First of all it’s imperative that you understand why the green mold is growing in your home in the first place. This is the case with any mold that you find growing in your home whether it’s white, black or whatever. All mold love the same things. These are moisture and warmth. If you fail to provide these conditions you will find that mold won’t grow. The mold spores could be in your home but they won’t actually grow into mold unless these conditions are provided.
The reason you home might be a breeding ground for mold is that you are getting a leak from somewhere. This could be from your roof, rising damp or perhaps you don’t have enough ventilation for condensation to disappear. The rooms in your home that you will most commonly find green mold include your basement, kitchen, attic and bathroom. Kitchens and bathrooms have a lot of water in them for obvious reasons. The attic can have mold because of the roof leaking and the basement can suffer these problems because of rising damp and perhaps leaking pipes.
So make sure you find out what is causing the water in the first place and get it fixed. If you keep trying to clean and kill the green mold it will just keep coming back and it will be a real uphill struggle. Having a ventilation system installed in your bathroom and kitchen might be all that’s required. Some people even buy a dehumidifier to deal with the high humidity levels in their homes.
When you have sorted out the problems with where the excess moisture is coming from you can then set about killing the mold. You might want to tackle this task yourself or you could call in a household mold remediation company. Make sure that the household mold remediation company is fully qualified to carry out the work. Generally it’s a good idea to use professional household mold remediation because they can properly identify the mold that you have and the best course of action on getting rid of it. If you tackle it yourself you might think you are saving money but really you could be making matters worse.
Anyway, if you want to kill the mold on your own then you need to know what products you should use. A lot of people say that you should use beach however the EPA says that it’s not always needed and that professional judgement is normally required. If you do use bleach then please make sure that you have properly ventilated the area. If you are working outside then you will be OK but if you are indoors then opening the doors and windows is strongly advisable.
Normally you can just use detergent and water to scrub the area affect by the mold. Make sure you dry the area as well as you can because, as mentioned above, mold thrives in moisture. Some people don’t think it’s necessary to clean mold and that you can simply paint over it. This is not a good idea in the slightest. You must clean the mold off first before you can even think about painting. Also, if you have mold on porous items you will more than likely need to throw it away because it’s very difficult to get rid of mold on porous surfaces.
By now you should have a pretty good idea of what you need to do in order to kill the mold in your home. It’s essential that you both deal with the causes of the excessive moisture in your home and also clean off the mold with the appropriate detergents. If you are in any doubt as to what you are doing you should contact your local mold remediation firm for assistance.
The insect known as silverfish is a very primitive insect and is even older than the cockroach. However if you have silverfish in your home you probably don’t care too much about their history, you simply want to know how to get rid of them as quickly, cheaply and simply as possible.
What you do need to know however, is what living conditions they thrive in. If you understand this fact then you’ll be better equipped in eradicating them from your home. Fist off, they absolutely love humidity. This means you will normally find them in rooms such as your bathroom, kitchen and basement where humidity can be a problem.
If you have any problems with your plumbing leaking then this could be a contributing factor to why you have a problem with silverfish in your house. This means you need to get your plumbing fixed to get rid of these leaks. You should also consider having ventilation installed and even a dehumidifier.
In addition to humidity, they also love a temperature which is between 70 and 80° F. So, ideally, you will want to heat your home to above 80° F or cool it down to below 70°F.
When silverfish need to get something to eat they can actually eat the glue from your wallpaper. This means if you have wallpaper that’s peeling away you ought to repair it or even remove it altogether. Silverfish can also eat cereals, silk, paper, starches and just about anything that is of an organic origin. So make sure you do your best to store food away tightly and clean up any spillages as quickly as possible.
Silverfish can also enter your home via a variety of different cracks in your home. So if you really want to get rid of silverfish and keep them away you need to go around your home to fill up as many cracks as you possibly can. Plaster, expanding foam or caulk can work well.
OK, so now you know what conditions they hate, now you need to know how to kill them off. Well, there are products on the market that will help you do this. The first step is to use residual insecticides that can be sprayed in areas where the insects enter your house and they can also be used in the foundations. The products are odour-free and the wettable powder (WP) from Demon WP and Cyper WP will leave a light film that you will be able to see on dark surfaces. However Cyonara 9.7 leaves no such film.
