Tips to Protect Your Home From Mold This Winter

As winter quickly approaches, you may have many things on your mind, including visiting family, purchasing gifts, and preparing meals for social gatherings. What is probably not in your train of thoughts is thinking about how to protect your home from developing mold this winter. With the added moisture that comes with snow and ice, it’s important to follow these steps to keep your home free from mold.

Total House Inspection in southeast Michigan offers Top Rated Local® home inspection services for clients in Oakland, Macomb, and the surrounding counties. Whether you need mold testing, radon testing, or other home inspection services, contact us today to schedule your service.

Decrease Your Home’s Humidity

Humidity is a part of life here in Michigan, and while the levels may lower during the winter, there is still sufficient humidity to potentially cause mold problems in your home. With that, you’ll want to track the humidity levels in your home. If there is too much moisture in your home, it will create an ideal breeding ground for mold, which can be hazardous to your health. Installing a dehumidifier might be the best solution if your home has high moisture levels.

Watch Out for Leaks

Keep an eye on the appliances and areas that are more likely to experience leaks. From bathtubs and sinks to water heaters and dishwashers, you’ll want to visually sweep the area to ensure that there is no pooling water. If you spot a leak, try to locate the source so that you can quickly remedy the issue. Left unchecked, leaks can provide the ideal environment for mold to start growing.

Keep High-Traffic Areas Dry

Snowy weather is beautiful and hard to keep out of your home, especially if you have kids and pets. Even if you have a designated area for everyone to take off wet coats and boots, you’ll probably still find that there is a good bit of water on the floor in high-traffic areas. Do your best to regularly mop up any water that drips off of coats or boots. Not only will this help protect your floors, but it will also protect against mold growths.

Maintain Gutters

Cleaning out your gutters after the last leaves have fallen may not be something you think about. If you’re concerned about protecting your home from potential mold growth this winter, however, you’ll want to regularly inspect your gutters to ensure they’re not sitting full of ice or snow. Eventually, these solid forms of water will melt and could cause damage to your roof and home by providing an ideal spot for mold to grow.

Set Ceiling Fans to Clockwise

When you turn on your heater this winter, remember to change the direction of your ceiling fans to clockwise. Not only will this help to more evenly distribute the heat coming from the vents, but it will also reduce the amount of humidity in each room.

Schedule a Mold Inspection

Since mold can grow where you’d never see it until it was a huge problem, it’s a good idea to schedule a mold inspection with Total House Inspection in southeast Michigan. Our technicians have the knowledge and experience to provide you with the highest level of service and solutions. Contact us today to schedule your appointment.