Spring cleaning has roots in many religions and cultures around the world. Aside from religious importance, it is also a useful way to keep your living environment healthy and happy. In fact, as spring thaws the area where you live, mold starts to take over if you are not careful.
Thankfully, you can do many things to rectify the potential for mold growth after the cold, winter months. The best thing you can do is clean your home thoroughly and remove any existing spots, but in a safe fashion.
Getting Rid of Mildew in Your Home in the Spring
The first steps to keeping your home clean and healthy is to remove problems before they get worse by keeping your eyes peeled for mildew and getting rid of it when it shows up. Mildew remediation is a necessary step in keeping your home clean.
Mildew will form on the bottom of shower curtains, in basements, or any area in your home which is prone to moisture and heat. If your home is humid in the attic, mildew will flourish there. Dirt, oil, as well as natural foods will often create environments perfect for hosting mildew.
This means that mildew remediation is an immediate and necessary step. Mildew can be dangerous for those who have allergies and asthma, posing an immediate threat and increasing the need for immediate mildew remediation.
Before you can begin with mildew remediation, you need to know basic information about mildew so that you can sight it early on.
Mildew comes in a blue-white colored stain, a light green strain, or even black spots. These will begin growing on the surfaces of your home. Mildew grows anywhere in the home including an attic, bathroom, basement, drapes, wood frames, concrete, siding, shower curtains, flooring, tile, insulation, as well as clothing.
Unfortunately mildew will grow during any season and in any climate. Condensation as well as sweat can accumulate in dry areas of the world as well.
Basements and Attics: Mold Remediation
You want to check the areas of your home that normally get overlooked, like the basements, garages, attics, and bathrooms. Anywhere that moisture might get trapped is where you will uncover problems with mold or mildew early.
Attic mold remediation is a necessary component in keeping your attic clean and healthy. Your home should be sanitized all the time, and your attic is part of your home. This means that you should be cautious of attic mold before it is too late.
Many homeowners will not notice the attic mold until they are attempting to sell their home or they have an inspection, or severe damage which needs replaced due to storms or other weather conditions.
Don't Wait to Get Professional Help
By delaying these inspections and not being prepared for attic mold remediation, homeowners will incur costly delays and possible health issues particularly for those who have asthma or allergies.
As part of attic mold remediation, you should eliminate causes of mold and therefore, eliminate the mold. Many times mold will accumulate in attics because the attic is the least properly ventilated area in the home, next to the basement. Many people use their attic for storage and do not open any windows or doors for periods longer than necessary to search for Christmas decorations or a box of childhood toys.
What Causes Mold in Attics?
Often the overhangs in an attic are poorly ventilated because they are blocked by the insulation in your home. There are able rarely any gable vents in the attics of your home. This is usually at the inverted “v” of the roof of your attic. Usually attics lack a ridge vent as well which should extend along the length of the roof at the top of the roof.
Mold is known to accumulate in bathrooms so many times the exhaust vent keeping the bathroom clear of mold will vent into the attic. This means that all of the moisture which escapes from the bathroom will hit the sheathing in the attic which then hits the cold air from the outside and creates condensation in the attic, creating the perfect environment for mold to grow.
Your home might also have a leak in the roof or a chimney which has improper materials used to prevent any leaks. All of these can cause the rapid growth of mold and the rapid need for attic mold remediation.
How Can I Get Mold Out of My Attic?
To correct these problems, attic mold remediation requires a few steps. The first step in attic mold remediation is abatement. This means that ventilation issues must be addressed as well as any water issues. Removing the mold from your attic does no good unless the environment which supports its growth is eliminated as well.
This step in attic mold remediation usually required correcting ventilation defects, replacing insulation, or removing insulation. The second step is cleansing. This means that the entire area is treated with the correct materials to remove the current mold and prevent mold from reoccurring.
This treatment comes in multiple steps to remove the current mold and then to apply the chemicals necessary to prevent it. However, once these two major components have been completed, your attic will no longer be prone to the health risks that were imposed by the growing and festering of mold.
