How to Reduce Your Home’s Mold Growth in the Summer

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Are you excited for the upcoming summer season? So is your home’s mold. In extremely hot temperatures, with humidity levels over 80%, mold loves to grow. If left unchecked, it could lead to serious damage to your home and various health risks.

When trying to reduce or prevent mold growth in your home, here are a few strategies to consider:

Identify common areas for mold growth

Mold tends to grow in moist areas like steamy bathrooms, damp basements, and kitchens. Without proper ventilation or cleanup, these spots can become the perfect breeding ground for spores. So, make sure to monitor these areas regularly to prevent mold growth. During summer, you can also check around areas that have direct exposure to moisture like your windows and doors.

Check hidden areas

Areas such as attics and basements are not utilized daily and it’s easy to overlook them. This may cause a buildup of mold, which may go undetected for long periods. Inspect and clean up these areas regularly.

Use a humidifier

Monitor the humidity level in your home and keep it below 60%. You can achieve this by using dehumidifiers, particularly in damp areas like basements and bathrooms.

Fix leaking pipes

Make sure to fix leaks around your home, no matter how small they are. Some leaks are not that conspicuous but you can identify a potential leak by checking for  drywalls, wet spots, and irregular water bills.

Keep your gutters clean

You should have a routine for cleaning your gutters to prevent moisture buildup. Check your drainage pipe regularly to ensure there are no clogs or mold already building up in it.

Improve Ventilation

Basic techniques like keeping your space well ventilated will go a long way to prevent mold from sprouting. By using exhaust fans, especially in moisture-prone areas like the bathrooms and kitchens, you can keep the airing around you fresh and clean. Attics and crawl spaces are often overlooked, but these places need to have good air circulation. Cross ventilation is important to decrease the moisture in the air and ultimately reduce the humidity level of your home. You can open your windows and doors occasionally to regulate air moisture levels.

Maintain HVAC systems

Another way to remove your home’s moisture is by using an air conditioner. Air conditioners are generally effective for introducing cooler air and reducing the mustiness in the atmosphere. However, this can be counterproductive if your HVAC systems are not properly maintained. Therefore, make sure to clean and replace filters regularly. 

Ready to Get Rid of Your Home’s Mold Growth? Contact Safer Homes Environmental Today!

Safer Homes can assist you if you’re looking to reduce the mold growth in your home! We provide a wide range of effective mold prevention services that will help maintain the structural integrity of your home.

What to Know About Asbestos Exposure

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Over 50% of all homes in the US were built before the 80’s. While many architects argue that these homes were made with more “durable” materials than the kind today, creating the notion that “older homes are better than new homes”, almost all of them were also made with asbestos. Up until the EPA began to regulate building materials in the 70s, asbestos was commonly used in insulation, floor tiles, and cement. Nearly 60 years later, regulated or not, asbestos still remains. According to a PBS study, around 30 million homes still contain asbestos.

 If you live in a home that was built before the 80’s, here are some signs that you may have asbestos exposure.

Asbestos Exposure Warning Signs:

  • Chest pain
  • Persistent dry cough
  • Shortness of breath
  • Unexplained weight loss

It’s important to note that asbestos exposure doesn’t show signs immediately. Instead, doctors have recorded patients showing signs around 10-20 years later.

Illnesses That Can Result from Asbestos Exposure

  • Mesothelioma
  • Lung cancer
  • Laryngeal cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Asbestosis
  • Pleural plagues

Top Ways to Limit Your Asbestos Exposure

If you think your home may have asbestos, we strongly recommend scheduling a home asbestos test. An inspector will take samples of your home before sending it off to a laboratory. If it comes back positive, you can schedule an asbestos removal appointment. (Do not try to remove the asbestos yourself.) 

How Safer Homes Environmental Can Help You With Asbestos in Your Home Today

As New England’s top hazardous testing company, we’ll inspect your home for asbestos, lead, mold, and more. Our team is specialized in finding dangerous minerals that could be living in your home. Along with our hazardous testing services, we also offer humidity and moisture testing, and post-remediation clearances. Choose being safe over being sorry with Safer Homes Environmental today. 

Ready to Test Your MA or NH Home for Asbestos? Contact Safer Homes Environmental, a Leading Asbestos Testing Company!

At Safer Homes Environmental, we provide minimally-invasive asbestos surveys, sampling, and testing services. Our certified inspectors comply with State regulatory sampling requirements and are trained to follow extremely safe procedures. For our sampling and testing, we utilize Laboratory Analysis for Polarized Light Microscopy, which is activated in a highly advanced laboratory. These tests are always completed in a quick turnaround; in the event there is asbestos in your home, waiting another day or two can be extremely detrimental to your health. Your safety is our top priority. (We’re not called Safer Homes just for fun.) 

 

To learn more about our asbestos surveys, testing, and sampling services today, contact us on our website or call us at (603) 854-2264.