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Your home is often considered a haven you retreat to after a long day or spend quality time with your loved ones, so discovering household mold can be distressing. Microbial growth anywhere inside your home can cause health issues, reduce indoor air quality, and damage your building and its contents.
Unfortunately, mold is often a quiet problem. Its signs are often hard to spot and easy to miss, so homeowners often end up enlisting mold remediation when the problem has already turned into an infestation.
The bright side is that it’s possible to prevent microbial growth and detect mold. Regularly inspecting the following areas that often tend to be damp and humid can help protect your home from microbial contamination.
The Attic
The attic is home to organic building materials and moisture from roof leaks or vents, making it one of the best places for mold to grow inside a house. It’s also worth noting that it’s a space that’s often undisturbed, allowing the contamination to spread without interruption.
Considering these factors, checking for mold in the attic is crucial. As the place containing your ventilation systems, attic mold can easily spread to the rest of your home.
Where To Check for Mold in Your Attic:
- On the roof, near possible or previous leaks
- In the insulation
- Near vents from the bathroom or kitchen
The Basement
Basements often experience little ventilation and are prone to water seepage, making them another hotspot for microbial growth inside homes. They also stay cool and damp thanks to being partially or entirely underground, further encouraging mold.
One practical way to prevent microbial growth in your home is to check and ventilate your basement regularly. Sealing cracks and drying any seepage immediately can also help keep mold from taking over your cellar.
The Garage
It may seem unlikely at first, but the raindrops carried by your car into your garage can also create excessive moisture that promotes the growth of mold. If you use your carport to store cleaning supplies or old items, these materials can serve as a food source for microbial growth and allow it to continue spreading.
Here are some tips to prevent mold growth in your garage:
- Paint your garage’s walls and concrete with waterproof or mold-resistant paint.
- Remove any standing water from the floor immediately using a squeegee.
- Circulate air inside the garage whenever possible.
- Constantly check your stored items for signs of mold.
In the Bathroom
Taking a long, hot shower after a tiring day can be relaxing. However, note that this habit can encourage microbial growth inside your home, especially if your bathroom lacks proper ventilation. Leaving the space humid and damp makes it easier for mold spores to thrive on surfaces.
Where To Check for Mold in Your Bathroom:
- On shower tiles and in the tile grout.
- On the wall near the water heater.
- On bathroom rugs, washcloths, the shower curtain, and in and around the faucet.
- Behind the toilet and around the bathtub./li>
- Underneath the bathroom sink.
Kitchen
Activities like cooking, washing the dishes, and running the dishwasher can increase the humidity inside your kitchen and make it prone to mold. In addition, water from the sink, crumbs of food on the stove and in the microwave, and old food items left in the pantry allow mold to spread and take over your kitchen.
Inspecting these areas for signs of microbial growth can help prevent mold growth in your home:
- In and around the faucet.
- The pantry and inside the refrigerator for old food and leftovers.
- Around the water dispenser.
- The garbage disposal and trash cans.
Walls and Ceilings
Checking your walls and ceilings for mold is also helpful, especially if you have recently experienced flooding or roof or plumbing leaks. Some indications these structures are harboring mold include:
- A musty, earthy smell.
- Stains or spots on the interior walls.
- Warped wallpapers and bubbling paint.
- Sagging ceiling.
If you see any of these signs, remember never to attempt to peel off wallpapers or insulation yourself. Doing so can release the spores into the air and spread the contamination further. Instead, your safest bet is to let a mold remediation company fix the issue.
Get Professional Help To Keep Mold Out of Your Home
Household mold can cause unpleasant odors, extensive damage to your possessions, and even various health problems. Regularly inspecting the areas listed above gives you a head start in preventing mold in your home to avoid the expensive and life-threatening issues it can bring.
If you need help protecting your home from microbial contamination after a roof leak, flooding, or poor ventilation, Restoration 1 of San Antonio North can help. Our mold remediation company addresses the underlying moisture problem using modern equipment to eliminate your long-term mold concerns. Call us anytime for professional mold remediation and make your house healthy and welcoming again!
