Mold loves moisture. Humidity, then, is like a welcome mat for this dangerous organism. Conversely, controlling or even eliminating your indoor humidity can keep mold at bay, but how, in the hotter seasons, is it possible to do so? Here are 5 tips to lower indoor humidity to prevent mold.
1. Avoid Cooking During High Temperatures
Hot pancakes, sizzling bacon, and butter melting on toast—few things satisfy more wholly than a hot breakfast. During the summer, however, it might be better to forgo cooking until nightfall. While the sun is up, there’s greater risk of humidity building in your home. It might not be enough to make you uncomfortable, which makes it all the more dangerous: Building humidity, little by little, over time is the perfect brew for growing mold.
2. Dry Your Clothes at Night
In the summertime, your dryer is the second-greatest source of humidity in your home. Thanks to daylight savings, summer days are much longer than winter ones, keeping the sun high in the sky for longer periods and keeping the average temperatures high too. If you dry your clothes during the day, you’re creating a terrarium for mold. Wait until the sun goes down to dry your clothes.
3. Change Your Showering Habits
While your dryer takes second place for humidity production in your home, your shower is the unbeaten first place winner: a domesticated waterfall of steaming hot water that temporarily fogs your bathroom mirror but more extensively holds moisture in your home. As with the other suggestions above, you can reduce the humidity in your home by showering at cooler times of the day. However, you can also change your showering habits in a few other ways to decrease humidity levels like turning on the bathroom fan, taking shorter showers, or switching to baths during the summer.
4. Seal Your Windows
Your windows are a more surprising source of moisture. If you find condensation droplets on your windows, even if you’re following the above suggestions fairly studiously, then you likely have air leaks in your window sealant. This cultivates humidity by allowing the hot summer air to seep into your air-conditioned home. If you replace the sealant around your windows, then you can reduce moisture and prevent mold.
5. Get a Dehumidifier
This thought has likely already crossed your mind, but after reading mixed reviews of effectiveness, you may have let it pass. Or, it’s possible that you already own a dehumidifier but found that it didn’t work as well as you’d hoped. If you’re taking the above tips into account, then a dehumidifier will bring much better results. Add one to your online shopping cart or take it out of storage to make mold feel unwelcome in your home.
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, mold still finds its way into our homes, or maybe you’re only reading this article because you’ve discovered mold. These 5 tips to lower indoor humidity to prevent mold will help you moving forward, but they won’t eliminate mold that has already made itself at home in your house. If you’ve found mold, call the mold remediation experts at RestoPros right away.
There are few things more exhausting to cope with than allergies. From springtime sneeze attacks to missing out on playing with your friend’s new puppy, allergies keep you from many things. However, if you suffer from mold allergies, you face daily triggers that are everywhere, and don’t disappear with springtime. Are you looking for simpler methods to ease your day-to-day symptoms? Well, the experts at RestoPros are here to help by telling you about some common mold allergies and homeopathic solutions.
Identifying Your Mold Allergies:
First of all, you must identify the type of mold that’s causing the reaction. Moreover, it’s important to identify the type of mold so you can understand the symptoms that come with exposure. Therefore, to help you navigate your own symptoms, here are some common mold allergies:
1. Alternaria Allergy
• Characteristics:
Dark green, black, or grey with long velvety hairs, Alternaria is a mold that requires very little moisture to grow.
• Where it Grows:
Because it requires minimal moisture to grow, Alternaria is commonly found on carpets, clothing, basements, windows, and doors.
• Symptoms:
If you’re suffering from exposure to this type of mold, you’ll experience symptoms similar to hay fever. In addition to the hay fever symptoms, you may also experience respiratory problems and asthma.
2. Aspergillus Allergy
• Characteristics:
Because it can be grey, brown, yellow, green, white, or black, Aspergillus is often tricky to identify from other molds. That being said, this type of mold grows very quickly once the spores are released.
• Where it Grows:
Although Aspergillus mold grows quickly, it does require more
moisture than Alternaria. As a prevalent household mold, it grows in walls,
soil, insulation, basements, and clothing.
• Exposure Symptoms:
Particularly harmful to people with weakened immune systems, such as young children and the elderly, Aspergillus can cause serious infections. Releasing aflatoxin, a chemical that can cause liver damage and cancer, Aspergillus is one of the more dangerous household molds to encounter.
3. Cladosporium Allergy
• Characteristics:
With a powdery texture and grey, brown, or black in color,
Cladosporium can have dark-pigmented conidia that occur in simple or branching
chains.
• Where it Grows:
As a mold that can grow on both dead and living matter, it is
commonly found on food, dead plants, insulation, wood, and dark, damp
environments, such as basements.
• Exposure Symptoms:
If exposed to Cladosporium, you may experience allergic reactions similar to hay fever. This can include dry skin, sneezing, runny nose, scratchy throat, coughing, and watery eyes. On the more severe end, you could also suffer asthma attacks, fungal sinusitis, tightness in your chest, and difficulty breathing.
4. Memnoniella Allergy
• Characteristics:
Although very similar to Stachybotrys, Memnoniella mold is
smaller and is usually a dark green or black color.
• Where it Grows:
Growing in damp areas like bathrooms and basements,
Memnoniella can also be found on cotton, wool, canvas, walls, and ceilings.
• Exposure Symptoms:
While this mold is less common and poses a lesser health risk than others, you can experience severe symptoms. Most commonly, these symptoms include respiratory problems, coughing, and headaches.
