FIGHT MOULD BY IMPROVING AIR FLOW
Finding mould inside your home is not only unsightly, but it can also pose significant health hazards for your family and pets. Excess moisture is the primary reason for indoor mould growth, and lack of adequate air circulation is often the cause of humidity buildup. By improving air flow in your home, you can effectively combat mould growth while at the same time enhancing your interior air quality.
Use the following tips from the mould experts at ServiceMaster Restore to guard against mould and maintain a healthier environment for everyone in your household.
Open Windows
One of the easiest ways to improve air flow is to open your windows whenever the weather permits. Opening windows or doors on opposite sides of your home creates cross-ventilation that allows fresh air to flow through and prevent excess indoor moisture. If there isn’t much of a breeze on some days, you can position a fan in or near a window, pointing inward into the living space to activate cross-ventilation.
Install Fans
Installing ceiling fans in each room plus a kitchen exhaust fan will enhance indoor air flow while keeping you cool during warm weather. Ensuring there are fans in all the bathrooms is critical because these are the most humid areas in your home and can easily build up excess moisture and promote mould growth. Bathroom fans vent humid air outside while also drawing fresh air inside. Kitchen exhaust fans are good for reducing excess moisture that is generated while cooking meals.
If you have an attic, it’s important to vent the space in order to prevent moisture and mould accumulation. You can also install a specialized fan in your attic floor that draws hot and stale air up through the entire house — just don’t forget to open some windows or doors when you operate it. You can also use the "fan only" option on your HVAC system to improve home air flow.
Use Dehumidifiers
Because mould loves humidity, using a dehumidifier to reduce atmospheric moisture is a great way to stop mould growth in your home. Dehumidifiers not only remove moisture from the air, but their fans also help circulate it. They are great for targeting certain areas of the home such as basements, which can tend to have poorer air flow and increased humidity. Dehumidifiers are also a more energy-efficient way of focusing on problem humidity areas than running your air-conditioning system.
Call the Experts
If you do discover mould in your home, it's crucial to deal with it right away. If you see a small amount of mould, you can use white vinegar to remove it, but larger mould outbreaks (more than one square metre) should be left to the professionals. Trying to remove mould yourself can pose significant health hazards and may make the problem worse by spreading the airborne mould spores to other areas in your home
If you have mould growth in your home, call the professionals at ServiceMaster Restore. With over 70 years of experience, our teams have the expertise and resources necessary to tackle even the toughest of mould challenges—including ways to improve the air flow in your home to keep excess moisture at bay and prevent mould growth from recurring.
For reliable mould detection and removal services for your home, the mould experts at ServiceMaster Restore will create a remediation plan to stop the problem in its tracks, before it gets out of hand. Remember, mould growth can quickly worsen exponentially, and with the potential for associated health risk, mould cleaning and remediation is definitely a job best left to the experts.