Bathroom Mold

Would you agree that a clean and sparkling bathroom is something to behold?  Most people would like to have a bathroom that is clean all the time.  However, with the busy lives we lead, we often find our bathrooms in a state of disarray and sometimes we even find bathroom mold has taken up residence when we weren’t looking.  Despite the lack of time we have seem to have these days, it is possible to have a beautifully clean and mold-free bathroom by following just a few steps throughout the week.

Keep only the toiletries and beauty items that you truly use on a daily or weekly basis.  If possible, keep your counters as free as possible of items that may collect water underneath, such as tumblers, soap dishes, or toothbrush holders.  It’s a good idea to have a roll of paper towels handy for quick clean ups throughout the day.

Airflow is critical when it comes to controlling mold in a bathroom.  Anytime a bath or shower is being taken, be sure to turn on the fan in the bathroom.  This will draw out excess moisture, keeping the bathroom a bit drier and less likely to develop a mold problem.  Following a shower, it is a good idea to squeegee the walls down to remove excess water from the tile or shower enclosure.

Before deep-cleaning your bathroom, remove all the products, the trash can, rugs, and miscellaneous items.  This way, you can clearly see all the cracks and crevices at a glance.  Does the caulking appear loose in the shower?  Make sure to take the time to replace loose or missing caulk around the edges of the tub and shower.  This keeps moisture from hiding in unseen crevices and keeps mold from producing in those unseen places too.  Before placing the toiletries and other items back into your clean bathroom, wipe each of them completely to eliminate additional moisture and possibly the beginnings of mold.

It is possible that your slow-to-drain shower, tub, or sink drain is a breeding place for bathroom mold.  Standing water, or water that sits for a longer period of time before draining, is more likely to promote mold growth.  Make sure to keep drains running smoothly by using a bleach and water solution or a product specifically formulated to attack blockages.  If all else fails, contact your local plumber to come and snake out the drain.

Bathroom floors are best cleaned with a mold-inhibiting product such as bleach water solution or vinegar and water, depending on the type of flooring you have in your bathroom.  Use a sponge to wipe down the floor once a week along with regular cleaning.

Plastic shower curtain liners are another breeding ground for mold, especially along the bottom edge.  Consider investing in a fabric shower curtain liner that can be removed and thrown into the washing machine periodically.  In between washings, spray the liner with a product that will inhibit mold growth.

There are specific types of paint on the market today that are designed to help inhibit mold growth in areas with high humidity, such as bathrooms.  Consider painting your bathroom with one of these paints in addition to cleaning and disinfecting on a consistent basis.

Bathroom mold can be a health hazard if left unchecked.  Simply by deep cleaning your bathroom once a week and daily wiping down the shower and counter areas, mold won’t have a chance to grow, let alone stay, in your bathroom.

Mold Spores

Mold spores are tinier than even pollen grains, invisible to the naked eye, float through the air, and are capable of causing serious health problems if they are allowed to produce and grow uninhibited.  Mold spores are how mold reproduces.  Mold comes in all colors, including yellow, green, white, and black to name a few.  All molds have one thing in common however and that it that all molds need the presence of moisture or water to flourish.

Molds are found both outside and inside the home.  In order to grow, mold requires warmth, moisture or water, oxygen, and food.  Outdoors, mold can be found on rotting logs, decaying vegetation, compost piles, and on some plants.  Unfortunately, since the spores of mold can travel on air, mold is often found inside the home as well.

An indoor environment that isn’t cleaned and monitored regularly for mold can easily enable mold growth.  Inside the home, mold can most often be found in bathrooms, kitchens, basements, refrigerators, closets, furniture, trashcans, dark pantries, and inside walls and along baseboards.

Why is an understanding of mold spores important?  It has been reported that there are millions of people suffering from allergies related to mold.  These spores are so tiny that the nose can’t even filter all of them out effectively.  Mild allergy symptoms might include, but aren’t limited to, coughing, runny nose, dizziness, red or watery eyes, or sneezing.  More severe allergic reactions might manifest themselves as difficulty breathing (similar to an asthma attack), bleeding lungs, heart problems, or serious mental disabilities.  Brain damage and compromised immune systems can result if someone is unknowingly and consistently exposed to mold over a long period of time.

Mold reproduces throughout the year, but allergic reactions to the spores are seen more often during the spring, summer, and fall months.  Warmer climates will see more incidences of allergies as a result of mold given that mold loves humidity and warmth combined.

