What Causes Mold in a Home

3/30/2017 (Permalink)

When customers call us wanting to get rid of the mold in their home, we often ask them what caused the mold to be there. This is an important question, because if the cause of the mold growth is not fixed, then mold will return after the mold remediation is completed.

There are many different reasons that could cause mold to grow. By failing to get to the root of the problem, mold will most definitely come back.

There are many different types of mold. Mold is essentially all around us. It is indoors, outdoors, settled on materials and in the air. Mold can transfer from place to place by spores wafting around in the air or being transferred via clothing or other items. Mold growth thrives in moist damp areas.

In order to stop mold growth in your home, it is important to follow these recommendations:

• Keep doors and windows closed during times when the mold count outside is high.
• Make sure your windows, doors and roofs are not allowing moisture into the home. These are places in the home that often allow water into the home causing mold problems.
• Make sure your basement is properly sealed and ground water is not settling inside of your home.
• Ensure that your home is exhausting and ventilated appropriately. Often people find that their bathroom exhaust fan is not ventilating properly and the moisture is getting stuck in the attic space causing mold to grow. Likewise, a dryer vent may be exhausting into a crawlspace rather than all the way to an outside area.
• Check your pipes and drains to ensure that water is not leaking from these areas.

If you have an area of your home that gets a lot of moisture that cannot be fixed correctly or may be too costly, consider putting a dehumidifier in that area to draw extra moisture out of the air. You may want to consult with someone with knowledge about different types of dehumidifiers do see what kind would best work in the space you are drying to dehumidify.

If you should have more questions on this topic, please feel free to call our office at 315-457-3432 and ask to speak to someone who can further assist you. We would be happy to help!