9 Mold Prevention Tips from the Best Mold Removal Company in South Florida

These 9 tips from a South Florida mold removal expert can help you avoid the need to call a mold removal company.

However, if you already are facing a mold or water damage situation call us at (561) 777-2618.

As a South Florida based mold restoration company, we have seen mold grow quickly leaving homeowners with no choice except to call a mold expert.  We are a professional mold removal company located in South Florida. We have years of experience handling water damage and mold issues.  This article will point out some mold hotspots and teach you how to prevent mold growth before it starts.

Based in Boynton Beach Florida, we are considered the best mold and water damage restoration company in the area.  If you live in Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Palm Beach Gardens, Delray Beach, Wellington, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Parkland, or any other place in Broward or Palm Beach County, and if your home has suffered water or mold damage call us for a free mold inspection.

Recent studies have found that any water damage in a home can facilitate mold growth in as little as 24 hours.  Water can enter your South Florida home in any number of ways.  One way homes may develop mold damage is through a compromised roof.  Because we live in an area with frequent storms and hurricanes, roofs in South Florida take lots of abuse.  Another common distress call we receive, results from broken or malfunctioning appliances. A slow water leak under your kitchen dishwasher, or under a laundry room washing machine, could cause water to pool, unnoticed in a hidden area.  If there is any type of moisture sitting uncontrolled in your home, for any extended amount of time, there may be mold growth already happening. Long-term exposure of mold in your home can cause serious health problems.  Often homeowners don’t realize they have a mold problem.  As they experience mold related health symptoms such as eye irritation, respiratory problems, headache, and allergy type illnesses they very often have no clue that mold is the hidden culprit behind their sickness.  One of the worst effects of mold damage and mold related illnesses are the increased chance of developing certain types of cancers.

Most South Florida homeowners don’t have the ability to detect early stage mold growing in their home.  The fact that mold growth is often hidden in a ceiling, or behind a wall, means the average home occupant has no clue that mold spores are airborne in their living space.  We have been in business since 1993 and have extensive experience working with home water damage and the resulting mold issues.  Because our staff is highly experienced in South Florida mold removal, we could usually inspect a home, and with our experienced sense of smell, we could simply smell the mold spores seconds after entering a mold contaminated room. We have been doing this for a very long time and you may say, we have developed the skill of smelling for mold.   However, we don’t rely on our nose when it comes to mold detection.  At Get Dry Inc. we have the latest moisture and mold detection equipment. When a homeowner calls a South Florida mold removal service, they expect prompt service from a professional with years of experience.  That is exactly what we provide.

Did you know that some strains of mold could be deadly, if a resident inhales the spores, or if their skin comes in contact with the mold?  Remember this, mold is a growing living fungus.  Because mold is, in a sense alive the growing mold is going to fight to survive and grow.  Once mold starts it’s live in your home, removing or killing the mold is not an easy task.  For a South Florida homeowner, preventing mold growth is a much better idea, than allowing mold to grow and trying to remove it after the fact.   That’s why we have created this guide.  Once you read below you will have a much better understanding of the best methods for mold prevention.  Keep reading to learn more!

1. Properly Ventilate Your Home

The simple act of living in your home may be encouraging the growth of mold.  Some of these simple activities, such as taking a shower or washing dishes, can invite the growth of mold into your South Florida home.  If some of these areas are not properly ventilated, excess levels of moisture will promote mold growth.

Rooms such as, the laundry room, the bathroom, the kitchen, along with other areas in your home, is perfect for mold growth.  The fact that these room function as water related places means that there is usually a high level of moisture in the local environment.  This is perfect environment for mold to grow. Any appliances that produce moisture should be ventilated outside of your home.  Also, some of these appliances feature filters, lint traps, and other user replaceable parts.  If these parts require cleaning or maintenance it should be done as needed.  Because South Florida is already a tropical humid place, there is no reason to invite extra moisture into your home.  By making sure these rooms are well ventilated you could save yourself some unwanted stress. 2.

2. Take a Look Around Your Home

Does your home have any problem areas that support the growth of mold? If you noticed that a window has frequent condensation, if your basement consistently floods, or if you have a leak that hasn’t been fixed, these issues should be addressed.  During a South Florida storm some areas of you home are more likely to flood or leak more than other areas.  When a home is built, the walls and foundation are supposed to be weather sealed.   However, over time, the South Florida heat combined with the sometimes-harsh weather will eat away at your homes weather sealing.  As a homeowner, it’s a good idea to have your home re-sealed and have the exterior wall checked for cracks.

In the case of my home, we have a swimming pool.  Sometimes during a heavy storm our pool will over spill onto the back deck, the water pools around the base of my home.  Our foundation is sealed and very well constructed.  However, like any home’s foundation, time could take its toll and rainwater could start to intrude into our home.  Being aware of this situation I know to keep an eye on this part of my home.  Sometime in the next few years I’ll need to have this area resealed.

Another place to inspect should be around your homes windows.  Your home’s windows should be weather sealed.  A window that has had it’s weather sealing deteriorate could allow rainwater to enter creating a potential mold problem.

You should do your best to fix these problems as quickly as you can. While it may take a little bit of investment upfront to fix these problems, it will help prevent mold from continuing to grow and spread throughout the rest of your home.

3. Consider Using More Mold-Resistant Products

Is your home in need of a little TLC? If you’re getting ready to complete new renovations to your home, you should consider installing mold-resistant products that you’re home.