5. Penicillium Allergy
• Characteristics:
With over 300 species, Penicillium mold is typically blue or
green. Named after the Latin word for paintbrush, the spores of Penicillium
form into what closely resembles a paintbrush.
• Where it Grows:
As a mold that has been identified world-wide, Penicillium can grow anywhere. From air and soil to leather, food, and insulation, this is a prevalent household mold.
• Exposure Symptoms:
Although Penicillium has saved countless lives, there are species of Penicillium that produce toxic compounds. If a mold-sensitive individual is exposed to the spores, they can experience congestion, eye irritation, and coughing. If food with Penicillium mold is ingested, it will also irritate the stomach.
6. Stachybotrys Allergy
• Characteristics:
More notoriously known as toxic black mold, Stachybotrys is
dark green or black in color with a slimy texture.
• Where it Grows:
Because it thrives on material with a high cellulose and low nitrogen content, Stachybotrys is commonly found on fiberboard, gypsum board, paper, dust, and lint. Therefore, this toxic mold can grow in walls, ceilings, and floorboards as long as there is consistent moisture present.
• Exposure Symptoms:
As its commonly-known name denotes, Stachybotrys can cause severe headaches, asthma, dizziness, and joint pain. In addition to the physical symptoms, it can cause fatigue and mental impairment. Furthermore, exposure to Stachybotrys has been linked to cancer, internal organ failure, and multiple deaths infant deaths.
Homeopathic Solutions
Although general practitioner-prescribed medicines address the symptoms of mold allergies, they often miss the mark in tackling the cause. Moreover, many of these medications come with a laundry list of unwanted side effects. As a result, you may start to wonder if the mold allergies are worse than the side effects of the medication.
Rather than just address the symptoms, you can explore homeopathic solutions. As a better long-term option, homeopathic solutions tackle mold allergies from within, alleviating the stress on your immune system. To lay out some natural alternatives, here are some homeopathic solutions to explore:
1. Change Up Your Diet
For many mold allergy sufferers, the exposure doesn’t end with airborne spores. In fact, many foods contain mold spores that can wreak havoc on your immune system, if you’re mold sensitive. Consequently, simple changes in your diet can produce dramatic results in lessening your symptoms. Here are some examples of the diet changes you can make:
Remove These Foods from
Your Diet:
Mushrooms
Cheese
Pickles
Sour Cream
Vinegar
Buttermilk
Beer
Wine
High-Yeast Breads, like Pumpernickel
Sauerkraut
Soy Sauce
Pickled and Smoked Meats
Dried Fruit
Processed, Canned, and Bottled Foods
High Sugar Fruits, like pineapple,
mango, bananas, melons, oranges, and grapes
Add These Foods to Your
Diet:
Pastured and organic animal products, like beef, bison, lamb, veal, wild-caught seafood, poultry, and pastured eggs
Ginger, garlic, cayenne, and horseradish
Organic fresh fruit, like berries, apples, lemons, limes
Yeast-Free Breads, such as flatbreads and tortillas
Raw nuts and seeds, like sunflower, pumpkin, flax, and chia seeds, and low mold nuts like almonds
Extra virgin olive oil, coconut milk, coconut oil, organic butter, and avocados.
Filtered water, non-fruity herbal teas, mineral water, fresh veggie juice, low-mold alcohols like vodka and gin.
2. Add Some Herbs and Supplements
Another homeopathic measure to alleviate your symptoms is adding beneficial herbs and supplements to your diet. Here are some to include:
Garlic
Pau d’arco
Oregano Oil
Tea Tree Oil
Ginger
Apple Cider Vinegar
Grapefruit Seed Extract
Turmeric
Powdered Licorice
Lemongrass Oil
Berberine
Echinacea Angustifolia (Purple Coneflower)
Grape Seed Extract
Aloe Vera
Chamomile
Tannate Plant Extracts
Flaxseed Oil
Bioflavonoids
Probiotics
Vitamin C, A, and E
Zinc
3. Explore Some Herbal Medicine
In order to relieve your symptoms with more natural methods, you can explore some herbal medicines. Here are a few to consider:
Dong Quai
This serves as an effective anti-inflammatory and antihistamine.
Eyebright –
Use this medicine to reduce congestion, as well as itchy eyes and sneezing.
Gingko –
Containing bioflavonoids, this medicine is also an antihistamine and
anti-inflammatory.
Milk Thistle –
In addition to reducing allergic, inflammatory, and histaminic reactions, milk
thistle supports your liver function.
Red clover –
This medicine serves as a resistance-builder to mold.
Yarrow –
Yarrow alleviates congestion and reduces secretion.
Stinging nettles – Stinging nettles are another anti-inflammatory and antihistamine.
4. Take Some Natural Remedies
If you’re looking for a way to fortify your immune system against mold, here are some natural remedies to explore:
ThyroLiver Protect
To help detoxify your liver and support the production of glutathione, take 1-2 caps, twice a day of ThyroLiver Protect. Using selenium, milk thistle extract, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, and N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine, this medicine helps your liver neutralize and process mold spores.
Super Glutathione
For added support to your liver and digestive tract, take 1-2 caps, twice a day of Super Glutathione.
Coconut Charcoal
To help your digestive tract detoxify mold spores, use 1-2 caps of coconut charcoal between meals and before bed.
