Freaky Mold
It's black, sometimes green or gray, icky, slimy, fuzzy, and freaky. Mold! What's to like about that? Whether mold is growing on your bread or inside your home's walls, it is likely to turn your stomach. In addition, some types of mold can make you sick. To make matters worse, mold spores are virtually everywhere! These microscopic spores are like tiny floating seeds quietly floating around in search of a nice place to sprout. Freaky, isn't it?
Before you freak out when you see a s
ot or colony of mold, understand that your housekeeping skills aren't to blame. Mold can grow anywhere it finds a suitable environment including the tidiest of homes and even hospitals! While keeping your home clean is important, if you want to control or prevent mold, the key is to make sure that mold can't find a suitable environment.
What does mold consider to be the perfect place to set up a colony? Any place moist. That's right, water attracts mold. Once the mold spores find a nice moist environment, it's only a matter of time before mold grows and reproduces, digesting the underlying material along the way.
Because mold consumes the surface on which it lives, cleaning isn't always effective. For example, modest mold growth on a tile shower enclosure can usually be cleaned. However, mold growing on wallpaper is physically consuming the paper, adhesive, and drywall beneath. Controlling mold early, before it damages the materials, is important in keeping costs and adverse health effects to a minimum.
Since mold spores are everywhere and all they need is a bit of moisture, controlling moisture in the home is the key to controlling freaky mold. Go through your home, room by room, and look for water sources. Pay attention to: areas around doors and windows, faucets, air conditioners, water pans (such as under the refrigerator), water heaters, washers and dryers, dishwashers, and other areas where water may collect. Mold can even grow on wet laundry, so don't leave your wet clothes in the washer or leave wet towels in a heap.
Spotting water and minor overflows in the main living areas of your home is usually pretty easy. It's the lesser traveled areas that are often quickly overcome with mold. For example, when was the last time you looked under your hot water heater? Chances are the water heater is tucked away in a closet, in the garage, or down in the basement. A slow leak can quickly lead to a significant source of moisture. Left unchecked, it's not long before you have a major, freaky, mold problem!
Another way to control indoor moisture is to use exhaust fans. For example, when taking a shower, the exhaust fan vents the steam outdoors, reducing the moisture in the bathroom dramatically. Likewise, cooking also generates a great deal of moisture including boiling water and washing dishes.
Mold is yucky stuff and it's best to prevent it. Simple steps such as running exhaust vents and controlling indoor moisture make a big difference in the battle against mold.
By Frank Greco
AirCare Environmental Services Inc.
1-866-246-6789
<A HREF="http://www.aircare-services.com">Air duct cleaning</A>
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