Protecting Your Basement From Mold

While you should protect all areas of your home from mold, the basement is one of the most common areas to find it. Since it is underground, dark, and can be a moist, cluttered environment, this is almost the perfect place for mold to grow in the home. You might be able to smell the mold in your basement, but be unable to see it because it tends to hide behind sheetrock, wallpaper, under carpets, rugs, and etcetera. If you suspect mold exists in your basement, then the best thing to do is call in a professional or buy a mold testing kit. What can you do after the mold in your basement is removed to keep it from returning? Here are a few tips.

If there are any water spills or leaky pipes in your basement, do your best to get them cleaned up and dried as quickly as possible. Mold loves moisture and will grow almost anywhere that it exists. It can start to grow in as little as 48 hours after water is introduced to an environment.

A humidity meter can be purchased at the hardware store and you want to try and keep the humidity in the basement below 60 to 65 percent. You can also purchase a de-humidifier to help with this if you’re having trouble controlling the humidity. If you see condensation on your basement windows or on any pipes, dry these surfaces immediately and continue to try and reduce the humidity.

If your clothes dryer or shower is located in the basement, make sure that the hot air it puts out is vented to the outside.

The soil outside your home should be sloped away from the foundation so that water flows away from the basement. If it is not, water will begin to leak inside and allow mold to begin growing in the house.

Keep the air moving around in the basement. Allowing air to become stagnant is another factor that encourages mold to grow. Well-ventilated areas of the home are rarely as moldy as areas that have no ventilation at all.

Try not to store papers or cardboard boxes directly on the floor. Mold likes to eat anything that has its base in organic material, especially paper and wood of any kind. It is the natural job of mold to decompose organic material, but you do not want it doing this in your basement.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration contractors and
Mold Remediation companies across the united states.

Easy Ways To Maintain A Smoke Free Fireplace

Quite a few homes have fireplaces, but not all of them are fit to be used as they are because they have not been cleaned in so long that when you do try to use them, it fills the house with smoke. This can do a lot of damage to the inside of the home, including ruin the paint on your walls, your curtains, and discolor your carpet. It is also a health risk, since breathing this in is not good for anyone, but the elderly, people with allergies, pets, and children are especially affected. Fortunately, though, in most situations you can make a fire that will not smoke up your house without much trouble as long as you follow a few rules.

The damper of your chimney needs to be open before you do anything. Burn some paper or other easily combustible materials in the fireplace, because you want to warm the chimney up. Cold air in the chimney is will push the warm air down and cause the smoke to fill up the room.

Open up the windows in the house and make sure that there is enough air circulating to ignite the fire. A home that is insulated well might not have enough of a draft to allow the wood to catch on fire.

You should also have some fireplace bricks underneath the grill to add some more air circulation to the process. More draft in the fireplace will make it easier for the fire to ignite.

The top of the fireplace also needs to be cleaned out regularly, since anything that gets stuck in it like leaves, sticks, bird nests can keep the smoke from being able to escape and so it floods back into the house, which is exactly where you do not want it.

You should also have the fireplace cleaned by a professional cleaning service if possible, since a layer of creosote is likely built up on the inside of the chimney. This is a tar-like substance that results from burning wood in the fireplace and if your chimney has not been professionally cleaned before and you have lived in your house for many years, then it is time for it to be. Creosote can catch on fire and cause the whole house to burn down, so having it cleaned out is essential.

To keep your fireplace functioning the way that it should, you need to know how to use it and take care of it and by the time winter gets to you, you will be able to enjoy your fireplace once again.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration companies and
Dallas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors.