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How To Prevent Mold In Your HomeIs it possible to prevent mold? Let's see. The most common places for mold to thrive are rooms with a water source or an area where moisture could get trapped without proper ventilation. The common areas are the roof, kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, water heater/softener area in the garage or closet, window/door sills, and basement. The main idea to prevent mold is to check on a regular basis for leaks and have them repaired right away. If a leak is noticed, wipe up any excess water or install a bucket/bag to collect excess water accumulation until repaired. Maintenance is key to prevent mold and a water intrusion from occurring. RoofRoof ventilation is divided into two categories: incoming air and outgoing air. Incoming air: The most affective way for air to enter the roof is right through the vents that are placed in the soffits of the eves. Stripped Vents Provide Great Mold Prevention Safeguards Continuous strip vents provide the most reliable ports as well as rectangular vents. Round rectangular plugs are easy to install but are usually too small to provide adequate airflow. Outgoing air: Stale or heated air escapes through the top of the roof. There are many ways to achieve sufficient ventilation that include; ridge vents, turbine, and or power vents. These are great ways to prevent mold and keep the family safe, healthy, and happy. There are also box vents and gable end vents that can be useful for the escapement of air. Continuous Ridge Vents Provide Great Mold Prevention Safeguards Continuous ridge vents are the preferred method for eliminating build-up of hot air. One of the most neglected areas of a roofing system during construction is a cathedral ceiling and ventilated ceiling attics. This often results in drywall growing mold on the backside when the contractor fails to vent and baffle the area behind the ceiling insulation and drywall; very bad indeed! When two neighbors started quarreling about how to best prevent mold in the driveway, the argument turned into a real debate. The feuding neighbors held on to this ongoing debate concerning their driveways, for over six months! One swore that you needed to seal it every single year and he did quite religiously. The second one signed on with the idea that every two years was quite enough.
Kitchen And BathroomIn your kitchen and bathroom you will find water supply lines that supply the sinks, dishwasher, toilets, shower stalls, and bathtubs. If you notice a leak, have it repaired at once and wipe it dry or place a bucket to collect any excess water. When taking a bath, make sure you provide adequate ventilation to the bathroom. Open the windows and door after you’re done taking a bath or shower. This will release any trapped humidity from the bathroom. You may need to place a dehumidifier in a bathroom with no ventilation, to collect excess humidity. This applies to geographical areas where the overall humidity levels are high. Make sure your bathtub and or shower is properly caulked and grouted to prevent moisture from seeping into the back or to the bottom of the bathtub or shower. This also goes for kitchen and bathroom countertops. If you have a reverse osmosis system under your kitchen sink cabinet, periodically check for leaks, as this is another cause of a water intrusion. Laundry RoomAs for the laundry room, you always want to check for any hot/cold water supply lines to the washer and the drain line to the drain outlet. You could also install a washing machine pan under the washer. They even got outlets built into the pan where you can connect PVC piping and route it to a drain in case of a mishap. Water HeaterThe laundry room principles apply here too. A water heater pan is also available. Maintenance is key to prevent the water heater from failing. It should also be drained per manufacturers recommendations. If you live in an area where the water is hard, it should be drained sooner then recommended. Through my professional experience, geographical areas that have hotter then normal temperatures tend to see water heaters that fail during the summer months. BasementThere are two areas of concern for the basement: Ventilation and Water Proofing. Make sure there is adequate ventilation and controlled humidification. If you start to notice a musty smell, you may have a water intrusion problem that found its way to the basement. Water will always seek the lowest part of the building. In my professional opinion you should consult a Water Proofing and Mold Remediation Contractor to remedy this problem. US Bureau Of Standards To The RescueTo clear this misconception up, one of the neighbors turned to the U.S. Bureau of Standards and that governmental agencies definition of asphalt sealants. The U.S. Bureau of Standards says that sealants begin to break down in only eighteen months, wow! So in essence both of the neighbors were right! Seeing that twenty four months is two years and eighteen months is less than two years, both would have to reapply their sealant under two years time. So the argument was for naught. Sealing a basement is a great way to stop subterranean and surface area water from flooding the basement floor, yet if it is done with a process that does not work, then it is a useless and extreme money waster! Read more about How To Prevent Mold In Your Home on the following pages:
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When thinking back to the days of youth, one can still hear the two neighbors arguing in their perspective driveways, bantering back and forth as to who was right and whose driveway would make it through the touch winter. It is understandable why these neighbors were bickering as they were just trying to prevent mold in their homes! 
