Protecting Your House Against Moisture and Mold

A few years ago I owned a little house out in the country near Pacific, Missouri. It was a nice little weekend place that sat just northward of a pretty good-sized lake. The back part of the house was built into a hill, which really helped with the heating and cooling bills. There was one problem however, that made me eventually sell the house. Whenever there was a heavy rain it would soak the carpet in the back part of the house. The air around the lake was so humid that the only way to dry things out was to run the air conditioner full blast, even in the dead of winter. Then the creepy black mold would start to grow on the cinder block foundation and underneath the carpet. After trying to seal the foundation, and replacing the carpet and tile several times, I finally gave up. Recently I watched a program on one of the science channels about mold. It had gotten so bad in one house that a team in bio suits had to go in and remove the stuff with shovels. That’s right, shovels. It was a foot thick in some places. Here’s a little about the spongy stuff and what you can do to prevent it:

There are more than 100,000 species of mold in the world. Molds are microscopic organisms that produce enzymes to digest organic matter and spores to reproduce. They are part of the fungi kingdom, the same as mushrooms, yeast, and mildews. Molds actually play a very important part in the natural world. They are the primary eaters of dead plant material. Without them there could be no forests, jungles, essentially no life. They also make great cheese and things like penicillin. The problem arises when they start eating things that we don’t want them to, like the organic material in our homes.

Mold spores are everywhere, and they can easily settle in your home. There are molds that can grow on wood, carpet, ceiling tiles, wallpaper, sheet rock, and insulation. Pretty much anything at all. When excess moisture builds up in your home from a leaky roof, high humidity, or flooding, the conditions become ideal for mold growth.

Can molds affect my health? Most molds are not a concern for someone who is healthy, but if you have allergies or asthma, you may be sensitive. They can cause skin rash, a runny nose, cough, congestion, and aggravate asthma. Sometimes molds will produce toxins against other molds. These are called mycotoxins. These mycotoxins can cause health problems for some people. Infants and small children are especially at risk.

A lot of the time it is pretty easy to tell that you have a mold problem. You can see the clusters of small black specks on walls and other places that are damp. You might also smell a “musty” odor when you enter the room. Sometimes though, hidden mold can be growing behind walls and be difficult to detect. How can you be a mold detective? Look in places where water leaks might be a problem, like in basements and plumbing areas. Mold can also be found growing along walls where moist air condenses on cooler wall surfaces, such as inside exterior walls, behind dressers, headboards, and in closets where articles are stored against walls.

Now that you might have located some mold, how do you go about getting rid of it? First and foremost, fix any moisture problems that you have in your house. Repair leaking roofs or plumbing problems. Increase the air circulation in your house with fresh air from the outside. Move large objects away from walls a few inches to promote good air circulation. Use exhaust fans in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms. Ventilate and insulate attic and crawl spaces. If you have practiced all of the prevention, but you still find some mold, be extra careful the first time that you try to clean it up. This is the time that you are most likely to stir up the spores and cause a greater problem. If you suspect that you have mold over a large area of your house, then it is best to call in a professional to handle the job. They can usually be found under “Fire and Water Damage Restoration” in the Yellow Pages. If you think that the area is small and want to do it yourself, here are some things to consider: Wear goggles, gloves, and some kind of breathing protection while working in the area of the mold. Seal off the area from the rest of your home. Cover heat registers and ducts. Cover the furniture and open a window to promote good air circulation. Bag and discard all moldy materials. For hard surfaces, first scrub with a mild detergent solution and warm water. Finish with a solution of ¼ cup bleach to a quart of water. By following these few simple steps, maybe you won’t end up with the mold that ate Detroit. .