Take a deep breath before you rush out to your property carrying a bleach spray bottle. Preventing mold and mildew growth at your vacation home is possible with a little preventative maintenance. We’ve compiled a list of ways to prevent mold growth in your home, even after prolonged wet weather.
- Do some fixing up first
If mold is already present, it will only spread further if nothing is done about it. And while you can handle a localized mold problem on your own, you’ll need to call in the experts if the problem has spread.
As part of mold remediation, a trained business will inspect your property, identify the source of the mold, and recommend a course of action. The work may include removing moldy materials, disinfecting surfaces, and halting the spread of mold.
When you start your mold prevention plan with remediation, you’re essentially starting with a blank canvas. This can be useful in avoiding a more serious issue caused by mold growth in unseen areas.
- Keep an eye on the humidity.
Mold thrives in moist conditions and high humidity. To prevent mold growth, it’s important to keep an eye on the relative humidity in your home. When the relative humidity of a room is over 60%, mold growth will begin.The ideal range for indoor humidity is between 30 and 50 percent. You can take additional measures to prevent mould growth if you find areas where the humidity is consistently above 60%.Bathrooms, crawl spaces, and other damp areas of the house should be monitored in addition to the attic, basement, and other dry areas of the house.
- Mount a desiccant humidifier
Mold growth can be inhibited by lowering the humidity level, and a dehumidifier can help if you’ve noticed that your home’s humidity is consistently high.To reduce the humidity in a room, a dehumidifier will remove moisture from the air and condense it before draining it.
Even on a rainy day or when humidity levels outside are high, a dehumidifier can go a long way towards preventing mold growth inside your home if you notice that you have higher than recommended humidity levels in one or more areas, or if you have dealt with mold before.
- Mount a ventilation system in Bathroom
Fan vents in the attic and exhaust fans in the bathroom both help mitigate the dampness that can accumulate in these spaces. A bathroom vent is a duct that leads moist, steamy air from the bathroom to the exterior of the building. The absence of natural ventilation (a window, for example) in a bathroom can lead to a persistently damp environment, perfect for the growth of mold. Towels, tiles, and floors can all dry more quickly thanks to a bathroom fan or vent’s ability to remove excess moisture from the air. - Be sure water is far away from your house
If you live in a low-lying area, experience frequent flooding, or have had water infiltration in the past, you may want to consider installing a system to help divert groundwater away from your home. Your basement or ground floor can stay dry with the help of French drains, which direct water away from your foundation, and sump pumps, which remove water that has made its way inside. This will aid in preventing the onset of mold after rainy periods. - Make use of moisture control wrap or insulation for a house
When installing new siding, it is important to use a house wrap or insulation that is moisture-managed to allow water vapour to escape from the building envelope. The growth of mold in walls is thus prevented. Condensation and mold growth are both possible if the insulation and wrap you use aren’t made with moisture management in mind. When you live in an area that gets a lot of rain, a rain channel wrap can be an extra layer of defence against the water that can collect behind your siding. - Mold inspections should be part of any property check-up.
Thorough inspections are the best way to stop mold from spreading throughout a property. The inspection process can be improved with the addition of several mold-specific, high-quality boxes. Mold and mildew can be avoided in a short-term rental by changing the air filters on a regular basis, making sure the dehumidifier is working properly, and thoroughly inspecting all surfaces.
So, call the mold specialist Caspi Service Team to follow the right procedure to remove mold in your houses. We do free inspections. We serve areas: Hamilton/Burlington/Oakville/Niagara Falls/St.Catharines
