Black Mold

Preventing Black Mold In Your Home

Black mold is a nasty thing to have to deal with. It has a habit of being able to get everywhere if it is left unchecked and if it manages to get into your home it can have a serious effect on your health as well as the health of others in your family, not to mention the potential damage it can do to your home. Black mold is something that should be prevented at all costs and it is relatively easy to do so. Here are some tips that you can put to good use to prevent mold and what you should do if mold manages to make its way into your home.

The Nature of the Beast

The first thing you need to understand about black mold is how it thrives. Mold grows best in a warm, moist environment. This is why, more often than not, you will hear about mold spreading in basements, attics, or bathrooms. These are the places that are known for plumbing and humidity. Anywhere that there is significant moisture and heat can become a veritable hotbed for mold growth.

Handling the Bathroom

As previously mentioned, the bathroom is just one of the major areas that can become a favorite mold breeding ground. This is especially true if you like to take long hot showers. The heat and steam from the shower creates the perfect conditions for mold to grow. It may take a few days, but without any proper ventilation mold will begin to set into your bathroom without fail.

Your first defense against bathroom mold is proper ventilation. Having good airflow in the bathroom can help to keep condensation from steam from sticking to the walls of your bathroom. If your bathroom does not have a decent ventilation system then there are two other routes you can take. The first of which is to simply wipe down the bathroom walls after each shower you take. Needless to say this method will be found to be tedious after awhile and does not offer a total guarantee that there will not be mold in your bathroom.

The second method you can try is using a dehumidifier. A dehumidifier will help to remove the additional moisture from the air in your bathroom. This may be a bit of an investment, but the cost is nowhere near the amount you would have to pay to deal with potential mold damage.

The Basement

Basements are renowned for their mildew smells. This is usually the result of plumbing being located in this area and that means that there will be plenty of moisture. One of the most important things you need to do in this area is to keep a good check on whether or not there are any leaky pipes. A leaky pipe can create a massive amount of moisture and if there is a lack of circulating air in the basement then that will create a formidable amount of black mold to clean up later. It is also advisable to keep a fan handy to circulate more air.

The Attic

While mold is not guaranteed to grow in the attic it can happen very easily if you have a leaky roof. As with a basement, an attic that has a leaky roof over it can become a mold nightmare. Not only can the mold that gathers in an attic bring along health related headaches, it can actually threaten the structural integrity of the roof, which can be a massive hazard for your family. You want to be sure to have an expert inspect your roof for any damaged or missing tiles that could be causing the leak.

Getting Rid of It

If you want to get rid of mold then the best way to do it is to call in an expert. A water damage expert can look through your home and assess the level of mold presence in your home. They can then make a call on just what needs to be done to get rid of it for good. While it is possible to get rid of the mold yourself (depending on the severity of the spread) an expert has the necessary tools to ensure that the job is done safely. Many water damage experts offer free consultations and inspections, though one should be prepared to pay the fee anyway.

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