Mold: What It Is and How to Prevent It

Ever wondered what those fuzzy yellow, blue, or black spots in the dark corners of your house are? That’s mold and it grows quickly during the summer, as it prefers warm temperatures. Mold is more than just an aesthetic problem. Inhaling and ingesting it can be dangerous to your health. Here’s what you need to know about mold and how you can protect your Camella Sierra Metro East Home from it. 

What is Mold?

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), mold is a fungus that lives in moist places. It can grow on paper, carpet, food, wood, and insulation. It grows quickly in the right circumstances, like humidity levels over 70%, wet surfaces, and temperatures ranging from 4 to 38 degrees celsius. Outdoors, mold helps in breaking down fallen leaves and dead trees. However, indoor mold doesn’t really serve a purpose.

How Mold Affects Your Health

Mold is associated with various health risks, which include headaches, nausea, runny nose, rashes, and sneezing. It can also trigger asthma attacks. This is especially harmful for elderly people, kids, and people with respiratory conditions. As such, it’s important for you to get rid of mold before it spreads. 

How to Control Mold Growth

Here’s how you can clean up mold growth in your home and keep it away for good:

Cleanup

• Before you get close to a mold spot for cleaning, make sure you have the right protective gear. Wear an N-95 mask, goggles, and gloves. 

• You can get rid of mold growth using mildew and mold cleaner. You can buy this for below PhP 400. You can also use a mixture of bleach and water as a substitute. 

• Use a scrub brush to spread the mixture and break down mold. 
• Rinse off the cleaning solution and let the surface dry completely. 

• If you find mold on an absorbent and spongy surface, like a rag, carpet, or paper, replace the material immediately. 

Prevention

• Mold growth can be quite difficult to keep at bay. After all, they grow quickly and undetected. As such, you’ll need to consistently monitor the humidity levels of your home, making sure it doesn’t go above 70%. You can do this using a hygrometer and a dehumidifier. 

• You should also maintain proper ventilation in your home, so mold spores can’t easily settle on surfaces. 
• Plumbing leaks, especially those inside your walls and ceilings should be repaired immediately to avoid rapid mold growth. 

When to Call a Professional

The EPA recommends calling a professional when the moldy areas of your home exceed one square meter. Mold removal specialists do a complete inspection of your home using high-tech cameras and moisture detectors to find possible problem areas. They also use powerful chemicals and tools which can get rid of mold quickly. Some even provide test samples and reports after cleaning an area. 

Mold spores are everywhere, and they’re just waiting for the right conditions to grow and take over the surfaces of your home. They bring a whole host of health issues, from minor headaches to asthma. As such, it’s crucial that you keep mold under control by preventing it from growing and cleaning it up the moment it starts to grow.