Mold doesn’t just make your home look less attractive. It’s also a danger to your health and to your home’s structural integrity, especially when it begins to spread. Mold can grow and spread quickly, so it’s important to understand the risk factors for mold growth and take preventative steps to avoid related property damage and health consequences. 
What Conditions Lead to Mold Growth?
With the right conditions, mold can grow almost anywhere. Here are the ingredients required for mold growth:
- Mold Spores: Mold spores are present virtually everywhere in the air and on surfaces. When inactivated, they usually do not pose a significant threat to your health or your home.
- Moisture: In order to activate mold spores, they need moisture. This can come in forms like puddles, flooding, or even high humidity.
- An Organic Food Source: Mold also needs an organic food source to grow, and many common building materials are organic, including wood, wallpaper, drywall, and more. Most buildings have ample sources of food for mold.
- The Right Temperature: Almost all mold grows between 60-90 degrees Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, this is a similar temperature range to what humans like, so most indoor environments are the right temperature for mold growth.
- Oxygen: Like humans, mold needs oxygen to thrive.
Mold requires all of these conditions to grow. If one is missing, it isn’t able to grow and spread.
What You Can Do to Prevent Mold Growth
The reality is that some of the ingredients needed for mold growth are impossible to avoid. Mold spores are everywhere whether we like them or not. Our buildings and our lives are filled with organic materials for mold to feed on. Oxygen is almost everywhere. And it’s not reasonable or affordable to keep our homes extremely warm or extremely cold just to avoid the possibility of mold growth.
Most of mold growth prevention comes down to controlling just one of these factors: moisture.
Avoid High Humidity
When you think about the kind of moisture that leads to mold, you probably think about large-scale water damage like flooding. But the truth is, even high humidity can be a good enough moisture source for mold to develop. It varies by mold type, but generally, 70% humidity or higher puts you in the danger zone. If you’re in a more humid environment, experts recommend investing in dehumidifiers for your home and setting them to 55-60%.
Even if you’re in a place like Aspen that doesn’t have a particularly humid environment, areas of your home like your bathroom or kitchen may still become very humid in the right situation. Don’t forget to turn a fan on when you’re cooking and while you’re showering to help reduce condensation and mold growth.
Increase Ventilation
If your home has poor ventilation, it increases the risk of mold growth. Stagnate air makes it easier for water to condense from the air and for mold to begin to grow. To improve ventilation in your home, keep doors open frequently to give air the chance to flow. You can also use fans and open windows to increase ventilation.
Address Water Damage & Moisture Immediately
Mold can begin to grow in as little as 24 hours when excessive moisture isn’t taken care of. Because of this, the most important thing you can do to prevent mold growth is to take quick action to address any kind of water damage or moisture. Avoid leaving puddles in your bathroom. If you’re dealing with any kind of water damage like a leaking roof, burst pipe, or flooding, reach out to local restoration professionals to help you resolve the problem. DIY water damage cleanup can increase the odds of mold growth since it is easy to miss hidden moisture without the right tools and training.
Get Help From Mold Removal Professionals
If there is mold growing in your home, seek out mold damage professionals. Mold removal is not as simple as typical cleaning, and if you handle it improperly, mold will continue to spread and harm your family and your home. Mold professionals are trained in proper mold remediation techniques and can help you not only remove the mold but also help you prevent reoccurring growth.
Aspen, CO – Mold
If you’re dealing with mold growth in your Aspen home, it’s not too late to put a stop to it. Reach out to the mold damage experts at Mr. Vac Cleaning for prompt and effective mold remediation services today.