The spores that cause mold are tiny and invisible to the naked eye, so how do we combat them and keep our chances of an allergy attack or infestion at bay?  It is crucial to keep a clean and dry home in order to effectively fight mold.  Bleach and water are the perfect disinfectant and cleaner for your home.  Use a spray bottle with a mixture of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water on sinks, counter tops, showers, tile, tubs, window frames and sills, floors, and appliances.

Your basement should be kept as dry as possible.  An air purifier and/or dehumidifier in your basement will go a long way toward controlling the moisture level and inhibiting mold growth.  Water leaks or damage should be cleaned immediately, preferably within 24 horus.  During the warmer months, keep an air conditioner running regularly to help keep the humidity down inside the home.

Mold spores are going to keep reproducing, floating through the air and invading our homes.  However, we can fight back by cleaning our homes and appliances regularly and by maintaining a dry (less humid) indoor environment.  Doing these simple things can help to eliminate possible allergic reactions to mold and inhibit mold growth in our homes.

How To Get Rid of Black Mold

Once you’ve discovered that you have black mold in your home, it is crucial to eliminate it as quickly and as effectively as possible.  If you’d like to learn about how to get rid of black mold, read on for preventative measures and cleaning tips.

Mold, whether it’s black mold or another type of fungi, lives and grows best when there is a combination of moisture and darkness.  Homeowners who reside in states where the humidity is high on a regular basis must take special care to keep their home dry.  Homes with basements and cellars are good candidates for black mold too if they aren’t kept dry.

A Few Preventative Measures

A dehumidifier unit will effectively reduce the level of humidity (moisture) in your home when used properly.  The dehumidifier essentially draws the moisture hanging in the air of the home and deposits it into a collection bucket.  The bucket should be checked a few times daily and emptied in order to prevent mold from developing in the dehumidifier unit or water collection bucket.

Bathrooms are a hot spot for black mold growth if the right conditions exist.  It’s important to have a fan installed and running in a bathroom, especially when hot water is running and producing steam and moisture on the walls and floor.  If you have a bathroom in the basement, make sure you have good airflow and a dehumidifier running regularly.

How To Get Rid of Black Mold

Black mold has been discovered in your home.  How can you effectively clean it up and keep it from spreading further?  Bleach is an all-around cleaner and sanitizer and can be used on several areas.  Add about ¾ cup of bleach to one gallon of water.  Fill a spray bottle with the bleach solution.  Wearing gloves and a mask, spray the solution directly on the moldy area.  This is especially effective in bathrooms, kitchens, and linoleum floors.  Protect your carpet before using this solution on baseboards!  Discard all sponges, rags, or gloves used to clean black mold.

If you had a water leak or floor inside the house and your carpeting was affected, be sure to check for black mold by pulling up the tack strips and areas of the carpet.  If you find black mold, you’ll most likely need (and want) to replace the carpet, padding, and tack strips.  Mold spores are difficult to remove simply by steam cleaning, so it’s best to begin with brand new materials in order to completely eliminate the black mold.  Prior to laying down new carpet and padding, use bleach and water solution to clean the entire area.

Furniture may be salvaged, depending on the extent of black mold in the piece.  Consult with a professional cleaner to see what he would recommend.  Drywall is best replaced if black mold is found behind the walls.  There just isn’t a completely effective way to clean drywall once black mold has gotten hold, so it’s best to replace it as soon as possible.

Prevention is the best way to keep black mold from ever forming inside your home.  However, if you have discovered black mold, with the cleaning tips provided above, you have a better idea of how to get rid of black mold once and for all.

Black Mold Symptoms

Black mold is an extremely toxic type of mold.  Black mold appears as a powdery or downy-like substance on everything from walls, food, carpeting, showers, wood, fabrics (including clothing), and baseboards, to name a few.  Black mold wreaks the worst havoc when it gets into the heating and air conditioning systems.  There are a variety of household mold symptoms that could appear from black mold if you have been exposed to this toxic type of fungi.

At first, symptoms indicating black mold poisoning can mimic flu or cold symptoms, such as a cough, red and watery eyes, and runny nose.  However, if left untreated, our bodies can absorb high levels of what are called mycotoxins, which are toxic to human beings and animals.  Molecular compounds called mycotoxins are sometimes produced by black mold.  If you are experiencing the following symptoms, black mold may be present in your home or workplace.

