While you can certainly prevent mold by preventing moisture problems in your home from developing, there is an extra level of protection or two available that you can take and they will serve not only to remove mold spores from the air in the home, but also to remove other particles that can cause problems for those who have respiratory illnesses, asthma, and allergies. The answer is in the HEPA filter.
HEPA filters are a kind of filter that is put into vacuum cleaners and air purifiers that will get rid of around 97.3% of all particles in the air, including dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, and etcetera that are down to 0.3 microns in size. This is really the cleanest air that you will probably ever breathe and you can have it inside your house in both of these appliances. Smoke from cigarettes and other types of particles need to be removed from the indoor air supply because of the amount of time that people are spending in their homes and offices these days instead of outside, where air circulates much more easily. Since this is where people are spending most of their time now, the air supply needs to remain as clean as possible not only to help with breathing difficulties, but also to stop odors and mold growth from developing.
A HEPA filter in a vacuum cleaner is great because it pulls all of the particles out of your carpet that cause odors and allergic reactions and captures them in the filter, while expelling clean air back into your home.
An air purifying system that has a HEPA filter can also be purchased for a few hundred dollars or more, depending on the size of the residence you need to service. Each purifier has a certain amount of square footage of indoor space that it can filter effectively.
These are a couple of appliances that you can purchase to help stop the mold growth in your home, but the practice of preventing water leaks and humidity problems in the home should not go away just because you have purchased these. Your new HEPA filters cannot do the job alone. Another thing that you can do that involves moving air is installing exhaust vents in the humid rooms of your home like the bathroom and the kitchen. These do not expel clean air back into your house, but they do take humid and hot air out, reducing the amount of water absorbed by ceilings and upper walls.
Showing posts with label mould. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mould. Show all posts
Friday, January 25, 2008
Two Great Ways To Reduce Mold
There are a number of things that you can do to prevent mold growth in your home, but stopping the mold spores from spreading even though they are already in the air is also important. It is important to realize that mold spores are always going to exist in the air that you breathe unless you are in a hospital or laboratory clean room, but reducing the amount of these spores in the air is not as difficult as you may think.
The first thing that you need to do is get rid of any mold infections that already exist in the home. You can do this a few different ways, depending on how far the contamination has advanced. If you try to scrub it off the wall and it comes back a few days or a week later, then it is embedded into the drywall and you need to replace it as soon as possible. No one wants to have to replace a section of drywall in their home, but if mold is embedded into it, this is the only way to get it out of the house. Any building materials that are contaminated with mold will need to be replaced.
After you either do that yourself or have a professional do it for you, you will want to purchase a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter on it. HEPA filters will remove about 99.7% of all particles from the air that is expelled by your vacuum, which means that mold spores, dust mites, and etcetera will not be tossed back up into the air you are breathing when you vacuum.
Another appliance you will want to purchase, especially if you have allergies, is an air purifier that is equipped with a HEPA filter. This is one of the best investments that you can make for your home, since it will keep the air free of the same kind of particles that the filter on your vacuum cleaner will. It removes the mold spores from the air and thus stops them from landing and forming colonies in your house.
Even though these are two great appliances to help prevent mold growth in your house, you still need to do your best to make sure that water leaks and other moisture problems in the home do not develop. HEPA filters only remove 99.7% of particles in the air, which means that there are still another 0.03% floating around and it only takes one.
The first thing that you need to do is get rid of any mold infections that already exist in the home. You can do this a few different ways, depending on how far the contamination has advanced. If you try to scrub it off the wall and it comes back a few days or a week later, then it is embedded into the drywall and you need to replace it as soon as possible. No one wants to have to replace a section of drywall in their home, but if mold is embedded into it, this is the only way to get it out of the house. Any building materials that are contaminated with mold will need to be replaced.
After you either do that yourself or have a professional do it for you, you will want to purchase a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter on it. HEPA filters will remove about 99.7% of all particles from the air that is expelled by your vacuum, which means that mold spores, dust mites, and etcetera will not be tossed back up into the air you are breathing when you vacuum.
Another appliance you will want to purchase, especially if you have allergies, is an air purifier that is equipped with a HEPA filter. This is one of the best investments that you can make for your home, since it will keep the air free of the same kind of particles that the filter on your vacuum cleaner will. It removes the mold spores from the air and thus stops them from landing and forming colonies in your house.
Even though these are two great appliances to help prevent mold growth in your house, you still need to do your best to make sure that water leaks and other moisture problems in the home do not develop. HEPA filters only remove 99.7% of particles in the air, which means that there are still another 0.03% floating around and it only takes one.
Exhaust Fans and Ditra Prevent Mold
Mold can grow all over the house but there are a few rooms that are a bit more at risk for mold growth than all the others and this is usually due to the amount of inherent moisture that passes through them on a day to day basis. You may not realize it if you are just moving into a home of your own after college or getting out of your parents’ house, but the kitchen and the bathroom are the two areas of the home that require the most attention to keep them in tip top shape over the years (or just months) you will be living there.
