Removing mold from your house often involves a lot of scrubbing, cleaning, and sometimes replacing entire walls and floors, but there are ways to prevent mold from developing in the house in the first place. One of the easiest ways to prevent mold growth in the home is to make sure the majority of the mold spores in the area are collected and done away with.
HEPA filters are built into vacuum cleaners and air purification systems to remove as much particle debris as possible and it is effective up to about 99.7% of removing almost anything from the air you could want removed. Smoke particles, pet dander, hair, pollen, dust mites, mold spores, and etcetera are all removed from the air that you breathe and this not only stops mold spores from being able to grow in your home, but also from forming an infection in your body. You should note that not all particles in the air are removed, but since only about 0.3% remain, this last bit that remains is negligible in comparison.
Air purification systems are becoming popular in families that have a history of breathing problems such as asthma and allergies. Since people are spending more and more time indoors these days, especially in work environments, the air that we breathe indoors is becoming much more important. The indoor environments that we work in typically allow the air to become stale. Fans do not really solve this problem very well, since all they do is cause the dust and other debris to be stirred up into the air instead of removed. When purchasing an air purification system for your home, you should make sure that you buy one that can handle the square footage of your home so it does the best job it can.
Vacuum cleaners should also have HEPA filters in them, since their purpose is to pull soil and particle debris out of your carpet. If it does not have a filter on it, then all of the dust and particles that the vacuum collected will be spilled back into the air that you breathe and you might as well not have vacuumed at all.
Remember when you vacuum a carpet, you should vacuum all of it and not just part of it. When you get your HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner, go over the carpet at least twice to get it as clean as you can. If members of your family have allergies, it is probably a good idea to do away with as much of the carpet in your home as possible, since pollen, dust mites, mold spores, and the like will have less places to live if you do.
Showing posts with label mould. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mould. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Preventing Mold In Your Home
Having mold in the house is a pretty nasty thought, but there are a lot of people who live with this problem every single day. There are a lot of things that you can do to prevent mold growth in your home and some of the best ones start with removing the mold spores from your indoor air supply.
Removing mold spores from your air supply serves a couple of purposes. The first one is that the spores do not have a chance to land anywhere in your home and start to form a colony, which will produce more spores. If you can stop the spores from producing colonies, then your mold problem is removed before it starts. The second reason you would want to do this is to be able to avoid breathing the spores in, since some species of mold can cause aspergilloma to develop in the body. These are essentially fungus balls that will grow in cavities such as where a person has had cancer or ulcers of some kind and can spread from one part of the body to another.
There are a couple of appliances that you can purchase that will help remove the majority of mold spores in your home’s air. These are a vacuum cleaner and an air purifier and both need to be equipped with HEPA filters.
HEPA filters remove about 99.7% of all particle debris in the air, including mold spores, down to a size of 0.03 microns. This is equal to about one third of the width of a human hair, so only about 0.3% of the air you breathe will have any particle debris in it. All of the things you were breathing previously, smoke particles, mold spores, pet dander, and etcetera are being captured by the filter. As long as you replace it as regularly as you are supposed to, this will work very well, especially for people that have respiratory conditions such as asthma, allergies, or emphysema.
Keep in mind that not all vacuum cleaners and air purification systems have HEPA filters in them, so be sure of what you are purchasing before you hand over the money. Read product reviews and find the best vacuum cleaner and purification system for you, since not all are created equal.
Any pre-existing mold problems in your home need to be taken care of, as well, as soon as possible to make the most out of your prevention methods. As long as mold colonies continue to exist in your home, you will continue to have mold spore problems.
Removing mold spores from your air supply serves a couple of purposes. The first one is that the spores do not have a chance to land anywhere in your home and start to form a colony, which will produce more spores. If you can stop the spores from producing colonies, then your mold problem is removed before it starts. The second reason you would want to do this is to be able to avoid breathing the spores in, since some species of mold can cause aspergilloma to develop in the body. These are essentially fungus balls that will grow in cavities such as where a person has had cancer or ulcers of some kind and can spread from one part of the body to another.
There are a couple of appliances that you can purchase that will help remove the majority of mold spores in your home’s air. These are a vacuum cleaner and an air purifier and both need to be equipped with HEPA filters.
HEPA filters remove about 99.7% of all particle debris in the air, including mold spores, down to a size of 0.03 microns. This is equal to about one third of the width of a human hair, so only about 0.3% of the air you breathe will have any particle debris in it. All of the things you were breathing previously, smoke particles, mold spores, pet dander, and etcetera are being captured by the filter. As long as you replace it as regularly as you are supposed to, this will work very well, especially for people that have respiratory conditions such as asthma, allergies, or emphysema.
Keep in mind that not all vacuum cleaners and air purification systems have HEPA filters in them, so be sure of what you are purchasing before you hand over the money. Read product reviews and find the best vacuum cleaner and purification system for you, since not all are created equal.
Any pre-existing mold problems in your home need to be taken care of, as well, as soon as possible to make the most out of your prevention methods. As long as mold colonies continue to exist in your home, you will continue to have mold spore problems.
Getting Mold Off of Fabrics
Most of us who have lived in a home for a while have collected a large number of fabric items, including clothing, sheets, blankets, and linens, but sometime we run across an old and neglected item that has been in the back of the closet for quite a while and has become molded. If you do happen to find an item like this in your home, it is best that you go wash your hands after handling it as soon as possible, since letting mold come into contact with your bare hands can cause skin rashes and sometimes allergic reactions.
These items can be cleaned most of the time, depending on how advanced the contamination of mold is, but unfortunately, many times it will leave behind stains. Cleaning mold off of white fabric is fairly easy, since bleach can be used to remove stains, but if you are cleaning mold off of colored items, getting rid of the mold stains may be a little more difficult.
