Dr. Jill Carnahan on “Your Definitive Mold Clean Up Guide”
Jill Carnahan, M.D., wrote an article for her blog titled “Your Definitive Mold Clean Up Guide.”
From the article:
Mold thrives in moist and warm conditions. When these conditions combine with a suitable food source, mold can spread very quickly, often in unseen places. Mold easily lives on paper, cardboard, wood, fabric, carpet, drywall, and many other common building materials.
The underlying causes of mold include:
Moisture: Ensure any water pipe or roof leaks are fixed. If the property has a history of flooding, you need to evaluate the risk of it happening again and maybe even consider a house move. Extensive flooding increases the risk of mold contamination. I recommend removing wet carpet from your property as soon as possible, as they encourage not only the growth of mold, but also bacteria.
Holes and gaps in the walls: Look out for cracks in walls or windows – they may be letting mold in through your external walls.
Condensation: If the warm air inside your property hits a colder surface, like your windows, it causes interior condensation. This often leads to mold eating away at wooden window frames. To specifically target your windowsills, moisture eliminator products are useful. However, if you suspect mold elsewhere in your house, they won’t be effective.
Air Conditioning units: Your air conditioning, heating, and ventilation unit needs regular maintenance and cleaning to ensure that it is not the culprit. It could be circulating fungus spores around the house. Get an expert to look into it and consider getting a HEPA air scrubber to clean the air.
Humidity: I advise you purchase one or more dehumidifier units, depending on the size of your home. A dehumidifier ensures you can keep the humidity of your property around the 50% mark – mold finds it harder to multiply in drier air.
If this list seems intimidating, bear in mind you can hire a remediation company to assess, contain, and remove the mold. Make sure you pick a company certified in mold remediation.
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