Four Ways To Prevent Basement Mold Growth

Your basement is the location within your home that is the most likely to experience mold growth, since it is relatively dark, experiences high levels of humidity, and will be the area of your house where you spend the least amount of time, meaning that growth may go unnoticed for a significant period of time. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to severely reduce the risk of mold growth taking hold within your basement, saving you money and time on mold remediation costs in the future.

Don't Store Soft Items

While your basement may be the largest storage area within your house, it may be a good idea to not store soft items like clothing, upholstered furniture, and other fabrics or absorbent materials within your basement. This is because they will hold onto water, which can cause mold growth and water damage to occur over a long enough period of time, which can quickly eat away at your softer items and spread to your other belongings as well.

Basement Sealing

You should also make an effort to seal any entranceways within your basement to keep moisture and water from seeping in. This means you should inspect your windows for damaged weatherstripping, which you can peel off and replace with self-adhesive strips at most hardware stores, and the caulking around the window frames. Caulking can be peeled off with a putty knife and reapplied with a simple squeeze tube, again available at most hardware stores. Further, if you have exposed concrete walls in your basement, you can apply a waterproof sealant to the surface to prevent moisture from seeping through. These sealants are applied just like paint, and can help reduce ambient moisture.

Ventilation

Improving the amount of air flow that your basement experiences can help reduce the overall amount of humidity down there. Vents, vans, and open windows are all a great way to increase the general air flow into your basement. Even something as simple as leaving the door into the basement open can help improve ventilation. In a similar vein, to actively remove moisture from the air, you may want to consider installing and running a portable dehumidifier within your basement to filter water out of the air.

Clean Gutters and Downspouts

Though it seems counter-intuitive, improper drainage of water outside of your home is the primary reason why flooding and water damage within your basement occurs. In order to mitigate the risk of mold growth occurring in your basement as much as possible, you should make an effort to clean out your gutters and downspouts before the rainy season hits, and to consistently remove any debris which may collect in them over time.

Talk to a local company about mold restoration services.

Share