Allium Cepa
Use this supplement to help with discharge from your eyes and nose, and to alleviate hoarseness.
Euphrasia
To alleviate discharge from your eyes and nose, a dry cough, sneezing, and diarrhea, take Euphrasia.
Natrum Muriaticum
For discharge from your eyes, cold sores, a loss of your sense of taste and smell, and headaches, take natrum muriaticum.
Wyethia
WWith Wyethia, you can alleviate extreme itchiness in the nose and throat, a swollen throat, and blocked nasal passages.
Nux Vomica
If you have a runny nose during the day and a dry nose at night, Nux Vomica may be what you need. Additionally, it can relieve sneeze attacks and outdoor reactions to pollen.
5. Reduce Exposure
Keep Your House Clean
Most harmful indoor mold growth starts with dust, dander, and moisture. Therefore, your best bet at keeping mold at bay in is keeping a clean home. This means regularly dusting and vacuuming with a HEPA filter vacuum to eliminate dust and dirt. Furthermore, you should keep damp places like your bathrooms, kitchen, and basement clean and dry.
Reduce Humidity Levels
Another important way to keep your home mold-free is regulating the humidity levels. In order to best track and control indoor humidity, we recommend purchasing a hygrometer and dehumidifier. In fact, many dehumidifiers contain a built-in hygrometer, allowing you to easily measure and maintain a healthy level of humidity.
Keep Outside Spores Outside
In order to avoid bringing harmful mold spores into your home, there are plenty of simple measures you can take. Since many mold spores are found in piles of leaves, grass, and dirt, your shoes can track them into your house. Therefore, you can avoid bringing them inside by taking off and leaving your shoes by the door. Also, you should wash your clothes and shower each evening, so you’re not taking any lingering spores to bed with you.
Filter Your Air
Because mold is everywhere, it’s impossible to avoid bringing it into your home. However, you can eliminate a large portion of it from your air. With the right air filtration system, you can breathe easy with clean, mold-free air. Additionally, there are many different air purifiers on the market with HEPA filters that are very effective in providing mold-free air.
Invest in Some Houseplants
One of our favorite natural ways to remove mold spores from your home air is keeping some purifying houseplants. In many cases, certain houseplants can even help improve conditions for asthma sufferers. For some 2-in-1 natural relief, here are some plants to consider keeping:
Peace Lilies
Mums
Spider Plants
Bamboo Palm
Areca Palm
Dracaena Plants
Snake Plants
Boston Fern
Aloe Plants
Stop Mold in Its Tracks with
RestoPros
Although you
can treat your mold allergies with homeopathic solutions, there are
preventative measures you can take to keep a mold-free home. With our
knowledgeable mold removal experts, the team at RestoPros is dedicated to
helping residents of the DFW area fight back against mold. For help from mold
removal experts you can trust, call us today at 855-587-3786 or fill out a service request form on our website!
In today’s world, our indoor air can be just as saturated with harmful pollutants as our outdoor air. Some of the most hazardous indoor pollutants are called bio-aerosols. Not only do they have negative effects on your respiratory system, but they can cause disease and worsen allergy symptoms. Are bio-aerosols affecting your air quality? Find some answers with these expert tips from the team at RestoPros.
What Are Bio-aerosols?
Bio-aerosols are small airborne particles that come from a living organism, or are the living organism. Here are some common sources of bio-aerosols in the average household:
Pet Dander
Tree Pollen
Bacteria
Viruses
Mold
Mildew
Dust
Chemical Odors
Vapors
What Are the Health Risks of Exposure
to Bioaerosols?
Bio-aerosols can pose some serious threats to your health. Some common health issues are respiratory problems, disease, aggravated asthma and allergy symptoms, and weakened immune systems.
How Do Bio-aerosols Get Inside Your Home?
First of all, you must understand that the term “bio-aerosol” is short for biological aerosols. To clarify, these particles either come from or consist of biological or living material. For instance, sources can include dirt on shoes, a sneeze, decomposed food in your garbage, or your pets’ fur. In addition to these sources, high levels of humidity can cause the growth of mold or mildew.
Are Bio-aerosols Affecting Your Air Quality?
While the same testing techniques are used for non-biological aerosols, the proper sampler must be used for accurate results. Therefore, you will need to do some research and consult with a professional to find the right sampler. Furthermore, it often takes a professional to know the proper routing methods for sample collection.
What Can You Do to Reduce the Number of Bio-aerosols in Your Home?
As we previously mentioned, most harmful bio-aerosols thrive in humid climates. Therefore, you can reduce the presence of bio-aerosols in your indoor air by maintaining humidity levels in your house. As a result, mold and mildew growth can be prevented, thereby preventing the increase of bio-aerosols.
Trust the RestoPros with Your Air
If you’re concerned about bio-aerosols affecting your air quality, the team at RestoPros has the experts you can trust to find the right solutions. With years of experience helping homeowners find real solutions, we are ready to help you find yours today! Call us at 855-587-3786 or schedule an appointment on our website.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the top five air quality problems in the U.S. are with our indoor air. To help you counteract these pollutants, the experts at RestoPros are here to tell you about these 5 common air quality problems in your house with a room to room guide!
