4 Ways To Prevent Mold Growth In Your NYC Home

With the sheer amount of moisture in the air and ground here in NYC, mold is a fairly common occurrence in local homes. Depending on your sensitivity to it, your home could be infected with mold and you might never even know it. While most homes have at least a small amount of mold, because mold spores are so small and they can be inhaled so easily, it can be extremely harmful to live in a home that has high levels of mold inside, especially if you or anyone in your family has allergies or asthma. The simplest way to detect mold in your home is just by using your senses. A musty odor is the easiest way to identify it, but you can also be on the lookout for watermarks on the ceiling or walls. While professional mold removal services are there to help when issues occur, preventing it from taking up residence in the first place is usually going to be the easier alternative. To help you with this, our NYC mold removal professionals have put together a short list of useful tips you can follow to help with mold prevention.

Dry Out Wet Materials Quickly

Mold can begin to grow within two days if it has the right conditions. Leaving a wet towel or other wet item lying around inside or outside your house is usually all the chance mold needs to start growing. The same goes for leaving clothes inside your washing machine for too long. Leaving wet clothes in the washing machine for too long can not only ruin your clothes by letting mold form on them, it can also allow mold to grow on the inside of your machine, fouling up all of your clothes that you throw inside it after that point.

Clean, Disinfect, & Dry Out Surfaces

The surfaces of your sink and floors are some of mold's favorite places to set up shop. This can be even more troublesome if these surfaces remain wet all the time. The fortunate thing about these surfaces is that they are usually nonporous in the case of tile, stone, or laminate, which can make them ideal surfaces for disinfectants and other cleaners. While the floor materials themselves might not be porous, however, the grouting between your tiles or stones most often is, so it pays to make sure that you clean up any spills quickly. Some homeowners prefer to make use of a vapor steam cleaner when it comes to disinfecting these surfaces, and if you choose to do so, you should make sure that after cleaning, no traces of moisture remain.

Run Exhaust Fans In Bathrooms During & After Showers

Having a foggy mirror isn't the worst problem you can have if you don't use the exhaust fan during your shower. The moisture in the air during and after your shower is going to seep into every little nook and cranny of the room, and these areas can be extremely difficult to clean out, even if you do happen to notice mold growing in them. Running the exhaust fans in your bathroom during and after your shower will help to minimize the moisture level in your bathroom, reducing the possibility of mold growth.

Fix Plumbing Leaks & Seepage As Soon As Able

Leaks caused by leaking or disintegrating pipes are one of the leading causes of mold growth in homes, which makes it extremely important to replace older pipes as soon as they begin to show signs of deterioration. The moisture from a leaking pipe will inevitably spread a great deal farther than what you can see from the visible signs. If these areas of your home are neglected or you can't clean them properly, mold will take that as a ripe opportunity to grow.