Your Mold-Free Home: 7 Smart Practices

Indoor mold can be dangerous to you and your family’s health, not to mention damaging to your home and expensive to remove. Luckily, there are many known ways to prevent mold growth and ensure a mold-free home. The following suggestions can help you accomplish this:

Consider a programmable thermostat: These devices allow you to program temperatures according to your daily and weekly schedule, as well as vacations. This means you can avoid temperature extremes that can lead to mold growth when you’re not at home.

Maintain the air conditioner: Drip pans and drain lines need to be clean and unobstructed in order to do their job. If drip pans or drain lines are backed up, they can pool water and increase the moisture in the air.

Use your exhaust fans: Whenever you’re conducting an activity in the house where water or steam is involved, run a fan or open a window. This includes showering, cooking and washing dishes.

Vent appliances: Appliances that create a lot of moisture, such as dryers, should be vented outside because they create water vapor.

Insulate cold surfaces: Condensation occurs when moist air meets a cool surface, like when the bathroom mirror fogs up. Prevent this by insulating your ducts.

Use natural ventilation wisely: There’s nothing more refreshing than opening up your windows on a mild day and enjoying fresh breezes moving through your home. But make sure you close the windows when the weather turns foul or muggy. All that outside humidity will infiltrate your living spaces if your windows or doors are open.

Get a dehumidifier: Depending on your needs or budget, consider installing a whole-house dehumidifier, or one or more portable models.

If you would like further advice on creating a mold-free home, please contact us at NisAir Air Conditioning & Heating. We have been serving Martin, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Indian River counties since 1973.