Mold
And What You Can Do to Avoid Them
Three ways to reduce your exposure to mold:
- Control mold growth indoors
- Avoid places where mold is likely to grow
- Avoid or reduce activities that can release mold spores into the air.
Avoid such breeding grounds for molds as:
- basements breed mold
- garages breed mold
- crawl spaces breed mold
- barns breed mold
- compost heaps breed mold
- woodpiles breed mold
- fallen leaves breed mold
Ways to discourage mold growth:
- Maintaining the humidity in your house below 50%. Use air conditioners and dehumidifiers if humidity is high, particularly in basements and other damp and enclosed areas.
- Removing humidity from the bathroom and kitchen by using exhaust fans placed in the ceiling or wall and over the stove to avoid mold.
- Letting damp clothes and shoes air dry before you put them away.
- Removing laundry promptly from your washer.
- Cleaning your refrigerator and empty its water pan at frequent intervals and promptly throw out food that’s “gone bad”.
- Making a regular schedule and clean shower curtains and bathroom tiles, grouting, and fixtures with mold-unfriendly solutions.
- Buying only machine-washable bathroom floor mats and wash them frequently.
- Stretching out the shower curtain when you leave the shower.
- Considering reducing or eliminating the number of indoor plants you keep because soil encourages mold growth.
- Always use a mask when transplanting houseplants or digging in soil.
- Being aware that holiday wreaths and dried flowers may contain molds.
- Storing firewood outdoors.
- Selecting hypoallergenic pillows, mattresses, and furniture rather than those filled with foam rubber because your body’s moisture and perspiration can encourage mold to grow in foam rubber.
- Humidifiers with mold can spray mold spores into the air you breathe. Be sure to clean humidifiers regularly, according to manufacturer’s directions.
- A HEPA air filter may help to remove mold spores from the air inside your home.