Tips for Mold Prevention

9/26/2018 (Permalink)

Mold is the enemy of every homeowner. Mold looks unsightly, smells bad, and can cause damage to your soft furnishings, carpets, clothes, and even your appliances or the structure of your home itself. Often the first sign of mold is a glimpse of discoloration on a wall or ceiling, or maybe noticing that telltale moldy smell in a bathroom or laundry room.

 
However, spores can grow in hidden places, too. You can reduce the risk of the fungus growing unnoticed and causing mold damage in your residence home by being proactive about looking for evidence of mold. SERVPRO recommends you check the following places for hidden contamination. 
 
Chimneys 
Chimneys are cold and can easily get damp from rain or even snow. Brickwork provides plenty of hidden crevices for spores to grow in. Make sure your chimney flashing is in good condition and replace it if need be. An annual visit from a chimney sweep is a good idea, too. 
 
Kitchen Appliances 
Most kitchen appliances get washed after every use, but there are still some hidden areas you must check regularly. Take a look at refrigerator drip trays, the door and seal of front-loading washing machines, and refrigerator and freezer seals. You can deal with mild cases using a weak bleach solution followed by a quick wipe with white vinegar. 
 
Carpets and Carpet Pads 
Carpets and carpet pads provide an environment where mold can propagate unnoticed, especially if a carpet gets wet. If your floor coverings get wet, call us at once. Our skilled teams come with free standing and truck mounted pumps and extraction tools to remove water and lessen the risk of fungus growing under your carpet or pad. 
 
SERVPRO of Forest and Magee recommends putting in a call to us at the first sign of mold in your home. Our IICRC- certified technicians come prepared to set up containment to protect the rest of your home before getting to work on thoroughly cleaning the affected area. We use powerful HEPA vacuums to vacuum loose spores from surfaces, along with a combination of sanding, wire brush scrubbing, dusting, and wiping with a detergent solution to ensure each surface is properly cleaned of mold. We also use negative air machines when needed, to vent contaminated air outside your home. 
 
When mold cleaning is complete, our trained experts bring in dehumidifiers and air movers to dry the affected room, carpet, or area back to its normal level of dryness and discourage further growth. 
 
If you suspect mold growth in your home, give SERVPRO of Forest and Magee a call at (662)779-1070 today.