If you are still having trouble getting rid of them then you might find them hiding in insulation, boxes, light fixtures and under siding. You will therefore want to use dust or bait in these areas, just make sure the areas are hidden rather than visible. Silverfish Paks are also available and they are basically very thin packs that you hide under your carpets, in wardrobes, drawers and behind curtains. The silverfish will be attracted to the paks, eat their way through them and then die.
Hopefully you will now have the know-how to get rid of your horrible silverfish insects and keep them away for good. If you carry out these measure you will also find yourself preventing other nasties such as mold, rot and mice. Just make sure you do your research and understand what you are getting yourself in for. Don’t use products intended for outdoor use indoors and keep pets and children away from any poisons.
If you at all suspect that you have mold in your home then you ought to tackle the problem fast. You might already understand that mold can cause serious problems if it is allowed to get out of control. Of course, it’s also a lot easier to remedy any household mold problems when they have only just begun rather than holding off for ages.
The first thing to do is to find out if the substance you believe to be mold actually is mold. From time to time, people assume that a substance is mold when it isn’t. What’s the point in trying to rectify a problem that isn’t a problem? The way you identify mold is to use a mold testing kit. These are available from a number of different outlets including Lowes, Home Depot and Wal-Mart. How much they cost really depends on what kind you buy however they are available for about $30.
If you don’t want to do the testing yourself then you will want to get a mold inspector out. They will be knowledgeable in detecting mold and also what’s required in order to get rid of it. There are so many different types of mold and means of getting rid of it, a professional should know what to do.
Anyway, if you have received a positive identification of the mold then you need to know what steps are involved in killing it. The most important thing is that you should find out why the mold is growing in the first place before you even consider cleaning it away.
Mold spores can be floating about in many homes, however unless the conditions are right the spores will never grow into mold. In order for the spores to grow into mold they need warmth and dampness. It’s a good idea to buy one of those pretty cheap humidity meters. If your meter is reading above 50% you need to find a way of bringing the humidity down.
The rooms in the home most affected by moisture problems tend to be the bathroom, shower room, kitchen, basement and crawl space. If you don’t have good ventilation the vapor cannot escape and therefore builds up. So if you don’t have a ventilation system you should look into having one installed in the affected area.
Another measure that can be employed to reduce humidity is to buy a dehumidifier. This is particularly good if you have suffered some sort of flooding and you need to get the dampness away as quick as possible.
You should also be looking for other ways that moisture can be getting into your home. Leaking pipes, blocked guttering and rising damp are the most common offenders. If you don’t attend to these matters the mold will simply come back.
An air filter is another step you can take when it comes to tackling mold problems. There are many different air filters on the market and they are not all the same. It is a HEPA air filter that you will want to buy as this can filter mold spores. This can be costly option, however, because you need to buy replacement filters so you will need to do further research to decide whether you want to invest in such a unit.
When it comes to cleaning the mold you need to ensure you wear protective clothing in the form of goggles, mask and gloves. This will prevent you from breathing in any mold and also protect your skin from coming into contact with whatever cleaning agent you choose to use.
There are many different products on the market designed to clean mold however many folks opt to use a mixture of bleach and water. Please note that if you decide to use bleach, make sure you don’t mix it with any other detergents that contain ammonia because it will produce toxic fumes. The area that you are working in ought to be well ventilated too which means you need to open the windows, doors or use a ventilation system.
Some surfaces infected with mold simply cannot be cleaned. Porous and absorbent materials that you find in drywall, carpeting, ceiling tiles etc might simply need to be thrown away. Because there are tiny crevices in these materials, it’s near impossible to completely remove the mold which is why throwing them out can be the only option.
Once you have remedied the affected area you might want to look into mold-restant products that are on the market. These include drywall, insulation, paint, carpeting, flooring, caulk, shower curtains, plaster and ceiling tiles. Of course, you really only need to consider buying these products in rooms that suffer from mold problems otherwise it would be a waste of money.
As you can see, getting rid of household mold is not an especially straightforward task and there’s a lot to think about. Remember cleaning the mold off without finding the reason for it being there in the first place is not a good idea because it will just grow back. Also, don’t simply paint or paper over mold hoping that the mold will be “out of sight, out of mind” because it will just come back to haunt you.
