How to Prevent Mold in Your Office Building
Finding mold in your office building is never something that a property owner wants to deal with. While mold problems aren’t uncommon, they can also cause major problems within the structure of a building if not treated quickly and properly.
Mold is caused by different issues. Keeping mold away from your office before it hits is the best (and least expensive) way to treat the problem.
9 Steps to Prevent Mold
Understanding where mold comes from is the first step to prevention. Mold needs three things to flourish: moisture, organic material, and darkness. Without moisture, mold won’t form, and without something to grow on and feed off of, mold will not take hold. Knowing this, let’s take a look at nine ways to prevent mold from growing in your business.
- Identify the problem areas. As we already talked about, areas that are prone to moisture and high humidity are prime targets for mold growth. Basements, bathrooms, storage units… all of these areas are perfect for mold formations. Watch these areas closely and if you discover signs of mold, quickly call in the help of a professional to handle the problem before it becomes a larger issue than only a potential mold problem.
- Dry any wet areas right away. Spills happen. So do dripping pipes and water condensation. If any areas become wet or moisture gathers on carpeting, floors, or walls, it is imperative that you dry up the spots right away. Mold can begin to form within hours and can spread just as quickly.
- Invest in dehumidifiers and proper ventilation to keep moisture at the right levels. You would be surprised at how quickly moisture can form, and where mold will decide to take up shop. With the help of fans, vents, and dehumidifiers, you can keep the moisture levels where they need to be and prevent mold as much as possible.
- While renovating or remodeling, use mold resistant products. Mold resistant drywall is paperless, instead created with fiberglass, making it water resistant. By using this type of drywall instead of the traditional, mold will not have a place to take up residence.
- In addition to keeping humidity levels low, it is important to monitor all moisture levels in your building. Use moisture meters to ensure that humidity levels are between 30 and 60 percent. Should they raise any higher, it’s time to start removing the excess water from the air to keep mold at bay.
- Watch the direction in which water rolls off your roof. If you are the building owner, it’s important to be certain that all downspouts and gutters are pointed away from the foundation of your building. Water may gather at the foundation and seep into the basement or crawlspace, priming the building for water damage, and you guessed it, mold.
- Along these lines it is incredibly important to clean out gutters and make sure they are 100% functioning. Gutters should be cleaned at least twice a year to prevent flooding.
- Watch the airflow in your building. Going hand in hand with ventilation, increase airflow in your building by allowing windows to open, keep doorways clear, and never block vents.
- If you keep plants in your building, make sure that water is not pooling on leaves or in planters. Once a plant exhibits signs of mold growth, it is possible for the mold spores to spread to other areas of the building.
Call in a Professional to Help With Mold Growth
Regardless of how many prevention techniques you put into place, mold can find a way to grow and spread. That is when it’s time to call in the mold remediation specialists at A&J Property Restoration. Not only will we find the mold, but we will find the root cause as well.
Preventing the mold from spreading is the number one goal. Once we find the problem, we remove the mold and restore any areas affected by the problem, keeping you informed of the issue every step of the way. Our goal is your satisfaction, and keeping your business running with minimal disruption is what we strive for.
Call us today and schedule your free walk through if you suspect mold problems in your building.