There is specially made drywall and paints that are resistant to mold growth.  As a matter of fact there is a wide range of mold resistant home products.  These products range from house hold products to building products.  Here in South Florida using mold resistant products whenever possible is always a great idea.  If more information on mold resistant products and where to by them, visit this website.   Mold resistant items and solutions

For example, drywall that is mold resistant doesn’t contain any paper, which makes the surface of the drywall resistant to water damage. Using this specialized drywall in rooms with high levels of moisture and humidity, such as the bathroom, will reduce the likelihood of mold growing in your home.

4. Consider Buying a Dehumidifier

Unchecked humidity levels support the growth of mold. If your home has humidity levels that are too high, you likely may already have a problem with mold growing.

Purchasing a dehumidifier will allow you not only to detect high levels of humidity but also to keep the excessive moisture levels controlled. Homes that have high levels of humidity will have condensation build-up on walls, windows, and pipes.   Purchasing a dehumidifier is easy and they are not very expensive.  If you live in South Florida owning a dehumidifier is an excellent idea.   Owning a dehumidifier has several health benefits.  First, if you have allergies a dehumidifier will reduce the amount of moisture in the air making your home less hospitable to many allergens.  Dust mites, mold spores, and mildew don’t thrive in dryer air.  If you already have a mold problem, a dehumidifier won’t remove mold that is already growing.  Once your home has a mold problem you will need to call a professional for South Florida mold removal.   The purpose of a dehumidifier is to prevent mold growth in the first place.

With a dehumidifier in your home you can actually see the amount moisture, which has been removed, from your living space.  All the moisture that is removed from the air is collected in a water collection container.  This container needs to be emptied on a regular basis.  Once you purchase a home dehumidifier you will be amazed by the amount of moisture that gets removed from your home.  If you notice that your home has condensation buildup on and around your windows and other surfaces, a dehumidifier will help to eliminate this problem altogether, although you may have to purchase several dehumidifiers depending on your home’s size.

5. Don’t Forget About Your House Plants

One common area that most homeowners forget to check for mold is in their houseplants. While houseplants are a great thing to have to improve the quality of the air and enhance the beauty of their home, it’s also a great place for mold to thrive secretly.

Damp soil is the perfect breeding ground for mold, and left unchecked, this mold can quickly spread to other areas of your home. This doesn’t mean that you have to throw away all of your houseplants. Instead, you can try mixing Taheebo tea with the water that you feed to your house plants.

Taheebo tea contains oil that is commonly found in rainforests and helps to fight against the growth of mold and fungi. You can find this type of tea at stores that offer natural and organic selections.

 6. Encourage More airflow in Your Home

Making time in your schedule to open up windows and doors in your home will help to encourage more airflow in your home. You can try pulling your furniture away from the walls and opening up doors that are normally kept shut to get air circulating in areas where mold easily grows in.

Any areas in your home that are confined should be properly ventilated. We recommend you open up windows in comparison to using an air conditioning unit to get air moving through your home.

The fresh air from outside will be much more useful to prevent the growth of mold. Air conditioning ducts may already have mold growing inside of them, which would reintroduce more mold back into your home.

Adding ceiling fans to your home is also a great way to increase airflow in your home.  A ceiling fan will also help make your living space more inviting.  Running your ceiling fan in reverse during the colder winter months will force the warmer air down into the living space, running your ceiling fan the opposite way will keep your home cooler in the summer.  Either way your home will benefit from the additional air circulation.  In addition the enhanced air distribution created by a ceiling fan will also help to lower your electric bill.

7. Check your roof for damage.

As a South Florida mold removal company many of the mold issues we handle can be traced back to roof damage.  After a storm or hurricane a home will sustain slight roof damage.   Falling branches or other flying debris usually causes this.  Because the roof damage is slight the homeowner never notices it.  Over time, rainwater enters the homes attic through damaged roof.  The homes insulation and remains there absorb the water allowing mold growth.  It only takes 24 to 48 hours for mold to grow.  Since the moisture is trapped in the ceiling the homeowner never knows there is a problem lurking above.  It’s often the small unnoticeable roof holes like the one pictured below that require a South Florida mold removal expert.

8. Prevent mold on carpets

Another place that mold loves to grow is in your homes carpet.  Like the insulation in your homes walls and ceiling, the moisture absorption qualities of you carpets provide the perfect environment for mold to live.  Carpeted areas of you home should be vacuumed often and the use of carpet freshener is also a great idea.   Bathrooms that are carpeted are requiring extra attention to prevent mold from growing.  As a matter of fact most new home construction projects do not include carpet in areas where a high degrees of moisture may be present.

9. Your home air conditioner can help.

Did you know that your homes air conditioner acts like a home dehumidifier?  Home air conditioners work by removing moisture from the warm air in your home.  This is why air conditioning units have an outdoor drainpipe that expels water while your ac unit is running.  In the summer months a typical air conditioning unit will drain anywhere from 5-20 gallons of water each day.  This is water that would normally be moisture in your homes air.   It’s very important to make sure your homes air conditioning unit is working properly and expelling all the captured moisture it collects.  Many of the calls we receive for mold removal are a result of a broken air conditioning unit.  A frozen or blocked air conditioning drainpipe can cause a leak or flood resulting in mold growth.

Finding the Best Mold Prevention Methods for Your Home

It’s essential that you understand that there isn’t a mold prevention solution that’s perfect for everyone. Following these tips will help your prevent mold growth in your South Florida home.  If you believe that your home has a mold problem call us at (561) 777-2618 our team of mold remediation experts is here to help you manage any mold infestation project you may have.   We are based in Boynton Beach Florida and serve all of Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties.

Click here to contact us today to learn how we can help you.