1. Excessive Moisture
First of all, we want to discuss the effects of excessive moisture on your home’s air quality. Although it is one of the most overlooked air quality problems, excessive moisture is also one of the most detrimental ones. As such, excessive moisture can lead to serious issues in the following rooms of your house:
Bathrooms
Even if you use your exhaust fans and keep your bathrooms well ventilated, moisture still tends to thrive in these areas. In bathrooms, moisture buildup occurs in towels, bath mats, shower curtains and linings, walls, floors, and ceilings. With this moisture comes mildew, mold, and dust mites, all of which pose serious threats to the air you and your family breathe.
Kitchen
Another area in your home that can be affected by excessive moisture is your kitchen. Because of the steam-releasing activities you do in your kitchen like running the dishwasher, cooking on the stove, and baking in the oven, the presence of moisture is a given. When these activities increase the humidity levels in the air, it facilitates off-gassing of toxins in furniture and cleaning products.
Laundry Room
As another area to monitor for excessive moisture, your laundry room can develop high humidity levels. Many times, laundry rooms are not as well-ventilated as they should be, allowing the heat from your dryer to meet the moist, cool air from your washer to create steam. Consequently, condensation can build up on your laundry room walls, cabinets, and windows, providing the ideal breeding ground for mold, mildew, and dust mites.
Basement
One of the most obvious rooms in your home that can have excessive moisture problems is the basement. As you probably know, water can be transported into your basement through leaks in the foundation, plumbing pipes, or cracks in the floor. Therefore, the air quality in your basement can easily become compromised by mold spores and mildew.
2. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Next on the list of common indoor air quality problems are VOCs. Including a range of evaporated substances from formaldehyde, gasoline, pesticides, and cooking processes, these harmful compounds can infiltrate your air in many forms. Furthermore, certain body odors are VOCs that can also affect your indoor air quality. Here are some rooms of your house that are likely to contain VOCs:
Laundry Room
As the first room on our list, your laundry room can be a hotbed for VOCs. A little-known fact about dryer and softener sheets is that they contain high levels of formaldehyde. Because this is one of the most harmful VOCs to pollute indoor air, your laundry room is at the top of our list of areas in your home with VOC-related air quality problems.
Garage
Another area of your house that is a magnet for VOCs is your garage. Considering the gasoline levels emitted from your cars, stored lawn mowers, and other motor-driven equipment, the air quality in your garage can be saturated with VOCs. Furthermore, this problem is exacerbated by trapping these VOCs behind closed and sealed garage doors. Particularly if the primary door used to enter and exit your home is through the garage, these VOCs can easily infiltrate your indoor air in other areas of your home.
Living Room
Third on our list is your living room. Because formaldehyde can be emitted by building materials and furnishings, your furniture and carpets can be sources of VOCs in your indoor air.
Kitchen
As another room with VOCs, your kitchen can be a source of cooking processes and odor-related VOCs. While there are few things more enticing than the smell of freshly baked bread, the lingering aroma indicates the presence of VOCs in your air. Other smells like the pungent odor of onions can release major VOCs into your air, as well. Additionally, using any gas-powered cooking appliances releases gasoline VOCs into your air. Furthermore, that bowl of pesticide-covered fresh fruit or plump tomatoes could be releasing VOCs into your air.
Bedrooms
As we previously explained, many body odors are VOCs. Therefore, body odors that are trapped on your bedding, clothes, curtains, or carpeting can be released into your air, as well. Also, if you wash and dry your bedding and clothing with standard softener and dryer sheets, you could be introducing formaldehyde into your air.
Bathrooms
One horrifying reality is the presence of formaldehyde in many cosmetic and beauty products. From skincare to hair-care products, a shocking number of popular brands contain varying levels of this harmful VOC. Not only does your skin absorb the formaldehyde in these products, but your indoor air also absorbs it. Also, without getting into unpleasant details, the odors released when you answer nature’s call in the bathroom are VOCs that are emitted into your air.
3. Combustion Products
Third on our list of indoor air quality problems are combustion products. Some common pollutants produced by combustion products are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, and water vapor. Commonly emitted from gas-fired appliances like furnaces, water heaters, ranges, and dryers, these VOCs can be found in the air of many rooms in your house. Here are the rooms most likely to contain VOCs from combustion products:
Kitchen
Especially if you have gas-fired appliances or appliances that are not properly vented to the outside, the air in your kitchen can be a hub for carbon monoxide. Furthermore, if you have any unsealed gas appliances, negative air pressure can cause back drafting. Consequently, combustion pollutants can enter your house and infect your indoor air quality.
Laundry Room
Another room in your home that can have poorer air quality due to combustion products is your laundry room. If your dryer is gas-powered, it can produce carbon monoxide. Therefore, the air in your laundry room can become polluted with carbon monoxide if your gas dryer is not properly vented.
Garage and Driveway
For homes with attached garages, combustion-related VOCs can easily affect your indoor air. Because the exhaust fumes from vehicles are a major source of combustion products, your indoor air is that much more susceptible to these VOCs with an attached garage.
Any Space with Fireplaces, Wood Stoves, and Chimneys
Other sources of combustion products include fireplaces and chimneys. Releasing combustion gases and particles, pollutants from fireplaces or wood stoves can become back-drafted from the chimney into your living space.
Rooms with Unvented Kerosene and Gas Heaters
Along with your gas-powered kitchen appliances, your unvented kerosene and gas heaters can release carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide into the air. Furthermore, your indoor air can be contaminated by acid aerosols from unvented kerosene heaters.
