As a Minneapolis homeowner, you want to ensure your home is protected from damage. In our previous post we discussed ways to discover if you have mold in your home. In this post, we will examine steps that can help you with mold prevention.
While it is impossible to completely insure your home won’t have mold growths, there are steps that can reduce your risk for having mold contaminate your house.
Among them:
- Control your indoor relative humidity. Keeping your home’s relative humidity between 30 and 50 percent can hamper mold growth. Air conditioning and dehumidifiers are common ways to control indoor humidity, which can be measured with affordable humidity meters.
- Use venting fans in your kitchen and bathrooms. Ensure the fans work properly and are used. You need to also ensure they vent steam to the outdoors and not simply up into an attic or crawlspace.
- Consider area rugs or washable floor surfaces in risk areas. Wall-to-wall carpeting is an ideal area for mold to grow. Consider not carpeting bathrooms or kitchens. If your carpeting gets wet due to flooding or other long-term water exposure replace it.
- Keep water from your home’s foundation and from getting behind siding. Make sure your gutters are clear and working properly and that the ground is graded away from your home.
- Repair any water leaks immediately. If you find a leaking pipe in your home quickly repair it and make sure the area and any items in it are thoroughly dried.
- Promote good air circulation in your home. Ensure the air in your home circulates by occasionally opening windows and doors to allow fresh air in and occasionally open door to little used rooms in your house.
- Clean air conditioner drip pans. While running air conditioning helps regulate indoor humidity it also uses drip pans as part of its process. Regularly clean the pan.
As mentioned, it isn’t possible to ensure mold doesn’t grow in your home so make sure you stay alert to signs of possible mold growth, including black spots and a musty odor.
If you suspect your have mold but cannot readily find it, consult a professional mold removal company.