Mold infestation at home whether it's on the shower curtains or in the kitchen sink or toilet bowl or basement walls is never good. Especially for at-risk people with breathing problems and specifically in the middle of a pandemic. No matter the scale, indoor mold must be dealt with immediately and efficiently. Homeowners should be able to tackle mold without hiring a professional if it’s not too widespread.
Prevention is key in protection
First thing is to always maintain control of the moisture in any given occupied space. Proper ventilation is 80% of the battle in keeping mold from growing indoors.
Humidity prevention isn’t as intimidating as it seems. Reduce the potential risk of mold by using a dehumidifier or air purifier to clean the air and reduce moisture. Make sure things are thoroughly aired out and dry (laundry, car mats, etc). It all seems like common sense but you’d be surprised how quickly mold grows and spreads unchecked.
Get into clean-up formation
In the unfortunately common event that your space starts to collect mold, there’s a few ways to kill it and clean up effectively. First of all, suit up properly. That means you’ll need a proper respirator mask, thick rubber gloves, goggles and preferably a disposable outfit (large trash bags or rain ponchos do in a pinch!).
Next, remove any people, pets or plants from the moldy area so you can perform the ozone treatment. You’ll need an ozone generator for this part. Ozone is a natural sterilizer that oxidizes the air, effectively killing anything living in the room. This machine causes any mold growing on the outside to shrivel up and die.
“I'm doing mold remediation in a basement and I leave the unit on all night when I leave. I feel like it is cleaning the environment for me and helping take out the mold,” Shelley H. shared with us in her review of our MA10K-PRO Ozone Generator.
Once the ozone dissipates from the room, after usually about 30 minutes, open up the windows and wipe all hard surfaces with a powerful multi-surface cleaner like Pine Sol or Lysol. Throw out anything that mold has spread to if it can’t be easily cleaned or salvaged.
A little daily maintenance
Once you’re all cleaned up, we suggest adding regular upkeep to your routine so you won’t have to worry about build-up in the future or worse forms of black mold. The easiest and most hands-off way is daily 10-15 minute ozone treatments in spaces that have higher mold growth potential. Keep your windows open on sunny, low-humidity days and clean up immediately after spills and leaks.
Not everything can be handled with DIY and a “can-do” spirit. If your mold problem is simply too big to handle, it’s okay to call in a professional! Your health and safety are of the utmost importance to us.
