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.
Ionic air purifiers are appliances that electrically charge air molecules with negative ions, also known as anions, thus ionizing them. An ionic air purifier bases its functioning on the static electricity principle: airborne particles are attracted to the purifier’s electrode, thus resulting in a better air quality for people breathing inside the respective room where this machine is functioning. As people are becoming more concerned with their health, such units were quite successful and many consumers wanted to buy one for offering themselves and their families a better air to breathe. Most of them never thought of the products safety or efficiency.
The efficiency rate of ionic air purifiers was contested back in October 2003 by Consumer Reports. The publication reported that conventional HEPA filtration systems are much better performers than ionic air purifiers. One of the air filters that was given a “fail” by Consumer Reports was the Ionic Breeze air purifier, manufactured by The Sharper Image. Although the air purifier met HEPA guidelines, its CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) seemed to be too low to be acceptable. The Sharper Image was heavily affected at that time, their shares falling dramatically that day.
The purpose of this article is not to go deeper into this issue of The Sharper Image financial troubles or bankruptcy, but to offer a review of the Ionic Breeze air purifier and of ionic air purifiers in general, for those readers who might be interested to know more about such appliances, or even to purchase one for their home.
Ionic air purifiers like the Ionic Breeze have a collector plate which attracts airborne particles of dust, pollen, pet dander and other allergens. If you make sure to clean the blade regularly, the device would be efficient enough as to make an average sized room safe for an allergic person. This can be a good solution for families with pets and with allergy sufferers. That’s because the allergen, the substance that triggers the allergic reaction is actually the pet dander, which is spread all over the place when the dog is running. When the allergic person inhales the infested air, her body starts the “fight” for annihilating what it thinks to be an enemy, using weapons such as swelling, itching or increased blood pressure.
Older models of the Ionic Breeze air purifier were producing ozone as a byproduct of the air purifying process. However, with the new technology incorporated in the Quadra silent air purifier with ionic breeze, ozone is no longer an issue thanks to the OzoneGuard, a catalyst that keeps the ozone emissions within the safe limits. This newer model is also better in its capacity of collecting airborne particles, because it features three collector blades which are electrically charged, plus two driver blades which help directing the particles into the trap.
The question if such appliances are healthy or not, if they are simply neutral or if they could generate unpleasant side effects, is difficult to answer. This is rather a personal observation: if you’re an asthma sufferer and you notice that an air purifier helps you breathe better, then for you it’s good. If you feel like your condition is worsening when the device is in use, then you should stop using it. Most of all, be it you suffer from asthma, allergy or another chronic condition, you should always seek for medical advice prior to attempting any change in your micro-climate. This includes also the use of an air purifier, be it HEPA or ionic. You never know what the doctor is going to say, so it’s better to ask first and purchase later.
