How to Detect and Remove Mold

With the increase in wet weather followed by the warm climates it’s no surprise mold is not only showing up in the pollen count but it might also be hiding in your home. In damp climates, indoor mold is one of the most common problems – and for people with allergies and asthma, breathing in those microscopic spores can cause serious trouble.

Whether it’s lurking under a leaky sink, around window ledges, seeping through drywall or spreading under basement carpet, it needs to go. So how do you get rid of mold?

Find the Water

Mold needs water to grow, so you need to find the molds moisture source and stop it.

“The key to mold control is moisture control,” says Laureen Burton, a chemist and toxicologist with the Indoor Environments Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “People think, ‘I don’t even need to look at where this came from because I’ve wiped it up.’ But if you don’t fix the moisture, that mold will be coming back.”

So where to start searching? A few usual places to start looking are window seals, plumbing leaks, a leaking refrigerator or washing machine, bathrooms or high indoor humidity condensation areas, even leaky roofs/siding or cracks in the homes foundation can be a source for mold.

Some sources are easy to pinpoint, like pooling water under or near a foundation or a sweaty pipe under a kitchen sink. Sometimes you may smell mold but have no idea where it’s coming from and if that is the case you may need to call in a professional to find the source.

How to Clean

Once you’ve cut off the moisture source, it’s time for clean-up. But how you do that depends on how much mold you have and where you find it.

In most cases, you will want to call in mold remediation professionals. According to EPA guidelines if the affective area is larger than 10 square feet or it was caused by sewage you will need to call a professional. However, if the area affected by mold is limited to a smaller area, or on a hard surface, you can tackle it yourself, however for safety reasons it’s probably best to contact a professional to ensure all the mold from the house is gone.