Guest Blogger: Top 5 Mold Prevention Tips for Homeowners

Guest Blogger #979, Entry #2494, June 5, 2013

There’s a pretty good chance that you’ve heard that exposure to mold is not good for your health; however, what you might not know is all of the reasons why. Actually, there are many ways that it can be hazardous to your body. Mold can lead to respiratory problems; eye, nose and throat irritation; body aches; chronic fatigue; headaches and dizziness; nausea and vomiting and irritable bowel syndrome, just to name a few.

That’s why it’s important to do all that you can to prevent mold from growing in your house. If you’re curious about some ways that you can do that, we have enclosed our top five proven tips below:

Remove shoes when walking through your home

Image via: AMW Design Studio

Have a “no shoes on in the house” policy.

Remember, a big part of the reason why we wear shoes at all is to protect our feet from all of the outside elements. Well, when we walk throughout the house with our shoes on, we end up tracking all kinds of things including dirt, debris and yes, mold. That’s why it’s best to implement a “no shoes” policy. All you need to do is ask everyone to take their shoes off at the front door and have some socks on hand so that they don’t want to walk around in their bare feet.

Vacuum often.

It’s pretty hard to detect the beginning signs of mold infestation. Therefore, make sure to vacuum the rooms in your house at least twice a week. Also, don’t just limit this activity to your floors; use an attachment to vacuum your furniture and drapes too.

Water your plants slowly.

If you tend to have a lot of indoor plants, that’s a really healthy thing because ones like Spider plants, Peace lilies and Aloe Vera are awesome when it comes to naturally purifying the air. However, because water is what mold feeds off of, when you are watering your plants, concentrate on not overwatering them and if some water does spill on the ground that you wipe it up immediately.

Ensure your home has the proper humidity levels

Image via: Tara Seawright

Use your humidifiers and your fans.

Something else that is important to do is to make sure to keep a lot of moisture out of the air. Thankfully, there are two surefire ways to do that. One way is by using a dehumidifier (which you can get at a local home improvement store for under $100). Another is by turning on your air conditioner in the summer months and your ceiling fans when there’s cooler weather. Speaking of fans, being that there is naturally a lot of moisture in the air when it comes to your kitchen and bathroom, it’s also a good idea to install (and use) exhaust fans in those rooms too. There are many studies to support if that if humidity is kept under 40 percent, that is an ideal way to prevent mold from developing.

Have a professional inspect the home.

If after following these steps, you are still feeling some of the symptoms that we mentioned, you might want to call a home inspector to come and look over your house. They will know how to inspect areas that you might overlook and while you may have to spend a couple of hundred dollars on the front end, it could save you thousands in the long run. To find a home inspector in your area, visit http://homeinspectors.net.

For more maintenance tips on Stagetecture, click here.