The first step to mold prevention is isolating and eliminating the moisture in the area where the mold might form. If you already have a mold problem in your home, there are ways to clean mold safely and eradicate it for good, but since cleaning mold can be tricky and time consuming, the best method for tackling a mold problem is to stop it before it even starts.
One of the most common places in the home for mold to form is the bathroom, and it makes sense as to why. Bathrooms are a prime location for moisture to build. Even if your bathroom is well-ventilated with a window, you may notice condensation forming on your walls and ceiling or fogging up your mirror when you take a hot shower. There are some surefire ways to counteract excess moisture and dampness in your bathroom with a properly installed bathroom ventilation system or bathroom exhaust fan.
Bathroom exhaust fans draw the moisture-filled air from inside your bathroom and expel it outside of your home into the outdoor air, keeping the air recirculated and moving so the moisture can be wicked away in an efficient manner. The Home Ventilating Institute recommends at least 8 Air Changes per Hour (ACH) in order to have the best effect for your bathroom ventilation. The size and strength of your bathroom exhaust fan may vary depending on the size of your bathroom and how far the air must be re-routed to reach the outdoors. There are a variety of bathroom exhaust solutions to choose from, some with a light, others with just the fan, quiet, loud, you name it! What matters the most, though, is finding a bathroom exhaust fan that will provide you with the adequate recommended air changes per hour, and that will keep your bathroom nice and dry as to prevent any mold or mildew from collecting on damp surfaces.
To learn more about how important proper bathroom ventilation is to your home and your health, read more in HomeAire's Bathroom Ventilation Solutions section or have a look at some of the bathroom exhaust products that we offer in the HomeAire Store. Our brands are Energy Star Certified and include products such as Panasonic Bathroom Fans, NuTone Bathroom Fans, and our own Spruce inline fans.
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: March 28, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Tags: bathroom exhaust fan, bathroom mildew, bathroom mold, bathroom ventilation, bathroom ventilation system, how to prevent mold, mold and mildew, mold prevention
Filled under: Apartment Living, Home Ownership / Home Improvement, Indoor Air Quality and Allergy
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We've mentioned Active Dampness Control in a couple of our previous blog posts but we haven't really expanded on what this term means. This post is going to change that! Read on to find out what we mean when we refer to an Active Dampness Control System, and why you can benefit from having one in your home.
Active Dampness Control is a system that is exclusive to HomeAire - developed by HomeAire professionals and only available for installation by HomeAire professionals. This system was created to safely and effectively eliminate moisture from the home. The moisture and gas that the Active Dampness Control System removes could be excess humidity from living in a temperate climate, dangerous radon gas from beneath your home's foundation, or the heat building up from beneath your home that can cause condensation and moisture to form.
The system works from the ground up, eliminating hazardous soil gases and moisture before they have a chance to enter your home.
Continue reading "Basement Mold and Active Dampness Control" »
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: March 21, 2008 at 2:28 PM
Tags: active dampness control, active dampness control system, bathroom ventilation, damp basement, home ventilation, indoor air quality, mold in the home, mold prevention, mold removal, radon gas
Filled under: Home Ownership / Home Improvement, Indoor Air Quality and Allergy
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The Building Green blog continuously provides some great tips for having a healthier, more Earth-friendly home. You may remember our post about safe, low-VOC paints for your home and nursery where we touched on a product called milk paint. Upon coming across the post "Building Green From A Painter's Perspective" we were delighted to find an in-depth interview with a modern-day painting company, Shiloh Painting, discussing the measures they're taking to go green with their business.
Shiloh Painting founder Isaac Klepac says that he feels that all components of the green movement we're experiencing encompass not only a philosophy but a lifestyle. With the constant reminder to assess his current situation and see where he can improve and expand, Klepac has translated this philosophy into the green side of his business and has made some great strides in protecting the environment as well as the longevity of the homes he works on. Using water-based finishes and Sherman Williams' Harmony line of VOC-free paints, Klepac's work makes entering a freshly painted room literally a breath of fresh air. "the customer and my employees have a right to breath clean air." says Klepac. "There is a direct, immediate affect on someone's health".
When asked about his predictions for the future of green building, he said "There is a trend beyond open floor plans. Instead of so many rooms, why not have multiple use rooms? Kitchens have already been transformed into a meeting places, so why not have multipurpose rooms?" With a trend toward smaller living spaces with more versatility, this means managing the air quality in the home can be even easier. With less cubic footage to keep in mind, homeowners can install central vacuum systems or air purifiers with ease and know they're getting an efficient air quality solution for their home's size.
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: March 20, 2008 at 9:46 AM
Tags: air purifier, central vacuum, ecofriendly paints, green building, green home improvement, indoor air quality, low voc paint
Filled under: Green Living, Home Ownership / Home Improvement
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Leaving a mold problem untreated can not only lead to negative effects in your bronchial health, but it can cause permanent damage to the areas of your home that it inhabits - water damaged ceiling panels, rotted flooring or cabinetry, carpeting that can't be salvaged, etc. Black mold is particularly dangerous to allow to spread. Though it might be obvious once the problem has spread, you might not realize you have a mold problem at first. The key to treating black mold the most effectively is to catch it early, or better yet, prevent black mold from forming altogether. As mentioned previously, not all molds are dangerous to your health, and even some of the more dangerous molds might affect you differently from a family member depending on your personal sensitivity to it, but it is always best to take action against mold as soon as you notice it forming colonies. Here are some black mold symptoms to look for when checking your home for mold problems:
High Humidity levels (greater than 55%) provide a breeding ground for black mold. If you live in a humid climate or have damp areas of your home, it will be important to install dehumidifiers, ventilation fans, active dampness control systems, or to fix leaky pipes and find a way to dry out affected areas.
