Preventing Mold Growth in Your Home
Mold growth in your home can be a serious problem not only for you but also for the building itself. Negative health effects can have on you, your family, and your pets are bad enough by themselves, but when you add the structural damage it can do, what it costs to have it removed, and how ugly it can be, it is a nightmare for any homeowner.
There are a number of places in your home that are at risk for mold growth and you should do a casual inspection of these areas often, since mold can start to grow in about 48 hours.
The bathroom is the number one area of the home at risk for mold because this site sees a lot of water going in and out of it every day. Hopefully everyone in your household takes a bath or shower at least once a day and if they do, then this is somewhere around a hundred gallons a day or more. The steam that collects is soaked up by the ceiling and will cause the mold to grow there over time.
Ceilings have been known to collapse due to this kind of moisture buildup, so having an exhaust vent installed in the room lets the steam out. The bathroom floor should also be waterproofed. Hard, non-porous surfaces are not good environments for mold to grow on, but if they get under to the wood sub-floor, they will thrive.
The kitchen is another area of the home at risk and an exhaust vent should be located here too, preferably over the stove. This is also an area that needs to have a tight waterproofed floor, since it is also a place where liquid spills often happen. Dishwashers and ice makers in the refrigerator also have a tendency to malfunction if they are old or in disrepair.
Basements have their own moisture problems to deal with most of the time and you can fix this by repairing any water leak that may be there and installing a dehumidifier can also help. If you do the laundry or have an extra bathroom in the basement, an exhaust vent is a must. Replacing window pits and filling more flooring around the foundation of your house can help stop the water from filtering in also.