4. Radon
Although radon is fourth on our list, this pollutant poses some of the most serious threats to your indoor air quality. Because it is virtually undetectable without formal testing, this radioactive gas is an often-overlooked problem. Entering your home through dirt floors, cracks in your walls and floors, or through floor drains and sumps, radon is commonly found in higher concentrations in lower-lying rooms. However, rooms with granite surfaces can also be sources of radon, as these rocks contain radium, uranium, and thorium. If these naturally-occurring radioactive elements decay, they can turn into radon, causing a negative impact on your indoor air. Therefore, here are some rooms that could contain radon:
Basement
As previously explained, the rooms in your house closer to your foundation are the most vulnerable to radon exposure. Especially if your basement has cracks in the floors, walls, or ceiling, or has a floor drain or sump, radon can easily seep into your home.
Kitchen and Bathrooms
Other rooms in your house that can contain levels of radon are your kitchen and bathrooms. Especially if you have granite counter tops, the presence of radon in these rooms is a likely possibility.
Crawlspaces
Like a basement, a crawlspace beneath your house is a prime spot for radon. Because of its proximity to the soil and rocks beneath your house, a crawlspace can contain higher levels of radon. If the floors above that crawlspace have any penetrable areas, radon can rise into your home.
5. Tobacco Smoke
Like the rest of the world, you are probably aware of the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. However, the additional problem of third-hand smoke has been recently added to the many side-effects of smoking. In short, third-hand-smoke is the lingering presence of harmful tobacco toxins on furnishings, surfaces, and clothing in your home. Here are some rooms where the air is commonly affected by tobacco smoke:
Living Room
When a smoker enters a space after smoking, you can immediately smell smoke on their clothes, hair, and skin. Furthermore, their hands are usually stained with tobacco toxins from touching their cigarette or cigar. These toxins are transferred to any surface that smoker touches and can stay on those surfaces for years. Therefore, as the most actively used room in your house, your living room is vulnerable to third-hand smoke.
Bedrooms
Unfortunately, even the bedrooms of non-smokers are susceptible to tobacco smoke pollutants in the air. Because of third-hand smoke, the residual tobacco toxins you pick up from other surfaces can be transferred to your bedroom.
Closets
Considering how tobacco toxins cling to fabrics, the closets in a home with a smoker are saturated with tobacco pollutants. Especially in coat closets, smoke can linger a long time on fabrics that are washed less frequently. Consequently, this smoke is inevitably introduced into your air.
Are You Ready to Tackle these Common Air Quality Problems in Your House?
Tackle these problems with the help of the RestoPros team! With years of helping residents and homeowners achieve clean air, the experts at RestoPros are the professionals you can trust. If you are ready to find the best clean air solutions for your home, call us today at 855-587-3786 or fill out a service request form on our website!
Mold and mildew can be deeply detrimental to your health and your home. If you, like most homeowners, shudder at the thought of it invading your house, learn how to protect your AC unit from mold by following these expert tips from the team at RestoPros.
1. Use the “Auto” Mode While You’re Away
Especially while you are away during the day or on vacation, keeping your AC unit running can control the humidity levels in your home. Therefore, you should set your unit to the “auto” mode while you are away, rather than turning your AC completely off. Mold tends to grow more commonly on AC units that have been dormant for a period of time.
2. Perform or Schedule Regular Maintenance
Routine maintenance of your HVAC equipment is imperative to keeping everything in good working condition. Especially during the transition between winter and spring, you should have your AC unit professionally serviced. Because AC units are dark and warm on the inside, they can be an ideal breeding ground for mold and mildew. You can prevent this with good cleaning habits and regular maintenance.
3. Keep it Clean
As previously mentioned, keeping your AC unit clean can drastically reduce the chances of mold growth. Here are some cleaning tasks you can perform on your own between your annual tune-up visits:
Clean your exterior condenser/compressor.
Use a wet/dry vacuum to remove debris from the interior of your condenser/compressor. Then, use the brush attachment on a shop vac to remove outside dirt. Next, clean the fins by spraying them from the inside with a gentle garden hose. You can also use a fin cleaning spray for a deeper clean. Once you have done these tasks, be sure to clean the area around the unit, raking away leaves and trimming overgrowth.
Clean the evaporator coil on your indoor unit.
Opening the evaporator coil door on the blower/furnace unit, gently dust the coil with a soft brush. Then, spray the coil with no-rinse coil cleaner and allow it to foam and drip into the drain pan. Next, clean out the drain pan with soapy hot water and a little bit of bleach. Then, pour a cup of 50% bleach and 50% water down the drain.
Clean your plugged evaporator drain.
Over time, mold can build up in your evaporator drain. To clean it, find the drain line where it leaves the evaporator coil enclosure. Once you locate the end of this line, use a wet/dry vac to clear the drain.
4. Control Moisture
Moisture control within and around your AC unit is essential to mold prevention. Your ducts are the vessel through which all conditioned air travels to reach your home. Therefore, any mold growth in your ducts can threaten your air quality dramatically. To keep your ducts mold-free, you need to keep them moisture-free. You can do this by maintaining your draining channels and regularly checking for and repairing any leaks. If you ever find standing water anywhere in your duct system, you should have your system professionally serviced asap. In the case of window units, you should invest in models with humidity control.
5. Replace Your Air Filters Regularly
Because the blower filters in your HVAC system are the main line of defense between your indoor air and mold spores, changing them regularly is an important step to keep your AC unit mold-free. You should change these filters at least twice a year, but we recommend every 3-4 months for homeowners with pets or who live in a dusty area. Furthermore, we recommend using HEPA filters to remove the greatest volume of pollutants and allergens from your air.
