How To Get Rid Of Mold In Your Home

The best way to get rid of mold is obviously not to have it in the first place. After you learn how to get rid of mold, look at the rest of your house, keeping how mold grows in the back of your mind, and try to see if you have any other areas that might need to be fixed before you have another mold problem.

How to get rid of mold is easy, you remove it. Keeping mold from growing is the more difficult part. Mold needs water, food, and correct temperature to germinate and grow. Our homes are kept at temperatures molds like. Dust is a good enough food source for mold. Therefore, we must ensure that they don't get the water or moisture they need to grow and reproduce.

Top Three Ways for Mold To Get Water

1. If an area of your house has been exposed to water (rainfall, toilet overflowing, etc) and has been allowed to sit in the water for over 36 hours, you have a much higher rate of having mold contamination than with a cleanup that happens immediately. The reason being is that the water is having time to seep into the wood/drywall/concrete, thus giving the mold spores something to start germinating in.
2. Also, keeping your home at lower humidity levels will help reduce mold growth. Mold doesn't necessarily need droplets of water, if the humidity level in your home is high enough, it can get the water it needs from the air.
3. Finally, condensation can create enough of a water source for mold to grow. This is most apparent near windows and doors, but also if the plumbing is not correct, condensation on pipes can drip inside walls and create water sources for mold.

Basically, to get rid of mold you just remove it. There is no need to kill it with bleach or any other product. Just remove it from the area. Most people feel more comfortable using some kind of product as we are always worried we are leaving some behind and so it will come back. However, if the water source problem is corrected, then any mold that does stay and live will die shortly as it has no water to sustain it.

Always wear personal protection equipment: N95 respirator, eye goggles, and rubber gloves. You should also wear long pants and shirt and shoes.

If the size of the area affected by mold is greater than 10 square feet, then it is recommended you contain the area. Honestly, if the area is that large, you really should consider having professional mold remediation.

With protective gear on and the area contained as much as possible, remove the mold and put it in a plastic bag. Be aware that every time you touch the mold, mold spores will be released by the thousands, hence the reason for all the protective equipment. Even if you don't have a sensitivity to mold or any mold symptoms, being bombarded by that many mold spores could produce a reaction – better safe than sorry.

Make sure to correct the water source problem - otherwise you will be doing the above steps again and again and again.

First you need to determine why there is mold on your wall. Is it the humidity, or is there something behind the wall acting as the water source. Either way, the problem needs to be fixed before the mold problem will go away. If the problem is behind the wall, be prepared for more mold there – you may end of finding a really big mold problem.

After the water source is corrected, simply remove and bag the mold and throw it away. Refer to the basic mold removal instructions above.

Getting rid of mold in basements can be a very involved action depending upon how your basement is configured. After replacing anything that currently has mold on it, a dehumidifier in the basement is probably going to be a big plus. Not only will it help with the humidity of the air, but also with condenstation problems.

Water flooding and seeping from the ground are items that need to be addressed by professional contractors. As long as your basement is susceptible to water, you will have a mold problem.

If you don't see any mold on the floor, studs, or walls, look around at the contents of your basement. Do you have any boxes sitting directly on the concrete floor? If so, they are excellent breeding grounds, as well as any paper products, for mold, particularly the toxic black mold that has been in the press (Black mold removal follows the same basic steps, but extra care should be taken in containment and personal protective equipment usage).

If you come across a box that has acquired mold, wrap it in plastic and remove to outdoors before going through the contents. This way should help minimize the spread of mold spores through your house.

Always be aware that as soon as you touch or disturb mold, thousands of mold spores are being released into the air. Try to isolate the room with mold from the rest of the house as much as possible and wear protective equipment before any time of mold removal, especially with black mold removal. Even if you don't have any type of mold allergy, being bombarded with that much may cause a problem for you. Wear an approved face mask and immediately remove and wash all clothing when you are done. Don't forget to take off your shoes as well. Anything porous provides the perfect breeding ground for mold spores.

This is the most common place for us to find mold. Again, it could be an actual pluming problem. But if it is not, you should really take a look at your exhaust fan. Perhaps it is not getting rid of enough of the air in your bathroom. Or perhaps your family is just not turning it on when they shower or bathe. Try to make that a habit for them to get into.

Also, keeping bathroom doors open when not in use helps with air flow and getting rid of moist air.