You step inside your home and notice an unpleasant, pungent odor. After making sure you really did take out last week’s trash, you decide that there’s only one explanation: you may have a mold problem.
According to the EPA, mold can create and worsen a number of medical problems, most of which are triggered by their production of allergens. Inhaling or touching mold can elicit allergic reactions, which can include sneezing, red eyes, a runny nose, and skin rashes. Mold can also contribute significantly to asthma attacks.
Even with your emerging suspicions, it’s hard to act against mold — especially at first. Mold reproduces through the expansion of tiny spores that float through the air, and may begin to reproduce inside if its spores land on wet surfaces.
Oftentimes, it can only be found in hidden, hard-to-reach places, like behind walls, beneath wallpaper, inside ductwork, or beneath roofing panels. Despite potential challenges, once you’ve become suspicious of mold, it’s important that you act fast.
Taking Action
Since mold is commonly hidden from view, you have to be diligent about locating its source. Even before looking around obvious places, check parts of your home that get little sun exposure, according to Answers.
It’s important that your investigation be thorough and careful, especially in certain situations — if you discover a great deal of mold growing behind your wallpaper, for example, it’s imperative that you be careful in removing it, as this process, if done hastily, can release a great number of airborne spores.
After locating the source of mold, you must also attempt to restrict the area — this will save you trouble and money down the road.
Covering the moldy region with plastic bags and then fastening them with duct tape will prevent the mold from spreading, and also keep spores from becoming airborne. In minimizing the expansion of the mold, you’ll have an easier time successfully removing it.
Once you do make an effort to clean and remove the mold, you should be sure to use proper equipment. Again, be sure not to let the spores get released into the air, which is difficult to avoid while actively cleaning. It’s good to wear a mask, and you should conduct research on which cleaning agent will be best for your situation.
While cleaning the area, make sure to repeat the scrubbing process multiple times.
Future Prevention
Of course, even after you’ve dealt with your current mold issue, you’ll want to come up with a strategy for avoiding another one in the future. It’s wise to consult a professional about your problem, though many precautions can be conducted on your own.
In general, you’re looking to prevent the expansion of moisture within your home. Whenever something spills, act quickly. You should clean and repair your roof gutters frequently, and make sure the ground slopes away from the foundation of the building so that moisture doesn’t collect around it.
It’s also very helpful to keep the humidity in your home as low as possible. If you can dramatically lessen the amount of moisture in your building, then mold won’t feel welcome any longer.
The air purifiers offered by Rabbit Air are a fantastic way to start living in a safer, mold-free home. Both useful in preventing future mold outbreaks and fighting against current ones, Rabbit Air’s products also eliminate 99.7% of allergens and pollutants from the air.
Each purifier is designed to adapt to your space and help it to maintain its usual equilibrium. Treat yourself to a mold-free existence with a Rabbit Air purifier.
