Keep Your Indoor Air Fresh: Tips to Maintain Mold-Free Environments

Indoor air quality is an extremely important topic because the quality of the air inside your home or business has a direct impact on your health. This is mostly because the majority of people spend a significant amount of their day indoors (whether its at home or at work) which means the pollutants in the air inside have a higher impact on the people spending time in that spaces health. According to the EPA, understanding and controlling common indoor air pollutants can help reduce your risks caused by indoor health concerns.

Elevated moisture levels caused by water damage, unencapsulated crawlspaces, and many other common water sources tend to be a culprit of poor indoor air quality. This is generally because elevated moisture levels lead to mold and mold is bad for your health. Long term exposure to mold has been shown to cause respiratory disease, heart disease and cancer. Mold has also been found to inflame allergies, asthma, oxidative stress and immune dysfunction.

The EPA has identified the following symptoms caused by poor indoor air quality:

• Eye irritation
• Nose irritation
• Throat irritation
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Sinus congestion
• Persistent cough

The best way to combat poor indoor air quality is to have a professional perform an air test at your home semi-regularly or, at the very least, if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms. It is also to get your home tested if you detect a musty or mildew-y odor. If mold or other pollutants are found in your air test results, it is best to have a specialist come in to remediate the problem—especially if mold is found.

Mold is one of the most difficult things to clean and remove property because you cannot completely eradicate mold from a space. Mold is everywhere. Instead, you need to identify and repair the source of the moisture that is causing the mold. Once the moisture source is repaired, the property can be cleaned, and a remediation will be performed to ensure it doesn’t grow back. Professional remediators will also be sure to use machines called “air scrubbers” to filter the air and improve the air quality conditions.

Indoor air quality is the key to ensure you have a happy, healthy home or work environment!

Have more questions about indoor air quality? Contact the offices of Elite Moisture Solutions at admin@elitemoisture.com or by phone (919) 241-7933.