Maintaining optimal indoor comfort during the winter should be a priority–but it’s not the only important thing on which you should be focusing. You probably already know just how much damage mold can cause inside the house. Some people believe that this is only an issue in the warmer months. They’ll soon find, however, that it’s actually a year-round problem that can not only weaken their home’s most crucial components, but also compromise its indoor air quality.
You’ll need to take measures to prevent mold issues in your home this winter. Acker Heating & Cooling, a premier residential and commercial HVAC company in the area, shares some handy tips in this blog post.
But First, What Exactly Is Mold?
Basically, mold is a type of fungus that works to break down material that’s organic in nature. Unfortunately, it’s not picky about the organic material it consumes, because you’ll also find it thriving inside homes and buildings. Mold can grow anywhere that has the right amount of moisture and humidity and is between 60 and 80 degrees. It reproduces through spores dispersed in the air, and flourishes when conditions are accommodating.
Why Should You Be Worried About Mold?
The presence of mold inside your home can lead to a number of problems. Structural problems are the most common, but it can also negatively affect indoor air quality. For the most part, people stay inside during the winter, and if the house has a serious mold problem, constant exposure to its spores can trigger allergic reactions and cause the following symptoms:
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Eye irritation
- Sore, dry throat
- Dry coughing and sneezing
- Skin irritations, such as rashes and scaling
- Shortness of breath, or wheezing
- Difficulty focusing, or brain fog
- General malaise
There are different types of mold, and all of them can be a potential health hazard at certain levels. This is especially true when black mold is present inside a home, because it can produce mycotoxins or toxins. People living in damp, moldy homes have a higher chance of developing asthma and chronic sinus infections. Those whose immune systems are suppressed by medications or a pre-existing lung condition may also develop infections due to mold. You can usually tell if your home has a mold issue because it will smell musty. Discoloration on fabrics, wooden products and other building materials is also an indication of mold growth.
What Causes Mold in the First Place?
As mentioned before, mold thrives in humid environments. If your home has high humidity levels, it’s only a matter of time before mold makes an appearance. Excess humidity can result from poor ventilation and any activity that releases a considerable amount of moisture into the air, such as cooking, dish washing, laundry and showering. You can consult a heating system repair and indoor air quality expert like Acker Heating & Cooling on ways to reduce humidity in your home.
Preventing Mold Problems in Your Home This Winter
The good news is that there are plenty of simple and effective ways to keep your home mold-free. You should, for instance:
- Deal with any plumbing issues promptly. A periodic inspection under the sink in your bathroom, laundry room and kitchen will determine whether your plumbing system has any leaks. If it does, make sure to have it fixed immediately. As you wait for a professional to arrive, place a towel under the leak to stop the water from spreading. Once the leak is fixed, wash the towel and dry it. There may be instances where mold has already formed around the leak. Use diluted vinegar or bleach to clear away the mold, then use a fan or hair blower to dry the wet areas.
- Control humidity levels in your home. Winter temperatures can cause the attic, walls and windows to become colder, which in turn prompts condensation. This can encourage mold growth in these areas if overlooked. Controlling humidity levels in your home is fairly easy. For starters, you can set the humidity level between 30% and 50% by running your air conditioning system.
Make sure to run the exhaust fans in your kitchen and bathroom during or after use. This helps get rid of any excess moisture in the air, which in turn eliminates the potential for mold in these spaces. If possible, avoid air-drying your freshly laundered clothes indoors. And when using a clothes dryer, make sure that it’s actually venting outside your home.
Keeping excess humidity at bay is also possible with a dehumidifier. Your premier air conditioning and indoor air quality professional, Acker Heating & Cooling, offers whole-home dehumidifiers from trusted industry name, Bryant®. They ensure effective moisture removal performance that helps prevent mold from forming inside your home. The permanent MERV 8 filter also captures dust and other particles to ensure better airflow and improved indoor air quality.
- Use UV lights to best effect. You can have UV lights installed in your home’s ductwork or in the blower cabinet. When mold spores pass through these lights, they lose the ability to reproduce, meaning there’s less chance of mold spreading in your home. What’s great about UV lights is that they can also minimize other organic contaminant populations present in indoor air, such as bacteria and viruses.
- Keep your home ventilated. Simply opening your windows will allow warm, moisture-laden air to escape your home. Leave them open for about 15 minutes every day. Keeping the air moving inside your house also prevents condensation from forming on your windows, lowering the chance of mold growing along the frames and casings. You also have the option to invest in a high-quality ventilator from a trusted cooling and heating systems installer like Acker Heating & Cooling.
Our excellent ventilators from Bryant® are designed to bring pre-filtered outdoor air into your home, replacing warm, stale air that may be trapped inside. They’re available in Preferred™ Heat Recovery and Preferred™ Energy Recovery options. Since our Bryant® ventilators also come in different sizes, you get to pick the one that will best suit your home’s needs.
Call Us Today!
When in need of effective indoor air quality solutions or high-quality commercial HVAC services, look no further than Acker Heating & Cooling. With the exceptional options we provide from trusted industry names and our own certified HVAC technicians, we’ll help you maintain a safer, healthier home no matter the season. We proudly serve Colbert, GA, and the Greater Athens area. Call us today at (706) 715-2607 or fill out this contact form to schedule your heating consultation.