6. Keep Your Home Clean
Although it may seem like the ultimate catch-22, a happy AC unit = clean air, and clean air = a happy AC unit. In other words, in order for your AC unit to stay clean and free of mold-causing dust particles, you should keep your home clean. Regularly dust and vacuum your home to reduce the level of particle buildup within your AC unit.
Call the RestoPros Team!
As experienced mold experts, we have a wealth of solutions to protect your AC unit from mold. If you are looking for professional help with mold intervention or remediation, call RestoPros today at 855-587-3786 or fill out a service request form on our website!
Your sump pump is vital to keeping you from finding yourself ankle-deep in water and the high bills from flooding damage. However, these pumps have a short life expectancy and may not always be up to the task of keeping your basement dry. With that in mind, the experts at RestoPros are here to help you prepare for such a disaster and advise you on what to do if your sump pump fails.
Call a Plumber
The first step you should take in the event of sump pump failure is to call a plumber that can repair it. Especially if you don’t have a backup system, this should be a top priority.
Use a basement water pump.
While waiting for the plumber to make the repairs, you can help reduce the flooding by using a basement water pump. These can be found at any local hardware store and are able to operate continuously during the flooding event. Sucking up the water and transporting it through a hose to a bathtub or drain, a basement water pump automatically shuts off once the water stops.
Enlist the help of a Certified Water Mitigation Company.
Because you would only be paying them to pump out water as more enters, this should be second to having a plumber repair your sump pump. Once you have repaired your pump, contact a water restoration company that can begin the process of drying and repairing the damaged areas. This is an important step that you should not wait to take after your sump pump is repaired, as you don’t want to give mold and mildew time to grow in your house.
Preventative Measures to Consider:
Invest in an Alarm System
Before you worry about your course of action when your sump pump fails, you should consider how you will be alerted to the failure in the first place. Here are some options to consider:
Install a sump pump alarm system.
To stay on top of potential sump pump failure, you can install a sump plump alarm. There are many different types of sump pump alarm systems on the market, but here are a few of the best-reviewed options:
Basement Watchdog Dual Float Sump Pump Switch and Controller
Although not a standard alarm, this system monitors your sump pump’s viability and activates the sump pump if there is a rise in water of more than ¼ inch in the pump basin. With one float acting as an activator, a second float is included to kick in as a backup if the first float fails.
In/Outdoor High Water Warning System for Septic/Pump/Pond
Made in the US for domestic applications, this alarm system features a red LED light that flashes when the alarm sounds to alert you to rising water. With an easy installation process, this alarm system can be mounted on the head unit.
HomeSitter Power Alarm HS-700
Offering an affordable price and no monitoring fees to a third party if the alarm goes off, this is a dynamic option. Not only does this system alert you to high water, but it also warns you of extreme temperatures and power failures. Additionally, you can program this unit to call up to 3 contacts in the event of an emergency.
Invest in a backup system that includes an audio alarm.
Many backup sump pump models include monitoring systems that can warn you with a message and audio alarm. In addition to alerting you to rising water, these systems can warn you of pump failure. Furthermore, some advanced systems warn you of low battery fluid and corroded battery terminals.
Put a Backup System in Place
When it comes to protecting your home from flooding, you should hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Therefore, we recommend having a backup system in case the worst does happen. Here are some different types of backup systems to consider:
Secondary Electric Pump
Although effective in keeping your basement dry during sump pump failure, an electric pump requires power to work. Therefore, a power outage during a major storm or flooding event could render a secondary electric pump useless.
Hydraulic or Water-Powered Backup Sump Pump
This is a good option if your water comes from a municipal source, as this pump requires constant water-flow. That is to say that this backup system pushes the flowing water from a city supply through a venturi. As a result, this forms a low-pressure region. Then, as it flows through the device, gravity and flow pressure push water out of the sump pit. Lastly, the system empties the excess water. Although this is a viable backup system, a drawback is it must use a separate discharge than your primary pump.
Battery-Powered Backup System
Like your main pump, this system uses a float switch to activate the pump when water rises in the sump. Furthermore, this system is Installed adjacent to your primary pump. Therefore, it can be plumbed into the central discharge pipe or with an independent discharge pipe. This system is a wise choice for backup in the event of power outages.
Let RestoPros Step In!
What is the best piece of advice for what to do if your sump pump fails? Call in the experts at RestoPros. Our team of certified water damage restoration experts are dedicated to finding fast-acting solutions for any of your problems. To tackle your household water damage with the team you can trust, call us today at 855-587-3786 or fill out a service request form on our website!
So, you’ve had a professional mold testing done in your house and your worst suspicion has been confirmed. The very thought of this issue can strike fear into the heart of even the toughest homeowners. However, you can no longer deny the fact and it’s time to take some action. So, say it with me: My home has a mold problem! Now that you have accepted the worst, the experts at RestoPros are here to help with some advice about what you can do from here.
Supplies for Treating the Mold
In serious mold cases, most experts would recommend having professional mold remediation. However, if your professional mold testing expert has verified you can clean it yourself, here are some supplies you will need:
Protective Gear
You should have a mask or respirator, eye protection, rubber gloves, a fan, and a dehumidifier. You do not want to risk inhaling the mold spores you will be cleaning.
