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You are here: Home / Archives for mold control

How To Control Mold

Jackson Kung'u

Mold is a living organism. For mold to thrive, it requires nutrients, water and suitable temperature. If we can deny mold any one of these requirements we can completely control it’s growth. It is practically difficult to manipulate the temperature or to eliminate the nutrients. However, we can control moisture or humidity in our houses. The key to mold control is to keep our houses dry all the time. Regularly vacuum cleaning of dusty surfaces such as the carpet also help to reduce the amount of settled spores which actually give rise to new mold growth when water becomes available.

Filed Under: Fungi, Mold Tagged With: mold control, mold growth

How To Get Rid of Mold Growth

Jackson Kung'u

One of the questions commonly asked by homeowners is how they could get rid of mold growth on ceiling tiles, carpet, walls and basement. To get rid of mold completely is difficult but we can control mold growth. For us to control mold growth we need to know the factors or conditions necessary for mold growth.

For mold to grow indoors:

  • There should be a source of viable spores or hyphal fragments of the mold that can regenerate into new mold growth. The main source of spores indoors is the outdoor. Building materials may also get contaminated with mold. Spores that have settled on surfaces may remain viable for many years. Once moisture is available these spores germinate and if the moisture is not eliminated, growth continues and more spores are produced which contribute to more mold growth. Settled dust is generally a reservoir of mold spores.How to get rid of mold growth
  • Like any other living organisms, mold require nutrients for growth. Dust, dirt, and some components of building materials are contain or are nutrients for mold growth.
  • For rapid growth optimal temperature is required. Generally molds can grow under a wide range of temperatures but at suboptimal temperatures growth is slow. The optimal temperature for most indoor molds is the temperature usually maintained in houses or offices for human comfort.
  • There should be adequate moisture to support growth. Moisture is the most critical factor. The level of moisture (together with other factors) determines the types of mold that will be more prevalent/dominant in the environment.

By manipulating anyone of the factors outlined above, we can control mold growth. However, we may have very little control on spores since spores infiltrate into our houses from outdoor all the time especially when we open the doors and windows. Also, although we can set the temperature in our houses to the level we want, mold can grow over a wide range of temperatures and therefore it is practically difficult to use temperature to control mold growth…unless we want to turn our houses and offices into freezers. Moisture is the ideal factor to control. Maintaining indoor humidity levels between 30-60% would effectively control mold growth. In addition to controlling moisture, we should also provide adequate ventilation. As mentioned above dust is a reservoir for spores. Therefore, regular vacuum cleaning would help reduce the spore load in the building and hence reduce the level of mold growth following a moisture problem.

If you have a question on how to get rid of mold growth, please call us at 905-290-9101.

 

Filed Under: Fungi, Mold Tagged With: how to get rid of mold, mold control, mold growth

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Salmonella food poisoning and symptoms

Salmonella food poisoning has been a growing concern in recent news. It has frequently lead to recalls of beef, salads and organic products and, even peanut butter products. Salmonella food poisoning occurs when one eats raw or undercooked foods such meat, poultry, eggs or egg products. Properly cooked food can get contaminated with Salmonella if […]

Legionella pneumophila – Guidelines for Laboratory Interpretation

Legionella pneumophila is a Gram negative, aerobic bacteria that is characterized as an opportunistic pathogen. It is the cause of Legionnaires’ Disease, a severe form of pneumonia and, it is the cause of Pontiac fever, a non-pneumonic form of L. pneumophila infection. Legionella spp.’s mode of transmission is through aerosols or aspiration of contaminated water. The Public Health […]

The Indoor Mold Is An Early Warning Device

The mold (or mould, in the Queen’s English) has been the victim of a bad press. Mention the word and it conjures up an image of something rotting or in the process of decomposition. And yet, were it not for the mold that inspired the discovery of penicillin millions of lives would have been lost. […]

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