If you find out you have mold in your home, there are a few things you’ll want to do when you first discover the problem.  Because mold can be a costly issue to deal with, you need to take care of the problem immediately. Mold can be damaging to your home and spread quickly in wet and damp areas.  This can be problematic as it can happen without being seen or detected by an odor, moreover, it can leave you and your family members more susceptible to getting sick.

Assess

The first thing you want to do whenever you discover you might have a mold problem is to properly assess the situation.  How big is the problem at hand? If it is small enough for you to take care of, you can absolutely treat the problem without worry.  If you are encountering mold problems that are too large or have grown out of your control, is too much for you to handle, or simply too time-consuming, you can contact professionals to clean and help treat the area.

Protective Wear and Cleaning Supplies

If you find that the mold problem you discovered in your home is something you want to tackle yourself, that is fine.  But you need to make sure you can the right cleaning solutions or material for your job to thoroughly clean the problem and keep you protected as well.  

You will need the following:

• A mask or a respirator to filter out the mold spores you will disturb and that will spread through the air as you clean
• Eye protection
• Rubber gloves to prevent direct contact with the mold
• Rags and a scrub brush
• A large pail
• Bleach
• A large fan or dehumidifier
• Work or cleaning clothes that are either old or white
• Plastic garbage bags
• White vinegar

Cleaning

Make sure you wear all your protective gear when starting your job up until you finish.  You don’t want to be in direct contact with the mold or spread it through your home. Starting the cleaning process, you want to dampen the affected area with a rag and plain water.  By dampening the mold, this will help dry mold from spreading into the air.  You should try and remove as much of the mold as possible with a thorough scrubbing and your soap and detergent. 

For deeper and tougher mold problems, you can use 1½ cups of bleach for every gallon of water in a pail to help with the mold and slow down and stop future mold growth.  Scrub and rinse your areas, repeating the process until all the visible mold is gone. Once the mold is cleaned off, you can use your fan or dehumidifier to dry the area. Living in an apartment building or condominium, you may have access to industrial dryers if you reach out to your superintendent. There are companies like Disaster Plus in Charleston SC that can clean and restore your home from mold and smoke problems.

After Cleaning

After you’ve finished cleaning the mold out of the problem area, it is important to wash your clothes immediately to help prevent the mold spores from filling the air in your home.  You can use the plastic garbage bag to help transport your clothes safely and directly to your washing machine. Once there, you can use a cup of vinegar in the wash to help kill the mold in your clothes.

Prevention

After you finish cleaning the affected area, it is important to finish the job with a few steps.  Ensure there are no leaks or sources where moisture buildup is frequent. Places around your heating and cooling systems where you might not access frequently should be checked for any leaks or problems.  Check pipes or have a plumber investigate your bathrooms and kitchens where mold may be a problem. Inspect your roofs, attics, and ceiling for any damages like cracks where potential leaks can arise. If the area in question is a place where water and moisture buildup occurs often and is unavoidable, like a bathroom, make sure to clean it frequently to help prevent the buildup and spread of mold in the future.  Make sure that any ventilation systems are working properly to encourage airflow in these areas.

If you are comfortable dealing with mold and the situation is not too large to handle, following these steps should help you with any problem you encounter.  If the situation is larger than you can deal with, do not hesitate to call a professional. These experts will have the proper knowledge and access to equipment to effectively deal with exactly this situation.

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