Mold is something that nobody wants to talk or think about because it is often a sign of bad things to come. The mold within your home can hide in mysterious ways and cause serious issues to your mental and physical health. To understand how to combat mold effectively, we first need to understand where it likes to hide and how we can deal with it.
The Dangers of Mold
Mold gets brought up a lot when discussing negative home issues, but what is so bad about it? Just like weeds or any other plant, mold is a living organism that survives in areas high in moisture where they can grow and spread. Unlike the pretty flowers that you water to make your yard look better, having mold can cause direct and sometimes serious issues to your home.
If mold builds up, it starts releasing pores that are then circulated throughout your home. These pores can get in your lungs and cause minor to severe breathing issues depending on the person. If you do not take care of mold early on, you can have issues where the mold starts to have direct consequences on your health.
Where Mold Can Hide
In Walls
One of mold’s favorite places to hide is within your walls. The plaster and drywall that your home is made out of allows areas for mold to get in and start a new home under certain conditions. What allows this mold to grow is the presence of some form of moisture that has gotten stuck within your walls.
A very common reason for this happening is that you have had previous water damage that you did not take care of with the proper water removal services. When you neglect to take care of water that has flooded or leaked into your walls, you allow mold to start growing and thriving. Ensure that mold cannot get into your walls with proper water removal services.
Window Seals
Something that many people fail to realize is that there is no perfect seal along your windows. Even if you just got new windows and seals, it is very hard to install windows without having some sort of seal. These seals are where moisture can easily get into your home and start to create a place where mold can thrive.
Thankfully, this issue is not one that is too hard to deal with. If you start to notice little beads of moisture or a certain wetness to your window seals, wipe them down to remove the water presence. Removing the moisture as it is just getting into your house prevents it from spreading to the floor and many other areas of your home.
Air Conditioners
Air conditioners are both a blessing and a curse as they can be great for keeping cool while also allowing mold and dirt to get an easy entrance into your home. The way an air conditioner works is by bringing outside air into your home and cooling it, but this also allows some dust and mold particles to get into the home.
These seemingly innocent particles can take advantage of moist areas in your home and start to turn into larger areas of mold. One of your best defenses when looking to deal with this issue is to clean out the filter regularly and thoroughly within your air conditioning unit.
Knowing these essential mold forming areas will allow you to attack specific areas to prevent mold from even getting the chance to form. When some mold slips under your radar, we now need to know how to combat it.
How to Deal With Mold
Locate the Mold
If you can’t find the mold that is causing you issues, you stand very little chance of actually getting rid of it. Using our previous locations, look in areas where moisture could be present and the mold would be able to thrive. Mold can look black or dark green, so it should stand out pretty clearly if the mold is somewhere that you can easily see it.
Find the Source of the Problem
Now that you have the mold in sight, it is time to find out how it even got to grow so large. Depending on where you find the mold, the answer could quite literally be right in front of you. Noticing something like water dripping on the areas where the mold is forming or the location being where there was once flood water make it pretty easy to diagnose the root of the problem.
The source of mold is not always clear when you cannot directly see an issue that would cause mold to form. This is when you need to call in the experts.
Call the Right People
Mold detection and removal experts have been practicing their craft for years to make your life easier. These teams of workers know what makes mold tick and treat is like hunting down a rodent inside your home. When they understand your home and how the air and moisture flows through it, they can almost immediately pinpoint the issue.
With the right gear and tools, these mold removal specialists can get rid of your mold problem in no time at all. However, you have to also know how to prevent mold in the future.
Learn How to Prevent Mold
Mold can form from things like water damage, flooding, and neglected water systems. If you want to prevent mold from forming in the future then you need a disaster restoration team that can make sure future mold doesn’t stand a chance in your home.
Disaster restoration teams should be the first ones you call when you start experiencing flooding or water damage. When these teams can get to the home quickly, they can get rid of the present water and make sure that mold can’t get the chance to start growing.
