Did you know that mold could be damaging to your health and home? Mold is a fungus that needs two key things to develop and grow: moisture and a source of food. Moisture can come from the apparent source, water but also can come from high air humidity, neglected roofs, broken air conditioners and drainage problems. Sources of food for the mold can be drywall, carpets, or even your own mattress. Mold has simple requirements in order to survive and thrive. Preventing and removing mold is a simpler task than it sounds.
How to Prevent Mold
The easiest tactic to conquering mold is to prevent it before it develops. If you follow one simple rule, mold will not become a problem for you and your home. The bottom line is: keep your home dry. With summer weather in full effect it can be hard to keep humidity in your home low. However, here are some tips that might help:
- Ventilate bathrooms and dryers outdoors
- Use air conditioners and dehumidifiers
- When kitchen appliances are in use put on your exhaust fans
- Do not carpet areas prone to moisture
By keeping humidity between 30%-50% mold will not be able to survive. You can easily keep your home from being conquered by mold. Therefore, this battle is one you can win.
How to Remove Mold
If you have found mold in your home, then you need to remove it as soon as possible. You would not let an unwelcome houseguest linger so do not let the mold. If you can catch the mold in the early stages, you can remove it yourself which reduces those repair costs tremendously. Follow these steps when removing mold:
- Safety First: Wear protection whenever in contact with mold such as gloves, eye protection, and face mask.
- Scrub polluted surfaces with non-ammonia soap or detergent and hot water. Then rinse surfaces with clean water.
- Clean and disinfect any non-porous surfaces, such as tile, wood, and concrete floors and walls, with a cleaning solution (one-part bleach to ten parts water). Do not ever mix bleach with ammonia that would make the vapors very toxic.
- Apply the cleaning solution with a sponge or rag on the contaminated surface.
- Allow the bleach solution to dry for a 6-8 hour period.
- Wet sheetrock, insulation, and paper need to be thrown out if they are carrying the mold
How Insurance Can Help You
The question many people ask is whether or not their homeowners’ insurance policy can help them with a mold problem. Insurance is a resource that can be hard to understand. However, insurance can help with mold and mold repair depending on the specific reason the mold originated. Make sure you are knowledgeable about what your coverage offers. A general rule of thumb is that mold from a maintenance problem like slow leakage will not be covered. However, water damage (including mold) from something like a burst pipe would be under the scope of the policy. Take note when you see the words “excluding” or “restrictions” in your homeowner’s policy and be sure to double check with your agent
Mold is something that you should not have weighing you down. Be sure to follow the steps listed above to prevent mold, but if you do happen to find mold in your home, contact your insurance agent to see if they can help. Wood Insurance is the place to get homeowners insurance to cover your needs. Our friendly, professional staff that will walk you through whatever coverage questions you may have. For a more in-depth study on mold: Mold in the Home: Prevention, Identification and Removal.
