Everybody likes to store their keepsakes in the basement; those nostalgic items that aren’t of modern use but hit you with all sorts of memories. A lot of people keep vinyl records in the basement or old pictures. Unfortunately, these incredibly valuable keepsakes are the most susceptible to mold and bacteria, which is a common problem in a mildew ridden basement. Mold and bacteria can get inside of materials and eat them from the inside. The keepsake becomes compromised and is not a keepsake anymore.
The main culprit causing this memory-destroying malady is water. Mold and bacteria need water to thrive, like most living things. If you remove the water then you starve the mold and bacteria. You also save your keepsakes from an early demise.
The easiest way to remove the water from your basement is to use a dehumidifier. Run this machine when it is especially humid, in the springtime or after a storm. You should notice a considerable decrease in the humidity of the basement. If the humidity is still high, the basement still smells like mildew and your keepsakes keep disintegrating, then it may be a bigger problem. Water may be pouring into your home.
Cracks in the basement walls can actually have the moisture from the ground seep through. This can happen at any time Continue reading →
Spores of mold are everywhere. You may have heard something similar about bacteria; how bacteria are on every surface in the world, including inside your body. Well the same holds true for mold spores. They float around the environment, and, like bacteria, are impossible to get rid of. So getting rid of mold is more about destroying its habitat than destroying the spores.
The at-home remedies for mold remediation, which is the professional term for mold elimination, can actually promote more mold growth. Most of the do-it-yourself solutions actually use a water based solution to kill the mold. Sure, the water is infused with tea tee oil, grapefruit seed extract or household cleaners, but the fact remains that the solution is water based. When you spray to kill the mold, the solution itself stays behind to foster an ideal environment for more mold.
Mold needs moisture to thrive. If you use at-home sprays and do not properly dry the area afterward, then you might produce more mold once you are done trying to kill the mold. And most household cleaners do no kill all mold spores. These homemade mold removal remedies only kill a certain percentage of mold. This leaves behind the strongest mold spores that will use the water based solution to multiply. You’ve essentially created a super strain Continue reading →
The term “toxic molds” get tossed around quite a bit, for good reason. Certain strains of mold that proliferate in building materials when they get warm and wet, such as Strachybotrys, for example, can cause illness in humans and animals by triggering an autoimmune reaction, where your own body attacks itself. You probably have some sort of allergic reaction to something, to a mosquito bite or hay fever. These allergic reactions are examples of mild autoimmune responses, but many molds can present far more dangerous symptoms.
The simple fact is that mold in your home can make you ill. The home should be a retreat- a sanctuary where you can escape the outside world and anything that ails you. So it is a bit of a nightmare when mold inside your home is making you sick. It can rob you of the feeling of “home” altogether.
Homes that are in humid areas of the country are at especially high risk of developing these molds, but that said, it should be noted that mold exists everywhere. So while homes built in the middle of the deserts in the Southwest United States are at a lower risk of toxic mold contamination, the danger is still not eliminated entirely.
Symptoms of Mold Infestation In Humans
The Institute of Medicine found that mold Continue reading →
Mold in the home can cause all sorts of trouble. The mold can cause your family to fall ill, due to allergic reactions. The mold can also get into the wood inside your home’s frame and cause rot. Rotting frames must be replaced at a very high out-of-pocket cost. Mold is no good, but there are certain things that everyone can do in order to mold proof their home.
Most hardware stores sell moisture meters., devices that actually read the amount of humidity in the air. Mold needs moisture to survive, grow and thrive. So if the moisture is kept at a minimum, then you can kill the mold before it starts. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends a humidity of between 30% and 60%. If the humidity is well over 60%, than it may be time to inspect your own home as a mold infestation may have taken hold, even if you’ve yet to see the growth or experience an adverse reaction.
Problem areas in your home will present themselves in moist locations, where mold likes to live. Be on the lookout for condensation, wet spots on the floor, or leaky pipes; these are the proverbial smoking guns of moisture issues around the house. Condensation happens when warm, wet air touches something cool. The moisture comes out of the air Continue reading →
The only mold you really want to have in your house is the stuff that is supposed to add flavor to gourmet cheeses. But the scary truth is that there is mold all around you. The spores are floating around on the air in your home, in your office building, in your child’s school and outside. On top of that, mold attaches to your clothing, to pet’s hair, to your children’s skin and to anything else it can touch. The spores are invisible, abundant and persistent. That means the world will never truly be rid of mold.
These floating mold spores spiral through the air and then touch down on the ground. If the spore just so happens to touch down in a warm, moist spot, it will multiply rapidly. You may be able to smell the forming of mold if you find that a portion of your carpet or room smells musty, like old moisture.
Mold spores especially like porous and fibrous surfaces like wood and carpet, both of which can absorb moisture and expand. When this expansion takes place, mold spores get sucked in. You may notice a smell along with dark spots along the grain of the wood. Once mold gets into the wood in your home it becomes very difficult to remove without the help of Continue reading →
Few scenarios are as disheartening as walking downstairs into your basement to start the laundry or work on a project, only to realize that the entire area is underwater. This can happen slowly over time, as water creeps in through cracks or drips in from a leaky pipe. Or the water can come in very quickly, due to a catastrophic flooding. Either way, no matter how it happened or how much or how little water is actually present, the truth remains: not only are you most definitely not getting anything done down there any time soon, but you are also going to need to have a plan to get this whole mess taken care of ASAP to minimize the damage.
Mold:
Water may be a purifying force of nature most of the time, but left in a wet basement, which is devoid of proper air circulation, it stagnates. This turns your basement into a veritable petri dish for nasty things you do not want anywhere near your home. This environment is the ideal growing condition for several strains of dangerous mold, mildew, and fungi that could put you and your family at risk.
This is especially true of the mold called Stachybotrys chartarum. Its distinctive black coloring makes it easy to identify, and it is extremely dangerous to both Continue reading →
Everybody likes to store their keepsakes in the basement; those nostalgic items that aren’t of modern use but hit you with all sorts of memories. A lot of people keep vinyl records in the basement or old pictures. Unfortunately, these incredibly valuable keepsakes are the most susceptible to mold and bacteria, which is a common problem in a mildew ridden basement. Mold and bacteria can get inside of materials and eat them from the inside. The keepsake becomes compromised and is not a keepsake anymore.
