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Your guide to Brooklyn mold abatement for 2023

Mold is one of the main problems homeowners face all year round. This fungus can start as a small blot of black and green on a wall corner where condescending water was stuck after yesterday’s rain or snow. Unless removed at once, mold can spread and cover not just the wall but all surrounding surfaces where it can germinate.

Mold loves damp areas inside your house. It can thrive on wood, glass, paper, cardboard, cloth, leather, concrete, metal, and plants. Your house may seem free from mold right now because you can’t see any of its signs. But the truth is: Mold is there. It’s waiting for enough moisture to start spreading spores again.

The yearly cycle of mold

No homeowner will like this but mold is everywhere. It’s almost like an immortal organism. It spreads spores through the air and it can hide its roots in porous subsurface layers that you cannot reach. Even with professional treatment, mold can return and grow again.

You cannot prevent mold from infecting your house. But you can deal with mold better when you know its behavior from spring to winter season.

Mold during Spring

Like many flora and fauna, mold finds life during spring. The warming temperature and the rising levels of moisture in the air are perfect for organisms to grow and multiply. Mold is not an exception. In spring, they release hundreds of thousands of spores into the air that germinate on damp surfaces all throughout spring.

Mold growth is not a good sign

It’s always a relief to see the first marks of spring. The vibrance of growth replaces the blandness of winter, reminding us all that life on earth goes on. But the growth of molds in your house is a different story. It’s a sign that something is wrong that needs urgent attention. The presence of mold makes your house ugly, dirty, and dangerous.

Mold and spring allergies

Mold spores that spread in the air during spring are the main cause of allergies during this season. Species of mold such as alternaria, aspergillus, cadosporium, and penicillium are harmful. They trigger respiratory allergies. Mold spores can get inhaled into the lungs and cause allergic asthma. When you or any member of the family show symptoms like cough, wheezing, or shortness of breath during spring, there’s a high chance it’s caused by mold. It could be inside your house already or from the outside entering your doors and windows.

The first signs of mold should warrant immediate mold abatement

Spring is the best time for mold inspection and remediation. When the initial signs of mold are already visible, there’s no need for inspection. Move to the next stage, which is remediation. You can temporarily prevent continuous mold growth on your own. The CDC recommends scrubbing the infected area with a solution of soap and laundry bleach combined with a gallon of water. But this is not the best approach. Mold can hide deep in porous surfaces where soap and bleach, and scrubbing cannot reach. A longer-lasting solution is to call for professional mold removal services.

Mold during Summer

After spreading its spores fast during spring, mold takes advantage of the summer warmth to multiply further. The heat of summer gives mold all the energy it needs to expand and colonize. Aside from spring run-offs, occasional rains during summer provide extra moisture for mold to grow.

Mold growth achieves its peak during the summer

Like other organisms, summer is the peak point of growth for mold. During summer, temperatures in Brooklyn, NY can range from 89.6 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Combined heat and moisture give mold enough nutrients to mature and produce spores. Once these spores land on surfaces, they also experience rapid growth because of the summer heat.

Factors that make mold growth fast during summer

Although summer heat makes it easy for mold to grow, you need to check other factors inside your home that help mold expand. Here’s what you need to address:

Ventilation

Rooms with poor ventilation are responsible for stagnant humid air. Even when mold inside your house releases spores, good ventilation can drive most of them out through windows, doors, and exhaust fans. Make sure you have enough windows to keep air flowing well.

Leaking pipes

During the hottest months of summer in Brooklyn, NY, temperatures can reach between 75 and 91 degrees Fahrenheit. But this does not mean there is no chance for mold to find dark and damp places around your house. When there are leaking faucets and pipes inside your house, mold has enough moisture to keeping growing in places you seldom inspect.

Humidity

High humidity levels during summer are perfect for mold growth. Condensation on windows, for example, is a clear sign of high humidity indoors. According to the EPA, you need to keep humidity levels below 60 percent relative humidity to reduce chances of mold growth. To lower humidity levels, use airconditioning units and dehumidifiers. Improving the circulation of air going in and out of your house also keeps humidity at optimal levels. Keeping a hygrometer at home also can keep you updated on how much air moisture is present inside your house.

Mold during Fall

Mold growth slows down during fall. As temperatures drop, moisture levels in the air also decrease. But these do not stop mold from growing. Areas around the house where moist is easily trapped become breeding places for mold.

Best time to do mold abatement

Unlike in winter, when there can be little to no signs of mold inside the house, mold is still visible during fall. This makes fall of 2022 the best season for mold remediation, so you can mitigate the limit the growth of mold this coming spring of 2023. You need to call a professional mold removal company to conduct this process.

Steps in mold remediation

The first step in mold remediation is testing what species of mold are present in your house and where they are concentrated. Not all mold species have the same weaknesses. Some are easily removed by scrubbing. Others need tougher solutions. After creating a list of mold species, they will perform mold removal. Mold abatement is done by scrubbing mold away from infected areas with the help of tools and chemicals. In cases when mold infection is severe, such as the contamination of an entire wall or ceiling, mold removal will include demolition and restoration.

After removing the physical signs of mold, the next step is mold sanitation. All surfaces in your house will be treated with non-toxic chemical solutions. These will deal with invisible spores that could be geminating already. Sanitation also includes filtering the inside air to get rid of spores.

The mold removal team will also perform mold containment. They will fix all leaking pipes and improve ventilation in humid areas like basements and storage rooms. Through this process, it is easier to limit future mold growth in spaces that are not easy to see and access.

Mold during Winter

Winter is when mold becomes totally dormant. The dry and cold weather make it impossible for mold spores to find damp places to land on and germinate. But this does not mean your mold problem is solved.

Strategies for mold containment during winter

During winter, mold can still thrive inside your house, behind your walls and in your ceiling. Interestingly, the most vulnerable places you need to watch are your basement and your cabinets. These are where you normally store all your summer equipment and other gear that you only use during warm season. But because you seldom check these places during winter, you have no chance of spotting signs of mold growth.

You can prevent mold from spreading in winter using these seven strategies:

Keep your rooms well-ventilated throughout winter
Run a dehumidifier in your basement every day
Open cabinet doors and drawers regularly to replace stale air
Dispose of highly-porous materials like cardboards and unused paper
Wipe dry the books in your library at least twice a month
Avoid paper bags. Use plastic to store unused items
Watch out for leaks

Conclusion

Mold will never go away. It is present in summer and spring, spreading and germinating through hundreds of thousands of spores. They are less active in fall and winter, but they are present in many areas around your house, waiting for the sun to warm the earth again. These organisms are an integral part of the earth’s ecosystem. We need them to break down organic material for the earth to use. Mold makes our life better by helping us create food and medicine. The best we can do is limit our exposure to mold inside our house.

Protect your home through mold abatement. Containing mold throughout the year is challenging. Repairing leaking pipes and keeping humidity levels inside your home are not easy. But this is the best way to stop mold from colonizing your house and inflicting you and your members with allergies and infections.

In your experience, what month of the year is the best time to call for mold removal services?

About the Company

Brooklyn Mold Removal is a company dedicated to providing quality service. We work with industrial hygienists and professional engineers to ensure that we deliver reliable, high-quality results to our clients. We understand that people need help with their environmental safety needs, so we prioritize assisting customers in making informed decisions about their situation.