Continue reading "Black Mold Symptoms in Your Home" »
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: March 19, 2008 at 3:22 PM
Tags: black mold in the home, black mold problem, black mold symptoms, how to clean mold, how to eliminate black mold, indoor air quality, indoor humidity, mold in the home, ventilation fan
Filled under: Home Ownership / Home Improvement, Indoor Air Quality and Allergy
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Mold is kind of like you and me - if we don't have any water, we can't survive. Mold thrives in damp areas and can quickly grow colonies that take over these moist areas in your home. This could be a bathroom ceiling, a laundry room wall, or it could even lurk inside your walls where you can't see it. You might not realize it's there unless you or a loved one has an allergic reaction that prompts an investigation. Thankfully, you can strongly reduce your chances of a mold problem by controlling the moisture levels in your home and being on the lookout for high-moisture situations.
Here are five great tips with some help from the Environmental Protection Agency's Mold Information site for keeping your home at a safe moisture level and keeping toxic molds like black mold at bay.
Keep everything well-ventilated by placing fans in rooms or opening windows if weather permits. Circulating the air in your home will help neutralize the temperature so you don't have warm rooms and cold rooms mixing and causing moisture.
Use exhaust fans and vents in your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room to expel the moist air outside and prevent condensation from forming.
Run a dehumidifier if you live in a humid climate or if your basement tends to get damp.…or better yet for damp basements, hire a professional to install an Active Dampness Control™ (ADC) System from HomeAire. ADC Systems eliminate moisture at its source, before it enters the home, and most are ENERGY STAR® qualified. Basement dehumidifiers consume more energy and do not effectively vent water vapor away from the home.
Be sure that you fix all leaky pipes and seal off your home's foundation or install a pump in case any flooding should ever occur from heavy rain.
Always run the fan in your kitchen or bathroom every time you cook or take a shower, and leave it on for awhile after you're done in order to help ventilate the moisture outside and keep your walls mold and mildew-free.
Stay tuned for more information on how to help prevent and treat mold in your home! Do you have the proper equipment mentioned in this post? If not, be sure to have a look at HomeAire's selection of:
Bathroom Ventilation Fans
Kitchen Ventilation Fans
and Other Home Ventilation and Mold Prevention Solutions
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: February 29, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Tags: active dampness control, bathroom ventilation, black mold, energystar, household mold, kitchen ventilation, mold and mildew, mold elimination, mold in the home, mold prevention, mold removal tips, toxic mold
Filled under: Apartment Living, Home Ownership / Home Improvement, Indoor Air Quality and Allergy
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Many homes have garages, particularly newer construction. It's not uncommon to find an attached two-car garage with a large family room or storage area sitting on top, or a connected garage with a mudroom or breezeway into the rest of the house. In addition to providing a safe area for cars, garages are also prime areas for storage for seasonal items, paints, tools, you name it! Some people can't even fit their cars into their garage because of so many stored items. While this extra space and protection for your belongings is definitely useful, you may not realize the dangers that garages can pose to your health if you don't take proper precatuions. Offroaders.com has provided a great article with six ways that you can make your garage a healthier place:
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Install a Garage Exhaust Fan. We couldn't agree with this suggestion more. Keeping cars, paints, tools, and other fuels and fume-emitting items in the garage can spell a recipe for disaster. Even if the garage isn't attached to the house, having a garage ventilation or exhaust fan is important to circulate the air in your garage to expel the hazardous chemicals and keep the indoor air quality at a safe level.
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Safely Dispose of Unsafe Items. If you have chemical products or paints in your garage, unless you absolutely need them, it's best to get rid of them. Remember to dispose of them safely by taking them to a center that specializes in hazardous waste removal.
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Seal your garage from your house on the walls, ceiling and the door. While having some air circulation from the outside is important to maintaining your garage's air quality safety level, you want to have a tight seal around where your garage connects to your house, if you have an attached garage. Also be sure to apply a weatherstrip to your connecting door, and make sure the seal is air tight. It would also be advisable to purchase a stand alone air purifier if you have a room above your garage in the event that opening windows will allow car exhaust in, depending on the placement of the windows.
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Use a detached garage. While it may seem less convenient, having a detached garage will be safer for you and your family because any fumes are contained in a separate area from your living space. It's still very important to eliminate unnecessary chemicals and to install a garage ventilation fan, but you will not have the added concern of sealing off common walls with the rest of your home.
We wanted to add a couple of our own suggestions to the great list that Offroader came up with as well:
For HomeAire's selection of garage ventilation solutions, click here.
Continue reading "Garage Ventilation Fans and Other Garage Safety Tips" »
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: February 11, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Tags: garage air quality, garage exhaust fan, garage pollution, garage safety, garage ventilation fan, home air, homeaire, indoor air quality
Filled under: Home Ownership / Home Improvement, Indoor Air Quality and Allergy
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