Mold: A Resilient Pollutant You Can Overcome

Mold is an issue that many homeowners face at some time or another. While high humidity during the summer months may seem like the primary time to worry about this issue, mold can still be a problem throughout the winter. During the colder months, warm air rising from your home into the attic can create the ideal conditions for mold to form. With organic materials from wood, wallpaper glue and other building materials, it’s fairly easy for the fungi to grow.

Another catalyst is when outside walls and windows aren’t adequately insulated. When a contrast exists between interior and exterior temperatures, the cold air from outside can result in condensation when it comes into contact with warmer air inside your home. This dampness can provide a hospitable place for mold growth. This growth can be hastened when there’s an abundance of indoor dust from fibers, food, animal dander, etc. Due to the allergic symptoms this can trigger, it’s important to control fungi growth in the winter months. Here are some things you can do.

• Ensure that your home has proper insulation between the attic and your living spaces.
• Periodically check your roofing for any cracks or gaps that can lead to water leaking in. Making the necessary repairs should prevent excessive moisture from seeping into your attic.
• Properly seal the edges of windows with caulk or weatherstripping. This will keep water from coming in and will make your home more energy efficient as well.
• Install a solar-powered attic fan along with a solar controller so you can have better control of the temperature and humidity in your attic. Since the perfect temperature for mold growth is between 60 to 80 degrees, you can make the needed adjustments.
• Keep your home clean at all times to make it more difficult for fungi to grow. This includes vacuuming carpeting and rugs, and routine dusting.
• Since mold thrives in dark spaces, allow natural sunlight to come in whenever possible.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems). For more expert HVAC advice, please contact Sobieski Services today.

Image Credit: chapstickaddict