The presence of mold and mildew in your home can be a serious concern that many homeowners aren’t even aware of. Mold and mildew and grow anywhere in your home where moisture and humidity levels are too high including:

  • Unvented bathrooms
  • In and around showers
  • Laundry rooms
  • Cabinets under kitchen and bathroom sinks
  • Boiling water while cooking without the lid on
  • Rainwater from roof leaks
  • Moisture from plumbing leaks
  • High humidity in basements or crawlspaces
  • Clogged gutters or downspouts
  • Yard with poor drainage that allow water to pool around the foundation

Moisture control is the key to preventing mold, since mold needs humid or damp conditions and moderate warmth to thrive. Get in the habit of checking areas in your home where moisture and high humidity occur. You may also want to buy a hygrometer that measures relative humidity, and try to keep the humidity levels between 35% and 50%.

If you think you have a big mold problem, hire a lab to test your home. A good place to start is by checking with your local health department for references. Then report your exposure to mold to your family doctor.

Watch the video above to find out more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Danny Lipford: I’m taking a look at an older house that a friend of mine is considering buying. And if he buys this, he’s going to have a lot of work updating this old bathroom.

But, also, I found a fairly severe problem that many homeowners are becoming aware of, and that’s the presence of mold. There’s mold everywhere in this bathroom, and that’s not uncommon when you have a bathroom that has no ventilation. Mold will grow so quickly, and it certainly is a health hazard.

So adding an exhaust fan here to move the moisture, while you’re taking a shower, out of the room really makes a lot of sense. Now, they have a window here, but so many times the weather’s just no conducive to opening up that window to provide that proper ventilation.

Now, the key thing to prevent mold in any room of the house is to eliminate any source of moisture. Now that can be a leaky pipe, a leaky basement, or a leaky roof. But sometimes your landscaping on the outside of the home will dam up any rainwater and actually force it into a wall.

I suspect that’s exactly what’s happened here where the water is basically wicking up into the wall, causing a real severe growth of mold there. Now, part of that drywall will most likely need to be removed.

Now, also, if you have a fairly minor case of mold, it can be cleaned with a diluted solution of bleach and water. The main thing, get rid of the mold, it’s not healthy for your family.


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Danny Lipford

Founder

Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.

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