Dealing with Household Mold

What Is Mold?

Molds are small organisms found almost everywhere. It comes in many colors black, white, light gray, orange, green, or purple. Mold spores thrive on moisture and reproduce by means of tiny, lightweight spores that travel through the air. We are exposed to it every day in one form or another. In small amounts, mold spores are normally harmless, but when they land on a damp spot in your home they can start to grow into a problem.

Where Does Mold Grow?

Mold can grow on almost any surface. The most important thing it needs to grow is moisture, so you’re most likely to see it in damp places such as your bathrooms and surprisingly in your clothes closets.

Bathrooms

If you find in growing in the bathroom, most likely it will be in the corners of the grout in the shower stall. Most of the products you use for regular cleaning in your bathroom do not kill mildew. They are designed to cut through soap scum and hard water deposits. To kill mildew you need use bleach or another mildewcide. A good spray of X-14 with a little scrubbing will usually take care of the problem.
A word of caution X-14 shouldn’t be used on marble or natural stone, for these surfaces you must use a product that will not harm the stone, a good one to use is Mold and Mildew Remover by Marblelife. Keeping the bathroom well ventilated also helps in keeping the mold from forming. Turning on a vent fan or heat lamp after showering helps, opening the shower door or curtain after showering also helps, the object is to let the shower area dry out.

Clothes Closets

The one place you don’t mold growing is in your closets. Sometimes a closet will back up to a bathroom and it will catch a lot of humidity. If you feel that you may have a humidity problem in a closet that is close to a bathroom area, hanging a DampRid Moisture Absorber in the closet will help eliminate the humidity. They are very easy to use, simply hang the DampRid hanger in the closet, when the bags fill up with water, throw it away and replace it with a fresh hanger. They last about two months, not only do they pull the humidity out of the closet; it also has a mild fragrance so the closet smells fresh.
Other steps you can take to help keep the closet free of moisture, if you keep a clothes hamper in the closet, never put damp or ev per or magazines in a closet where you keep your clothing, not only does mold like paper, so do silverfish.

Black Mold

Water damaged houses can sometimes develop an infestation of Stachybotrys molds, recently referred to as Black Mold or Toxic Mold in the United States. This is a serious health problem that can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems and if the mold colony is very well established, it may require professional removal. The best offense is a good defense when it comes to black mold. In order to deter its growth be vigilant in keeping an eye out for leaky pipes and immediately rectify flooding or storm damage.
It’s impossible to get rid of all the mold in your home, but because these spores can’t grow without moisture, reducing moisture in your home is the best way to prevent or eliminate the growth. If there is already mold growing in your home, it’s important to clean up the mold and fix the problem causing dampness. If you clean up the mold, but don’t fix the problem, the mold will most likely return.