All surfaces in your bathroom that are porous are in danger of mold growth, which is why you never want to install a porous flooring material in this room. Materials like hardwood or carpet are very bad for this and other wet rooms of the house like the kitchen and laundry room, so installing something like ceramic tile or sealed stone is going to be much better. Even if you install these hard materials, you can still have problems with mold and water damage underneath them if they are not sealed properly. You should check regularly for missing areas of caulking or grout, since this can allow water to get to the wooden subfloor and cause it to rot. You also need to check for this in the kitchen, since the same problem can come up. You can help prevent it, though, by installing Schluter-Ditra before you put the flooring material in. This is a layer of waterproofing material that will give you an added level of protection against water damage and mold growth.
Another problem appears on the ceiling if there is no vent or fan to allow the steam and heat from the room to escape to the exterior of the house. The ceiling will absorb this moisture since it has nowhere to escape to and will become waterlogged. Mold starts to grow on wet surfaces like this in a relatively short period of time, so making sure that the steam created by the bath or shower gets out is very important. This is also a problem in the kitchen when there is no exhaust system over the stove. You can fix this in both of these areas and other areas of the home with high humidity by installing an exhaust fan that will pull it out of the room with the flick of a switch.
All surfaces in your bathroom that are porous are in danger of mold growth, which is why you never want to install a porous flooring material in this room. Materials like hardwood or carpet are very bad for this and other wet rooms of the house like the kitchen and laundry room, so installing something like ceramic tile or sealed stone is going to be much better. Even if you install these hard materials, you can still have problems with mold and water damage underneath them if they are not sealed properly. You should check regularly for missing areas of caulking or grout, since this can allow water to get to the wooden subfloor and cause it to rot. You also need to check for this in the kitchen, since the same problem can come up. You can help prevent it, though, by installing Schluter-Ditra before you put the flooring material in. This is a layer of waterproofing material that will give you an added level of protection against water damage and mold growth.
Another problem appears on the ceiling if there is no vent or fan to allow the steam and heat from the room to escape to the exterior of the house. The ceiling will absorb this moisture since it has nowhere to escape to and will become waterlogged. Mold starts to grow on wet surfaces like this in a relatively short period of time, so making sure that the steam created by the bath or shower gets out is very important. This is also a problem in the kitchen when there is no exhaust system over the stove. You can fix this in both of these areas and other areas of the home with high humidity by installing an exhaust fan that will pull it out of the room with the flick of a switch.
Getting Mold Off of Fabrics
Most of us who have lived in a home for a while have collected a large number of fabric items, including clothing, sheets, blankets, and linens, but sometime we run across an old and neglected item that has been in the back of the closet for quite a while and has become molded. If you do happen to find an item like this in your home, it is best that you go wash your hands after handling it as soon as possible, since letting mold come into contact with your bare hands can cause skin rashes and sometimes allergic reactions.
These items can be cleaned most of the time, depending on how advanced the contamination of mold is, but unfortunately, many times it will leave behind stains. Cleaning mold off of white fabric is fairly easy, since bleach can be used to remove stains, but if you are cleaning mold off of colored items, getting rid of the mold stains may be a little more difficult.
Borax laundry detergent can be used to kill and remove the mold, but you should use an old toothbrush to remove any substantial growth. Always wear latex or rubber gloves of some kind before working with these items and you can put a pre-wash stain remover on them to help with the stain removal process. Allow this to soak on it for about 45 minutes before you wash it the first time. Things should usually be washed in borax detergent at least twice and instead of using the electric dryer to dry them out, let them dry naturally outside the house.
A bad thing about mold contaminating items of clothing and furniture is that natural items like leather do not do very well. These items can rarely, if ever, be restored to their original condition. Leather becomes discolored fairly easily and since mold’s job in nature is to decompose organic material, this is to be expected.
Use a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter on it to get rid of mold that can collect on drapes and furniture. Using this will collect the majority of mold spores from the air and capture them. When you are emptying the filter, however, do it slowly, so you do not stir the contents back up into the air. If possible, you should do this outside.
Air purifying systems are also available and will help reduce the amount of mold spores in your home, thus reducing the chance that it will build up on your clothing in the closet or in drawers. Purchase one of these that can handle your homes square footage or it will not work as intended.
These items can be cleaned most of the time, depending on how advanced the contamination of mold is, but unfortunately, many times it will leave behind stains. Cleaning mold off of white fabric is fairly easy, since bleach can be used to remove stains, but if you are cleaning mold off of colored items, getting rid of the mold stains may be a little more difficult.
Borax laundry detergent can be used to kill and remove the mold, but you should use an old toothbrush to remove any substantial growth. Always wear latex or rubber gloves of some kind before working with these items and you can put a pre-wash stain remover on them to help with the stain removal process. Allow this to soak on it for about 45 minutes before you wash it the first time. Things should usually be washed in borax detergent at least twice and instead of using the electric dryer to dry them out, let them dry naturally outside the house.
A bad thing about mold contaminating items of clothing and furniture is that natural items like leather do not do very well. These items can rarely, if ever, be restored to their original condition. Leather becomes discolored fairly easily and since mold’s job in nature is to decompose organic material, this is to be expected.
Use a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter on it to get rid of mold that can collect on drapes and furniture. Using this will collect the majority of mold spores from the air and capture them. When you are emptying the filter, however, do it slowly, so you do not stir the contents back up into the air. If possible, you should do this outside.
Air purifying systems are also available and will help reduce the amount of mold spores in your home, thus reducing the chance that it will build up on your clothing in the closet or in drawers. Purchase one of these that can handle your homes square footage or it will not work as intended.
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