Regardless of how expensive your home is, you’re bound to experience several problems when you become a homeowner. With this responsibility, you’re expected to pay attention to different areas of your property and hire pros to repair or replace any damages right away. The bigger your home is, the more challenging it’ll be for you to ensure that it stays in tiptop condition. Molds are a common problem among homeowners, but only very few of them know how to manage this particular issue. Often, they disregard the need to remove molds from their properties thinking that these are harmless. However, this isn’t true because molds can actually harm your entire household and damage your property in the long run.
Why Should You Eliminate Molds Inside Your Home?
Molds are a serious problem that should be handled by professionals, such as those from https://www.puremaintenanceofwashington.com/, right away. When left unaddressed for long periods, molds can multiply in different areas of your home and cause damage that will eventually require more money from your pocket. A home infested with molds can make the entire property unsanitary, making your entire family prone to countless health problems.
To drive the point home, here’s how molds can affect human health and your property in the long run:
1. Molds Set Off Allergy Symptoms
Molds come in spores that are small enough to inhale and easily travel deep into your lungs. If you have a weak immune system, inhaling molds for long periods is enough for you to develop allergy symptoms, such as itchy skin, runny nose, and watery eyes.
2. Molds Can Lead To Respiratory Illnesses
A home infested with molds can still be livable, but for people with weak immune systems, this kind of environment can take a toll on their health. When left unaddressed, molds can lead to airway inflammation and trigger asthma.
For people who are already diagnosed with asthma, choosing to live in a mold-infested home can aggravate existing symptoms and delay their recovery.
3. Molds Affect The Value Of Your Home
You likely spent thousands or even millions of dollars on buying your home. However, if your home has become a breeding ground for molds, don’t expect that you can still earn the same amount when you choose to sell your investment in the future.
Molds can significantly affect the value of your home because seeing any can leave a negative impression among potential home buyers. Aside from signaling that the home’s structure is already weak and damaged, molds will shoo away potential home buyers because of their harmful health effects.
How Can You Eliminate Molds Inside Your Home?
As a homeowner, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your property is a safe place to live in. It’ll be challenging for you and your family to stay indoors or enjoy your investment if the space is filled with molds. How do you think your household can remain healthy if molds are present everywhere? How do you plan to sell your home in the future if molds are visible? The moment you notice signs of molds in your home, it’s best if you immediately start acting on the problem and look for solutions. Fortunately, you can easily eliminate molds inside your home through these tips:
1. Identify The Cause Of The Problem And Treat Them ASAP
Regardless of the materials used during construction, you can never mold-proof your home. As mentioned, no property is completely immune from molds and the dangers they bring. Fortunately, you can make your home mold-resistant by identifying problems around your home and correcting them right away.
Go through different areas of your home and do some auditing. Which areas do you think are prone to mold growth? Is your basement regularly flooded? Are there visible water stains on your ceilings? Is there frequent condensation on upstairs windows?
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be an expert to prevent molds from entering and thriving in your home. Often, this task will only require you to rip carpets off of your damp basement, repair damaged gutters right away, and install different kinds of mold-resistant products. Depending on the condition of your home and the gravity of the problem, waterproofing and excavation might also be necessary to eliminate molds from your home.
Regardless of the source of the problem, it’s vital that you address these problems right away.
The solutions might require money from your pocket, but this amount will surely skyrocket if you choose to address mold-related problems later.
2. Dry Wet Areas Immediately
Molds only need moisture to live and multiply. And, since homes regularly use plumbing, it’s no wonder why molds can easily thrive indoors. If you don’t want your home to become the breeding ground for molds, dry wet areas immediately.
Ideally, moisture in your basement after heavy rainfalls, water from leaking pipes, and spills on the carpet should be dried within 24 hours. If your home was severely affected by a flood, it’s important to remove water-damaged bedding, furniture, and carpets out from your property if these can’t be completely dried.
Moreover, you should also pay attention to everyday occurrences that involve wet items. You can start by drying the floors and walls after you take a shower, and not leaving any dry clothes in the washing machine. It’s best if you hang clothes outside of your home, rather than leaving them in the dryer for several hours.
3. Make Sure That Your Home Is Well-Ventilated
One of the reasons why molds can easily enter and live in homes is because most homeowners don’t understand that their daily activities encourage mold growth. You might be doing the same in your home right now.
For you to effectively eliminate molds from your property, make sure that your entire home is well-ventilated. A home with this kind of environment will not only make simple chores seem lighter and easier, but this will also prevent you from inviting molds inside of your home. This is especially true for chores that are usually done in high-moisture areas, such as the bathroom, laundry room, and bathroom.
