Home is a haven you look forward coming to at the end of each day. The thought brings to mind the best things in life - comfort, relaxation, family, good food and love. It is also supposed to foster and nurture good health. In this scenario, there is no place for moulds and the diseases they can cause. Yet, they are often neglected and allowed to grow in the damp areas of many homes. Beware, these fungi can increase risks and trigger allergies, respiratory problems, and even skin diseases. Know more about them and mould removal techniques to keep your home a haven it is intended to be.
· Mould Facts
Moulds are actually fungi that bask and proliferate in damp surfaces. You can smell their presence, even before seeing them. Enter a dark, dank room like a basement; that musty odor pervading the air is due to these culprits. They love the dampness here because the sunlight can’t get in here, it is poorly ventilated and the temperature is low as well. Water leakages and excess moisture or steam in the air from cooking, baths and faucets can also produce moisture loved by moulds. Other spots where they can similarly flourish are fabrics, carpets, window sills, and walls in bathrooms, laundry areas and kitchens.
· Get Them Under Control
Getting them completely eradicated may be next to impossible because, like bacteria, they are everywhere and they have inhabited earth for millions of years already. Your goal is to get them under control. When you decide to do it yourself, take steps to protect yourself and the other people in your home especially those with compromised immune system.
To check their growth, regularly clean your home especially the prone areas and find and fix all the possible sources of moisture that provides the kind of environment moulds love. Don’t forget to put on protective gear and clothes. You can use a rag dunked in soapy water or baking soda (drywall cleaning) to clean surfaces. You can also add bleach ( a cup per gallon of water). Then dry quickly. If fabric or carpets are already heavily damaged, get them changed so as not to spread the spores.
· Call In the Professionals
If these disease-causing pathogens have spread massively in your home, it can be a problem that you can’t solve on your own; call professional help. There are professional home cleaners who are quite adept at cleaning massive mould patches. You can also consult related line agencies such as EPA (Environmental protection Agency) in the US or EHO (Environmental Health Officer) in Australia. If you will try to do handle this on your own, make sure you are properly equipped with experience and knowledge.
· Preventing Moulds from Invading Your Home
You don’t need to wait for moulds to invade your home; there are ways to prevent them from ever entering your abode. Use paints with mould inhibitors on your walls and clean all prone areas with products that have mould-killing properties. Check and fix all leaking sources of moisture. Make your home hostile to moulds and mildew by keeping the level of humidity low and make sure your home is getting enough ventilation.
If you are smart, you will keep your home warm. There are technologies like Ventis that ingeniously utilizes the solar heat to evenly warm the air in your home and for heat recovery ventilation. This drives away the dampness and the moulds. Most importantly, it is not costing you anything as it taps sustainable, free energy from the sun.