Black Mold Symptoms
·    Respiratory difficulties – hard to breathe, itchy nose, frequent drainage from the nose, asthma-like symptoms
·    Skin irritation – hives or rashes on the skin
·    Red eyes
·    Intense headaches for seemingly no reason
·    Consistent cough
·    Feelings of nausea and dizziness
·    Difficulty recalling details or general fogginess resulting in lack of concentration
·    Lethargic behavior
·    Blood pressure levels are irregular

Prolonged exposure to black mold has even been known to cause bleeding in the lungs, internal pain of the organs, urinary tract infections, and in some severe cases, infertility.  Research has shown that both elderly people and infants are especially sensitive to the presence of mold in a home.  It is vital that a physician checks you if you are experiencing any of these symptoms for no apparent reason.

A home that has mold and is primarily closed up can be an especially dangerous environment, causing black mold poisoning more quickly due to no fresh air entering the space.  Black mold can hide behind walls and not actually be seen for several months before it is discovered.  If you happen to notice stains on walls that appear in colors of yellow, black, green, or even brown, and the walls are damp, you may already have mold in the process of growing on or behind the walls.  Black mold could be a result of a water leak or consistently high levels of moisture in an area such as a basement, enclosed shower, or even an office.

Trust your nose!  If you seem to notice a musty or mildew smell in your home or office, mold may be in the early stages.  Keep your eyes open for more noticeable signs of the mold.  Look in corners of rooms, around the baseboards, and around ceiling areas for stains or what appears to be dirt (and may actually be mold).

Some people are very sensitive to mold and may experience respiratory problems before they ever see visible signs of mold.  If symptoms are experienced inside a house or office, but not outside of those areas, there may be mold present.  For some people, an allergic reaction to black mold can mimic asthma.

Black mold symptoms are an indication that you have black mold poisoning.  It is vital a physician examines you as soon as possible.  He will be able to determine if your household mold symptoms are a result of mold or something else in the environment.

Basement Mold

Basements are a wonderful extension of living space for many homeowners. However, whether your basement is finished or simply a storage area, it’s important for homeowners to realize that basement mold can be a real problem. Basements are typically damp. Basements often store items that are paper based or contain wood, which provides an excellent food source for mold. Pipes, heating and air conditioning systems, washing machines and dryers are often located in a basement, bringing humidity and moisture to the area. Mold loves darkness and moisture!

Find the Mold in Your Basement

Your nose could be a good gauge to let you know if you have mold in your basement, but by the time you can detect a mildew or mold smell, the mold may have a pretty good hold. So, how do you know if you have basement mold? Regular inspections are the key to preventing mold from developing in your basement.

Regularly check drywall, ceilings, and baseboards, ceiling tiles, joists, carpeting and baseboards for signs of mold or stains that could indicate a water leak.

Check regularly areas that could be affected by a water leak, such as areas under the kitchen or bathrooms.

Pipes and the areas around them should be looked at periodically to ensure that water isn’t leaking slowly and providing the right conditions for mold growth.

The drywall around your dryer should be checked now and then too given that dryers produce heat and moisture every time they run.

Heating and air conditioning ductwork should be cleaned and checked on a regular basis to make sure mold spores aren’t being spread throughout your home every time the air conditioning or heat kicks on.
Check stored furniture and boxes too (undersides) to make sure mold hasn’t begun to develop in unseen places.

Prevent Mold in Your Basement

There are ways to prevent mold from forming in your basement.

One inexpensive tool is a humidity meter. Purchase one from your local hardware store and place it in your basement. A safe reading is anything below a 60% humidity level.

While you’re at the hardware store, purchase a dehumidifier too. A dehumidifier will help to control the humidity level by drawing moisture right from the air.

Wrap your basement pipes with insulation.

A well-ventilated basement is less likely to develop mold issues.

The ground area outside your home should slope away from the basement, not toward it.

If you have a water leak or flood, clean it up and get your basement dry as soon as possible!

An exhaust fan should be installed if there is a shower in the basement. Moist air will then be pulled outside the home instead of building up inside the basement.

The cost of drywall, new furniture, carpeting, and anything else affected by the mold would be far more costly and time consuming than a trip to the hardware store. You’ve heard the saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, haven’t you?

The investment you’ll make in a dehumidifier, humidity meter, exhaust fan, and yearly duct cleaning can’t compare to what it would cost to get rid of basement mold once it has appeared and taken hold in your home.

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