Cleaning Chemicals
If the intense list of protective gear was not a clear indication, mold is not something you can clean with everyday cleaning supplies. On the contrary, you will need to procure non-ammonia detergent, chlorine bleach, and white vinegar to mix your cleaning solution.
Cleaning Tools
Make sure you have plenty of rags and more than one scrub brush (both of which should be disposed of after you finish treating the mold). You should also have a large pail and a plastic garbage bag.
Steps for DIY Mold Treatment
1. Dampen the Area:
This is an important first step to keep mold spores from releasing into the air. With a damp rag soaked in plain water, coat the affected area.
2. Remove as Much Mold as Possible:
With your scrub brush and detergent, remove as much of the mold as you can, and dispose of the brush.
3. Mix and Apply Your Bleach Solution:
In your large pail, mix together 1 ½ cups of chlorine bleach to 1 gallon of water. Use a new rag to generously coat the affected surface with this mixture. Once this is done, let it soak for 15 minutes.
4. Scrub the Solution into the Affected Area:
With a new scrubbing brush, scrub the area with the bleach solution thoroughly and rinse with clean water. Repeat this bleach step until all visible mold is gone.
5. Eliminate All Moisture from the Treated Area:
Use your fan and dehumidifier to dry the area thoroughly to prevent new mold growth.
6. Wash Your Clothes:
Unless you chose to wear work clothes that you don’t mind disposing of, wash the clothes you wore for the mold treatment immediately. Place them in a plastic bag to transport them to the washing machine. Add ¾ cup white vinegar to the water to kill the mold spores on your clothing.
My Home Has a Mold Problem! What Else Can I Do?
If you have followed the previous steps and removed the mold on your own, you have already saved money on professional mold removal. The best thing you can do for the long-term safety of your home is to enlist the help of mold remediation experts you can trust. Let the knowledgeable team at RestoPros take it from here. Call us at (855) 587-3786 or fill out a service request form online to conquer your mold problem today!
Mold growth is a nightmare to any homeowner. Not only can it eat away at surfaces in your home and produce putrid odors, but it can pose some serious threats to your health. Defend your home and bank account from some serious damage with these tips from RestoPros to prevent mold growth in your home!
Keep an Eye on the Humidity Levels
This could mean getting a hygrometer, which will measure the moisture levels inside your home. Ideally, you should keep the humidity level below 60 percent to prevent mold growth.
Use Exhaust Fans and Vents
If you don’t already have one, you should install a bathroom exhaust fan. Ducted to the exterior of the house, these fans draw out stale, humid air from your bathroom. You should also use the exhaust fan in your kitchen every time you cook to keep excess moisture at bay.
Keep Drip Trays Clean
If your refrigerator, AC unit, and dehumidifier have drip trays, make sure you drain and clean them regularly to protect them from mold growth.
Keep Your Bathroom Walls Dry
Wipe down the walls in your bathroom after bathing or showering. The moisture that sits on the walls of the shower or tub can lead to mold growth.
*Pro Tip: We recommend keeping a shower squeegee in your shower to make this an easy habit to adopt. You can find an entire shower squeegee kit on Amazon with rubber blade replacements, hooks, and holders.
Invest in a Dehumidifier
A whole-house dehumidifier attaches to your furnace and treats the air throughout your home. This is a sound investment for homeowners living in very humid climates. If you have occasional dampness in your home, you can purchase a portable dehumidifier.
Invest in an Air Purifier
Air purifiers are an inexpensive and simple way to help eliminate mold spores in the air. Place air purifiers in damp areas of your home like bathrooms, basements, and attics, as well as entryways and windows.
*Pro Tip: HEPA filters are the most effective filters for air purification. They can remove over 99 percent of pollutants from the air.
Protect Your Household Plants
The moist soil in plants provide the perfect breeding ground for mold, which can then spread to other areas of your house. Add a bit of Taheebo tea to the water you feed your plants. The oil of this tree withstands the fungi in the dampest rain forests and will defend your plants against moisture as well. You can find this tea at most natural food stores or order it online.
Fortify Your Home with Mold-Resistant Products
If you are building a new home or renovating an old one, there are mold-resistant products you should consider using. Mold-resistant drywall or Sheetrock are fantastic options. You can also use mold inhibitors for paints.
Direct Water Away from Your Home
The ground around your home must be sufficiently sloped away from the foundation. If it isn’t, water can collect and seep into your basement or crawlspace. You should also maintain your gutters. If your gutters are full or damaged, your roof can develop leaks. Have your roof gutters cleaned and inspected regularly to keep water away.
Improve Your Air Flow
The EPA states that the air holds less moisture as temperatures drop. If your house does not have good air flow, that excess moisture can appear on surfaces in your home. Avoid this by increasing circulation. This includes keeping doors between rooms open, moving furniture away from walls, and opening doors to closets that are colder than the rooms they are in.
The Best Way to Prevent Mold Growth:
Let a Professional Tackle the Problem!
You now know how to prevent mold growth, but it never hurts to seek the help of a mold expert. The team at RestoPros have proudly helped homeowners defend their home against mold for years. For reliable services and expertise you can trust, call us at (855) 587-3786 or schedule an appointment on our website today and let RestoPros tackle your mold problems!
Mold is the last thing you want to live with in your home, as It causes musty odors, damage to your house, and dangerous health problems. Are you are worried about mold in your home? Keep reading for some tips from the professionals at RestoPros on how to identify different types of mold.
