillin and is needed for decomposition of organic matter in nature. It becomes terribly bad when it grows undetected in our homes. Mold is dangerous because it spreads easily and can’t be eradicated completely. Mold can grow everywhere — food, clothing, carpet, paper and places that you can’t see, behind drywall, inside walls, around leaking or condensing pipes and in ceilings.

Best Way to Prevent Mold is to Control Moisture as this is Where Mold Thrives

1. Correct moisture problems. Make your home as mold resistant as you can because you can’t make it mold-proof. Walk around our home and look for areas that may pose a problem. It may cost to fix these problems, but it will pale in comparison as to what mold cleanup will cost.
2. Ensure Proper Ventilation. Proper ventilation will prevent moisture, especially in bathrooms, the kitchen, laundry room and any other area in the home that are high-moisture areas. Any appliances that produce moisture should be vented. These include the dryer and stoves to the outside of the house and make sure your AC isn’t producing condensation. Your home can be holding in moisture, so open windows from time to time to air it out.
3. Watch Humidity Levels in the Home. The EPA recommends keeping the humidity in your home anywhere between 30 and 60%-. Use a moisture meter to keep track of it as it will alert you to areas in your home that may be potential problems.
4. Make Sure Water is Directed Away from Your Home. You need to make sure that your property is graded properly so water isn’t collecting around the foundation of your home. If not, it may find its way into your home.
5. Maintain Roof Gutters. Clean them to prevent water from becoming clogged and seeping into your home and repair them if necessary.
6. Improve Air Flow Inside Your Home. When the temperature in your home drops, the air inside it is not able to hold as much moisture allowing moisture to collect elsewhere. Make sure you have good circulation in your home by keeping doors between rooms open as well as closet doors that can be colder than the room itself. Whenever possible and weather permitting, allow as much fresh air into your home as possible.

Mold Inspections & Removal in Quincy, Macomb, Hamilton, Warsaw & East Alton Illinois | Hannibal, Missouri and Norman, Oklahoma

Mold prevention is not the same for each individual case. You need to know what will work best for the climate you live in. Mold is difficult and costly to fix so do all you can to prevent it. If you should discover mold in your home call American Hometown Services.