How to Prevent mold in your Rental Home

With the summer months approaching, we all know Texas can get hot and humid. This, with the mix of the cool air in your home from the AC sets up an environment for mold to grow if you aren't too careful. Here's a few tips and tricks to keep your house mold free through these hot months!

WHERE DOES MOLD GROW?

The first thing you must confirm is where mold grows or thrives in your rental. Understanding this makes it easier for you to direct the mold prevention actions to those areas.

Mold can grow for multiple reasons, including excess moisture and inappropriate heating in the home.

That said, here are some of the places you should look for mold in your home:

• Mold grows on clothes that weren’t properly rinsed.

• Left-over foods can attract mold.

• Mold can grow in parts of the home or apartment that are susceptible to ventilation and moisture issues.

HOW CAN I PREVENT MOLD IN MY HOME?

Learning to prevent mold may seem challenging, but thankfully it’s not rocket science. Moisture is one of the major causes of mold growth in the home, but with these helpful tips, you can keep mold out of your life this season.

TENANTS CAN PREVENT MOLD IN THE RENTAL HOME BY REDUCING MOISTURE:

If you are a renter, ensure that your health, security deposit, and your belongings are protected by preventing mold-inducing moisture within the rental. Unconsciously, you can aid mold growth through simple acts like

leaving wet clothes on furniture, leaving the windows open on humid days, not using exhaust fans in bathrooms or kitchens. Here are some easy habits renters must get into to prevent mold in the rental.

Keep Doors Closed

The truth is that leaving your doors open will do more harm than good. The reason is that moisture can travel from the major concentrated spot to the other unaffected parts of the home when the door is open. These instances are examples of why you need to start shutting your doors more often:

• Shut the doors of your kitchen when cooking because the excess moisture in the room (kitchen) tends to escape and travel into other parts of your home.

• Consider shutting your bathroom door when bathing so the excess moisture generated from your bath will be confined (allowing the moisture to be reduced by the exhaust fan).

Take Care of Your Bathroom

You already know that your bathroom is one of the top zones for excess moisture. Take care of your bathroom so you will prevent mold from growing.

• Vent out Moisture when Bathing: It is no news that excess moisture is present when you are bathing. Vent that moisture out. If you do not currently have a fan in your bathroom, the best bet on venting out moisture when bathing is to open a window if the weather allows.

• Wipe Your Bathroom Walls: Moisture can build up in the walls of your bathroom. The potential causes are soap studs and water from your body that splash on the walls. A good rule of thumb is to wipe down the walls of your bathroom and tub after your shower or bath. Doing that helps in wiping off the moisture that might be sitting on the walls of your bathroom.

Keep Away Wet Clothes

When you fail to fully dry your clothes after washing, you will be indirectly inviting mold. The same happens when leave dirty and damp clothes or towels inside your room.

• Wash and dry damp items immediately, don’t allow them to settle in your hamper or the floor.

• Whenever possible, avoid air-drying clothes indoors. In areas where there is little or no ventilation to facilitate proper circulation, air-drying clothes could trigger mold growth when the moisture evaporates and settles on the ceiling.

FINAL WORDS

Mold can be a costly problem for your health and your pocketbook. Preventing mold in your rental home is a matter of knowing what to do – a few helpful habits can go a long way to ensuring that your rental is mold-free. As a tenant, you are now in a better position to put down your foot and stop mold growth in your rental, and one step closer to keeping that security deposit!