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Mold would share your home whether you like it or not. Although you can’t kick this unwanted occupant out of the house, you can make the conditions in which it thrives undesirable enough to discourage it from thriving. Here are 10 ways to prevent mold in your home or apartment.
Windows can keep your indoor humidity levels in check by pulling in cold drafts and pushing out warm, wet air, which mold loves. Some window types are more efficient in maximizing ventilation than others. However, opening them across all floors at once — along with interior doors — should increase the airflow because of the stack effect.
The rate of air circulation increases when air inlets and outlets are on opposite sides of rooms. Consider leaving your exterior doors open to promote cross-ventilation. Take the natural ventilation route when the weather is pleasant to cool your spaces without your air conditioner.
Avoid pressing a piece of furniture too close against a wall. The lack of a gap restricts air circulation in the area. Low airflow can make the wall cold enough to cause condensation upon contact with moist air, and damp surfaces are breeding grounds for mold growth.
Make it a habit to turn on a ducted range hood to prevent mold in your apartment if you love to cook at home. Conversely, running a ductless model makes no difference because it only filters out the contaminants and recirculates the wet air back indoors.
If you don’t have a ductless range hood, leave your kitchen windows open instead. Alternatively, turn on your ceiling fan to improve the airflow and discourage moisture buildup.
Appliances that use water add moisture to the air. Drying your clothes outdoors can help keep your laundry area less conducive to mold growth and save on electricity.
If you live in one of the 20 states with a right-to-dry law, you can sun-dry your laundry in the backyard to use your clothes dryer less. It overrides homeowners association restrictions, so nobody can threaten you to stop.
Regularly damp areas like the bathroom usually become mold-infested because of high humidity. It takes considerable work to keep your bathroom surfaces bone-dry all the time, but it’s doable.
Ventilate the space immediately using an operating window or an exhaust fan after a hot shower or bath. Better yet, use lukewarm or cold water to reduce steam when washing yourself.
The dirt underneath your house is generally dank because aboveground and underground water sources saturate it. Covering the soil with a vapor barrier helps protect your floor from the moisture seeping up from the crawlspace.
An airtight home helps keep water from going places it shouldn’t. The usual suspects are compromised roof sections, sagging gutters and cracked siding panels. Leaky ductwork often goes unnoticed because the damage is out of sight.
Book technicians for regular inspections to catch signs of water leakage early. Roofing, gutter, siding, and air conditioning specialists can also clean and dry inaccessible areas, preventing moisture-related headaches like microbiological growth and corrosion and averting bigger problems.
Regular air conditioner filter maintenance is one of the simplest ways to prevent mold in your apartment. Your cooling equipment can only dehumidify your living spaces when its air filter isn’t clogged.
Review your owner’s manual to know how frequently you should maintain your air conditioner’s filter. This document should also help you locate where it is, confirm whether you have a washable or disposable filter, and how to remove and reinstall it.
Upgrading your programmable thermostat to a smart model does more than automate your temperature settings. Thermostats with humidity control factor in the air’s moisture content when regulating your indoor climate. You only need one of these smart devices to ensure your living spaces don’t get too wet for mold to proliferate and don’t get so dry they cause respiratory ailments and dehydration.
Charcoal — be it lump or briquettes — is a natural dehumidifier. The material can rapidly dry and deodorize the air, allowing it to freshen up musty, enclosed storage areas.
The caveat is that charcoal’s heating value decreases proportionately with its moisture content. If you plan to use it soon, put your damp charcoal in the sun to dry beforehand. Let in the open for many days and occasionally turn it over to dry all sides. Otherwise, your charcoal may take a while to light.
Knowing how to prevent mold in your house or apartment is one thing, but doing it is another. Applying some of these tips is a small sacrifice to keep mold colonies from harming your health and ruining your home.
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