Accurate Home Inspection of Atlanta
Consumer Information:
Preventing moisture from reaching high levels in your house is the simplest and easiest way to prevent mold. There are several no-cost and low-cost ways to do it.
If your house has a crawl space with a dirt floor, cover the floor with a continuous sheet of 6-mil polyethylene.
Make sure water from your roof goes away from your house by leading downspouts away from the foundation.
Ensure that the ground around your house slopes away from the house.
When you shower or bathe,use the bathroom fan;allow it to run for 15 minutes or longer. Bathroom and kitchen fans should exhaust outside. When cooking, use the kitchen fan to get rid of moisture and odours.
Areas of your house below grade, such as the basement or crawl space, usually have higher relative humidity than grade-level and above-grade floors. If you have a basement, use a dehumidifier and run it from spring until fall with the basement windows closed. Run a dehumidifier in your basement, even if you have an air conditioner. Remember that an air conditioner dehumidifies only when it is running.
Do not humidify unless absolutely necessary. First, measure the relative humidity with a hygrometer. Readings of 25 to 35 per cent relative humidity in the winter are acceptable.
If you need humidity at night, use a portable humidifier in your bedroom. Monitor the relative humidity and cycle the unit on and off as necessary. Air the room out to dry during the day. Clean the humidifier after each use.
Don't keep unused materials and furnishings in your basement. Materials such as paper, cardboard and clothing absorb moisture and can grow mold. Store as little paper, cardboard and clothing items as possible in your basement and keep them off floors and walls.
Carpets in the basement or bathroom are likely places for molds to grow. It is best not to have carpets in these areas.
Don't hang clothes to dry in the basement. Use your clothes dryer and make sure it is vented to the outside. Do not store firewood inside the house.
Do not leave areas of the house unheated. Cold, unheated or damp areas in the house are likely to get moldy. Excessive thermostat setbacks at night also encourage mold growth. Act immediately if you have a leak or a flood.
Clean up small areas of mold yourself, following CMHC's Clean up procedures for mold in houses or Fighting mold: The homeowner's guide. Get professional help if there is a lot of mold.
Consult CMHC's The clean air guide to deal with dirt floors, crawl spaces and cold cellars.
Reducing chemical contaminants
Contamination from common household chemicals can be a threat both to people with asthma and to people who do not have asthma.
Do not paint or renovate when the house is closed up. Use only new, low-odour paints and check that the paint is not spoiled before using. Test paint before using it to make sure it does not leave a residual odour. See CMHC's Building materials for the environmentally hypersensitive for information about paints.
Remove sources of chemical odours, such as perfumes and furniture made of particleboard, medium-density fibreboard, plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) from your bedroom. Use hardwood furniture and flooring made of solid hardwood rather than pressed or laminated wood. Do not store paints, lacquers and solvents inside your house. There are no quick ways to making your house a contaminant-free house. Ozone generators are not recommended, because ozone is an irritant that may aggravate asthma.The effectiveness of ozone to control mold and other pollutants is questionable.
Similarly, portable air cleaners may not solve all your indoor air problems. The recommended approach is to find the sources of contaminants and remove or reduce them.