For appliances that produce moisture on their own, opt to place them outside of your home. Cloth dryers and stoves should be placed outside to prevent molds from infesting your home.
AC units and dehumidifiers can help control moisture indoors, but it’s important that you regularly check and clean them as instructed by the manufacturers. An energy-efficient home can still hold moisture indoors, which is why you should consider cooking or washing dishes with an open window. Exhaust fans can also help circulate air indoors and ensure that your home stays well-ventilated.
4. Invest In Mold-Resistant Products
Home renovation is a cost-effective investment. Spending money on this project will eventually become worth it as this enables you to increase your home’s value, enjoy more living space, and have the opportunity to customize your property. But, are you aware that home renovation can also become your ticket to ensuring that your home stays mold-resistant?
You can now invest in mold-resistant products, such as mold-resistant drywall or mold inhibitors for paints. Aside from providing the same benefits as their traditional counterparts, these products will make it very easy for you to prevent molds from thriving inside your home.
Mold-resistant drywall is paperless and covered in fiberglass. The materials present in this product make the surface water-resistant, as well as prevent moisture. This is one of the best materials to use when you’re renovating your basement, kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room.
Mold-resistant drywall is usually more expensive than other types of drywalls, but using this when renovating will enable you to save more money in the long run. Traditional drywall is very susceptible to mold and can be very expensive to replace or repair.
5. Regularly Clean Your Roof Gutters And Repair When Necessary
There are many reasons why roof gutters are important in every home. For one, roof gutters can protect your landscaping and prevent soil erosion. This works because roof gutters prevent
rainwater from soaking your soil. Moreover, roof gutters are essential in protecting your home’s siding and keeping your basement dry. Roof gutters play a vital role in your home, but are you aware that their condition also affects your home’s susceptibility to molds?
A leaking roof because of damaged or full gutters is one of the most common reasons why molds are infesting homes. Make sure that this doesn’t happen to your humble abode by regularly cleaning your roof gutters. You can effectively clean your roof gutters by using a small scoop when getting rid of any gunk.
You should also hire pros when repairing your roof gutters as they have the necessary experience and equipment for the job. Never attempt to repair your roof gutters on your own as this can only do more harm than good. In worse cases, this can even become the reason why molds can easily enter and damage your home.
6. Keep Molds Off Household Plants
Indoor plants can bring a lot of benefits. According to studies, indoor plants can boost your mood, concentration, creativity, and productivity. Indoor plants can also benefit your wellness as these are known to reduce stress, as well as bouts of sore throat, colds, and fatigue.
But, because plants need water to survive, you should regularly check on them to ensure that these don’t hold moisture for so long. The moisture in the soil can become the perfect breeding ground for molds, and when this happens, it won’t be long before they’ll infest other areas of your home.
You can prevent this from happening by adding some Taheebo tea to the water you regularly give to your houseplants. The oil found in this tea is known to withstand fungi and hinder mold growth in soil. Placing your plants in more humid rooms and using pebble trays can also prevent moisture buildup and discourage mold growth.
7. Improve Airflow Indoors
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA, the air is able to hold more moisture when temperatures start to drop. This means that without proper or good airflow inside your home, the excess moisture will start appearing on your floors, windows, and walls, and attract molds. The more moisture your home has, the easier it’ll be for molds to live and multiply indoors.
If you don’t want these things to happen, work on increasing the airflow inside your home. Some of the easiest ways to attain this goal is to open the doors of your rooms, move furniture away from your walls, and open closet doors in rooms that are usually cold. If you have sufficient budget, you can also install an attic vent. This is especially important if your house has high ceilings, multiple levels, or both.
Letting fresh air in to reduce moisture is a great way to keep mold at bay.
8. Hire Professionals To Work For You
The market is saturated with several products that are especially created to kill and prevent molds indoors. Although effective, most of these products contain chemicals that can harm human health and cause even more damage to children, seniors, and pets. These products can also pose serious danger once they make contact with the skin.
If you want to eliminate molds inside your home in the most effective and safest way possible, hire professionals to do the job for you. These contractors have years of experience in determining the cause of the problem and coming up with long-term solutions. The money you’ll pay these contractors will be worth it as their services will give you peace of mind, knowing that your home is free from any kind of molds and your family stays safe indoors.
When choosing mold removal companies, make sure to hire one that has a good track record in the industry and is licensed to remove molds from homes.
Act ASAP
Molds are common problems in homes, but this doesn’t mean that you should disregard the need to get rid of them. On the contrary, you should always check for signs of molds in your home and start looking for solutions the moment you see any. The sooner you work on eliminating molds inside your home, the better chances you’ll have in succeeding.