How to Identify Different Types of Mold by Color and Physical Symptoms:
The two easiest ways to identify which type of mold is in your home is by color and correlating symptoms. Here are the color qualities and related symptoms for common types of household mold:
Yellow-green/Brown Mold:
Scientific Name: Aspergillus
Coloring: This mold is a yellow-green color on the surface with brown coloring underneath.
Where it Grows: in air conditioning systems and on starchy foods like potatoes and bread.
Potential Symptoms: allergic reactions, respiratory infections, and inflammation of the lungs.
Pink and Black Mold:
Scientific Name: Ureobasidium.
Coloring: pink and black in color
Where it Grows: in damp areas like window frames, bathroom rugs, or caulk.
Potential Symptoms: eye irritation or respiratory problems.
Black and Green Mold:
Scientific Name: Cladosporium
Coloring: This mold is black and green in color and has a pepper-like appearance.
Where it Grows: on surfaces like toilets, fiberglass ducts, fabrics, and wood.
Potential Symptoms: watery eyes, a sore throat, or respiratory problems.
Dark Green, Brown, or Black Mold:
Scientific Name: Chaetomium.
Coloring: This type of mold is dark green, brown, or black in color and produces a musty odor.
Where it Grows: in buildings that have suffered extensive water damage.
Potential Symptoms: This type of mold rarely causes health problems in humans who are exposed to it.
Blue or Green Mold:
Scientific Name: Penicillium
Coloring: blue or green, this type of mold can easily transfer from room to room
Where it Grows: on wallpaper and textiles like carpets, mattresses, or curtains.
Potential Symptoms: This mold causes allergic reactions, sinus infections, and lung inflammation.
Black Mold:
Scientific Name: Stachybotrys chartarum
Coloring: It is dark in color and produces a musty odor.
Toxic/black mold is one of most common molds associated with health problems; it produces mycotoxins.
Where it Grows: in extremely damp locations (inside air conditioning systems, near leaky pipes, and on porous surfaces like drywall.)
Potential Symptoms: Exposure to black mold can cause allergic reactions, sinus infections, asthma symptoms, fatigue, headaches, and even depression.
Green or Bright Green & White:
Scientific Name: Trichoderma
Coloring: green or bright green color with white mixed in
Where it Grows: on wallpaper, carpets, and other porous surfaces.
Trichoderma produces mycotoxins causing serious health problems.
Although you now know what to look for, it is always a good idea to have your house professionally tested if you suspect you have a mold problem. If you are looking for a professional to perform mold testing, remediation, or removal in your home, contact the experts at RestoPros! Call 855-587-3786 to make an appointment today!
Food spoilage: it happens to everyone, and it can be complete mood killer, especially if you were hoping to impress friends and family with your from-scratch guacamole. Few things are more frustrating than reaching for an item in your refrigerator only to find that it’s inedible. While it’s impossible to preserve foods indefinitely, there are measures you can take to help ensure your groceries maintain freshness. Follow these three essential tips on how to keep food from spoiling.
Set your refrigerator to the correct temperature.
Do you remember the last time you checked the temperature in your refrigerator? If not, it’s a good idea to peek at its current setting to make sure it’s not too warm. After all, bacteria thrive in warm temperatures. We recommend a setting of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Most refrigerators on the market today come equipped with a digital thermostat to allow for quick and easy adjusting. For older models that use a dial system, you can check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Follow this step-by-step guide from Do It Yourself on how to test the temperature.
Store items in the right compartments.
Unfortunately, you can’t store your food just anywhere in the fridge and expect it to last as long as it should. Each storage bin in your refrigerator is there for a reason. Now’s a good time to take everything out, throw away what’s spoiled, and start fresh (pun intended!). Keep your food from spoiling with these storage tips:
Fruits and vegetables should go in the crisper bins. Place fruits in one and vegetables in the other. Separation is necessary because both require different humidity levels. Your vegetable drawer should have a higher humidity setting than the fruit drawer.
Raw meats, eggs and dairy products should go on the lower shelves because they are the coldest. Because raw meat contains bacteria that can spread, designate an area where only these are placed, and clean it regularly.
Store foods that don’t need to be cooked, like dips, leftovers, deli meats and drinks, on the upper shelves because these areas provide the most consistent temperatures.
Know which items actually belong in the fridge.
Determining the best place in your kitchen to store produce and other perishable goods can be difficult. When in doubt, many people turn to their fridges because they think it can’t do any harm. Unfortunately, for some foods, the fridge actually speeds up the spoiling process. Not sure where exactly to store your groceries? We can help!
Keep tomatoes on the counter at room temperature, like you do bananas.
Onions, potatoes and squash prefer a darker, cooler environment with low moisture, like your pantry.
Avocados are the free spirits of produce. They can go either in the fridge or on the counter. If you’re not planning to use them for a few days, we recommend placing them in the fridge to slow down the ripening.
For peanut and other nut butters, it’s really up to you. If you go through a jar within a week, you can keep it in the pantry, but if it takes you a while to use it up, we recommend opting for the fridge.
If you’re tired of having to toss groceries week after week because they just won’t hold up, know that it doesn’t have to be that way. By following our simple tips on how to prevent spoiling, you will enjoy your food for longer periods, not to mention, you’ll save money on groceries too!
With more than 10 years of experience, consider RestoPros your go-to mold expert! For more information on our superior services, give us a call today at (855) 587–3786.
