How To Easily Prevent Mold In Your Home With These 4 Easy Solutions | Better HouseKeeper

Do you have a mold problem in your home? Here is how to easily prevent it!

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Mold and mildew are not just unsightly creatures that grow and thrive in the moist areas of your home but are also indicators of structural and HVAC impairment. They are usually found in damp or humid areas in the house such as ceilings, walls, plumbing systems, and HVAC systems, especially the ductwork. Mold can also grow in basements, crawlspaces, kitchens, and bathrooms. Mold and mildew do not just discolor these areas but they also lower your home’s indoor air quality and cause respiratory problems to the occupants. The good news is the growth and proliferation of mold is preventable, and we will share some easy solutions to your mold problem at home.

1. Keep Your Home Humidity Levels in Check

Moisture from a highly humid environment creates favorable conditions for mold to grow and accumulate. An excellent preventive measure is to make the humidity condition unfavorable for mold growth and favorable for the health and comfort of the occupants. Ideally, the humidity levels in your home should be kept below 60 percent. However, if your HVAC system does not have a built-in humidification system, HVAC professionals from HumidityFixers.com recommend you buy a dehumidifier and read expert reviews on which type best fits your home. Alternatively, you can hire HVAC professionals to help set the ideal humidity for your home and fix problems in your HVAC system that can lead to mold growth. They can also recommend preventive measures such as vent fans, attic fans, whole-home humidification systems, or plug-in dehumidifiers that can help stop the growth of mold in your home.

2. Increase the Ventilation in Your Home

A simple trick to getting rid of mold is to get fresh air to circulate more inside your home. If your home does not have air conditioning, avoid closing the windows and curtains, especially during summer. Letting the outdoor air inside our home stimulates air movement inside your home and avoids the creation of warm, dark, and humid conditions, which are favorable for mold growth. Opening your windows also lowers the carbon dioxide levels in your home and helps improve your indoor air quality. By opening your windows for 10 to 15 minutes daily, you are providing natural ventilation for your home, which helps dry the damp areas in your home. Increasing the ventilation and circulation of natural air in your home removes musty odors and stuffiness to help you and other occupants breathe better.

3. Regularly Clean and Dry Wet Areas at Home

A preventive approach to your mold problem at home is to get straight to the source of the problem – moisture. Make it a habit to clean and dry the surfaces of your kitchen, bathroom, and other moist areas in your home. Also, when cleaning these areas, avoid toxic cleaners and tick to water-based, non-aerosol, and organic cleaning agents.  Check your home for leaky pipes, damp areas after rains or floods, and spills on carpets and rugs. Dry these areas immediately (within 24 hours) to avoid mold contamination. Apply the same preventive measure on moist clothing and bath towels by not leaving them out for too long.

4. Introduce Houseplants

Keeping indoor plants can improve your home’s indoor air quality and also regulates the moisture levels inside your home. Plant leaves absorb mist, dew, fog, and other moisture and remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as paint, benzene, and formaldehyde to make our indoor air safer and healthier to breathe in. Keep a snake plant, spider plant, orchids, peace lily, or palm indoors to help keep your humidity levels healthy naturally and prevent moisture buildup and mold growth.

Mold and mildew are signs that there is something wrong with your house. It could be a leaky pipe, an HVAC problem, high humidity, or poor ventilation that’s causing the appearance of mildew and mold. If you see signs of mold growth, it is imperative to take immediate steps to stop it. We hope that some of the solutions we shared here help you do better than just cleaning molds by eliminating the sources of their growth – humidity, and moisture.