Mold grows and thrives in spaces that provide its ideal living conditions, especially basements, bathrooms and kitchens.
Mold may grow around leaks in roofs, windows, or pipes, or where there has been flooding. It grows well on paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, and wood products, and can also grow in dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery.
Yikes! That's a lot of places!
To prevent mold from forming in the first place, or continue growing, it’s important to address the issues causing the environment to become mold-friendly.
Do these things to keep mold from growing in your home:
- Keep your home as dry as possible. Repair roof and plumbing leaks right away. Make sure that the ground around the foundation of your house slopes away from the house, so that your basement is less likely to flood.
- If your home has kitchen, bathroom or window fans that vent the moist air outside, use them when you cook or take a shower. If you do not have fans, open a window when you cook or shower, cover pots when cooking, and try to take cool, short showers. Dry clothing on a clothesline outside or use a clothes dryer that vents air outdoors.
- If your basement is damp, get a dehumidifier to remove moisture from the air. If you have an air conditioner to run in the summer, it will remove some moisture as it cools the air. When you use an air conditioner or dehumidifier, don't keep your windows open if it is damp outside.
- Don't finish the walls of your basement with insulation and wallboard unless your basement is very dry. Also don't install wall-to-wall carpet on your basement floor.
If you do see some mold, here is a link to an article with lots of mold-cleaning options https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/a34763321/how-to-get-rid-of-mold/
