Home & Garden

Against most experts better judgment, many homeowners decide to undertake mold cleaning on their own. While this is an ill-advised move, theres simply no dissuading some do-it-yourself types who insist on saving money. Ironically, their efforts to do so usually result in even higher costs since professionals must often redo the job that homeowners improperly performed.

If you are planning on conducting your own mold cleaning, there are a few precautions that can help you. The first thing to do is remove any standing water as this is a breeding ground for more spores. Mold can generate in as little as 24 to 48 hours, so youre fighting an uphill battle if you clean the extant mold but neglect the biggest source of it. Once this water is gone, invest in a hygrometer to measure the relative humidity of your rooms.

Continuing Your Mold Cleaning
A high relative humidity means that more mold is waiting in the wings. To defeat it, install a dehumidifier in the room youre cleaning. If there are multiple rooms on your list, tackle each one separately by sealing them off with plastic and duct tape. Failing to do this will only allow germs and spores to circulate to other areas of your home. Effective mold cleaning depends critically on a discrete approach, not a systemic one.

Once youve contained your mold, youll want to invest in an air filtration system to help suck up airborne particulate triggered by your cleaning. Every time you scrub, you disrupt dormant spores that then spread to other regions of the room. Air filter systems maintain a relatively static environment for you during soap and water treatment, which is the next step in the process before sealing off your spores and carting them away.