When you are tackling your basement, a garage, or any other space, the steps are going to be the same. You want to address the source of the water or moisture. After a flood or a heavy rain, check all of these overlooked parts of your home to locate any water problems, build up, etc…
After that, you will need to fix the ventilation so that there is airflow. This might mean propping windows and doors open so as to create a cross-breeze, and monitoring that overnight. If there is a flash flood or severe rain, you might need to use towels to remove the water from a basement floor or the water that dripped through the attic roof to expedite this problem. The more moisture you can remove, the better. If you already see the signs of mold, be sure to wear proper gear, like gloves and a mask or respirator.
Bathroom Mold Removal
Bathroom mold removal is very important for your health. While it might seem trying because the mold just keeps reappearing, it is still an important part of keeping your home sanitized.
By using a brand name such as Tilex Mold and Mildew removal and bleach you can ensure that bathroom mold removal is fast and simple. You can begin with the spray and ensure that each area is thoroughly covered. The mold and the spray will mix.
You should let this mixture sit for two minutes and then wipe up the mess. After you try the area, let it air dry for thoroughness for ten minutes. After this, take the bleach and soak any infected areas again, letting it sit for ten minutes.
This will kill any remaining mold spores. Wipe this up and throw away the rags. It is important that you do not spray bleach cleaner and Tilex cleaner at the same time because they could create poisonous fumes. It is best if you wear a mask while doing this so that you do not breathe in the bleach fumes.
What Supplies Do I Need for Bathroom Mold Removal?
Since bathroom mold can cause a lot of allergies, bathroom mold removal is best done in areas of your bathroom which are exposed to frequent high humidity. If you want to avoid using bleach or other potentially poisonous materials when engaging in bathroom mold removal, you can use a natural remedy. This requires a mask, gloves, and goggles.
You should also have white vinegar, a non-toxic cleaner, a bucket, sponges, and towels readily available. Before beginning any bathroom mold removal, open all of the windows and the doors so that the small area is ventilated. The mask and goggles should be worn at all times to prevent lung damage or damage to your eyes.
The gloves will keep your hands safe as well. The mild, non-toxic cleaner should be sprayed on all surfaces in the bathroom first, just as with the Tilex cleaner. Many cleaners are available that are environmentally friendly and safe for use around kids or pets. With the damp sponges, scrub any dirty surfaces. Most of the mold will be removed easily through this type of bathroom mold removal. You should rinse the surfaces when you are done with a clean and wet sponge.
After this you need to take the bucket and mix eight cups of white vinegar with eight cups of warm water. Take a fresh and clean sponge, dip it into this mixture and wipe down all of the surfaces which were moldy, and be sure to let this solution sit for ten minutes.
If there is any soap scum or mold which will not come off easily, this mixture will loosen it and is the most effective natural ingredient in terms of bathroom mold removal. Once this step in the bathroom mold removal has been finished, you should scrub the areas with a clean sponge which has been soaked in water to rinse the surface. Each of these surfaces should be dried upon completion.
If your bathroom sink also contains mold, you might find a pungent odor lingering from inside the drain. There are great chemical cleaners which can be placed down the drain to clear this problem, or natural methods if you are opposed to chemical bathroom mold removal.
Using the same mixture of warm water and white vinegar, you can remove mold from sink drains. Remember that doing all of this long term will keep problems from getting worse, and keep you and your family healthy and happy.
Who Should Seek Professional Mold Removal Help?
If your mold problem just seems to keep coming back, or you have a massive amount of mold in your home, you should seek professional help, because often times this means that there may be much more mold that is hiding.
This can be dangerous for you, your family, and your home. Also, if you have experienced a cough or cold as a result of the mildew or mold in your home, it is highly recommended that you seek professional help.
Lastly, if you have some black mold in your home, or mold which you cannot identify, it is recommended you speak with a professional mold removal specialist who can help classify the mold so you can be sure whether the mold is dangerous and needs professional removal or not.
For the best mold and mildew removal in the Greater Boston Area, give us a call!