Borax laundry detergent can be used to kill and remove the mold, but you should use an old toothbrush to remove any substantial growth. Always wear latex or rubber gloves of some kind before working with these items and you can put a pre-wash stain remover on them to help with the stain removal process. Allow this to soak on it for about 45 minutes before you wash it the first time. Things should usually be washed in borax detergent at least twice and instead of using the electric dryer to dry them out, let them dry naturally outside the house.
A bad thing about mold contaminating items of clothing and furniture is that natural items like leather do not do very well. These items can rarely, if ever, be restored to their original condition. Leather becomes discolored fairly easily and since mold’s job in nature is to decompose organic material, this is to be expected.
Use a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter on it to get rid of mold that can collect on drapes and furniture. Using this will collect the majority of mold spores from the air and capture them. When you are emptying the filter, however, do it slowly, so you do not stir the contents back up into the air. If possible, you should do this outside.
Air purifying systems are also available and will help reduce the amount of mold spores in your home, thus reducing the chance that it will build up on your clothing in the closet or in drawers. Purchase one of these that can handle your homes square footage or it will not work as intended.
These items can be cleaned most of the time, depending on how advanced the contamination of mold is, but unfortunately, many times it will leave behind stains. Cleaning mold off of white fabric is fairly easy, since bleach can be used to remove stains, but if you are cleaning mold off of colored items, getting rid of the mold stains may be a little more difficult.
Borax laundry detergent can be used to kill and remove the mold, but you should use an old toothbrush to remove any substantial growth. Always wear latex or rubber gloves of some kind before working with these items and you can put a pre-wash stain remover on them to help with the stain removal process. Allow this to soak on it for about 45 minutes before you wash it the first time. Things should usually be washed in borax detergent at least twice and instead of using the electric dryer to dry them out, let them dry naturally outside the house.
A bad thing about mold contaminating items of clothing and furniture is that natural items like leather do not do very well. These items can rarely, if ever, be restored to their original condition. Leather becomes discolored fairly easily and since mold’s job in nature is to decompose organic material, this is to be expected.
Use a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter on it to get rid of mold that can collect on drapes and furniture. Using this will collect the majority of mold spores from the air and capture them. When you are emptying the filter, however, do it slowly, so you do not stir the contents back up into the air. If possible, you should do this outside.
Air purifying systems are also available and will help reduce the amount of mold spores in your home, thus reducing the chance that it will build up on your clothing in the closet or in drawers. Purchase one of these that can handle your homes square footage or it will not work as intended.
What To Do When Your Fridge Has Been Invaded By Mold
Unfortunately, finding mold growing in our refrigerator is something that everyone has to deal with at some point or another, whether you are single, married, or especially if you have children. People who tend to lead fully scheduled lives from day to day typically do not have time to keep a check on the items in their refrigerator to make sure mold does not start to grow, but time should be made at the very least twice a year to clean out the refrigerator of old inventory. Those with more time to clean out their refrigerators should do so more often.
Take an inventory of what is in your refrigerator and what the date is. Anything that is sorely outdated, showing signs of mold contamination, or smelling foul should be thrown away. These items will not take long to contaminate the food that is next to it, such as potatoes from the garden that are put in the same container. One bad potato will spoil the rest fairly quickly if it is not removed and the potatoes touching it washed immediately afterward.
Fruits and vegetables that are brought home from the grocery store should be removed from their plastic sacks that we use at the store to collect them with. These bags will trap moisture inside and cause the fruit to begin to break down, inviting mold to start growing.
Clean out your refrigerator as often as possible, especially if you tend to have a lot of spills in it. If you thaw meat out in the refrigerator, you need to make sure it is thawed out in a pan of some kind to prevent the blood or other juices from getting all over your shelves. Raw poultry is notorious for causing salmonella poisoning, so it is important that you get anything the poultry touched while it was thawing in the refrigerator cleaned after you take it out.
Wash the insides of the refrigerator with antibacterial cleaners and bleach, if you must. Bleach should not be mixed with other household chemicals, however, especially those that contain ammonia. This can cause hazardous fumes to build up in your kitchen and can do you serious damage if you breathe enough in.
While you have everything out of the fridge, take the time to go through the items in it again and toss out anything questionable. Check any home-canned goods that you might have and make sure the seals are not broken on them. Throw out anything the seal is broken on, unless you broke the seal yourself not long ago.
Take an inventory of what is in your refrigerator and what the date is. Anything that is sorely outdated, showing signs of mold contamination, or smelling foul should be thrown away. These items will not take long to contaminate the food that is next to it, such as potatoes from the garden that are put in the same container. One bad potato will spoil the rest fairly quickly if it is not removed and the potatoes touching it washed immediately afterward.
Fruits and vegetables that are brought home from the grocery store should be removed from their plastic sacks that we use at the store to collect them with. These bags will trap moisture inside and cause the fruit to begin to break down, inviting mold to start growing.
Clean out your refrigerator as often as possible, especially if you tend to have a lot of spills in it. If you thaw meat out in the refrigerator, you need to make sure it is thawed out in a pan of some kind to prevent the blood or other juices from getting all over your shelves. Raw poultry is notorious for causing salmonella poisoning, so it is important that you get anything the poultry touched while it was thawing in the refrigerator cleaned after you take it out.
Wash the insides of the refrigerator with antibacterial cleaners and bleach, if you must. Bleach should not be mixed with other household chemicals, however, especially those that contain ammonia. This can cause hazardous fumes to build up in your kitchen and can do you serious damage if you breathe enough in.
While you have everything out of the fridge, take the time to go through the items in it again and toss out anything questionable. Check any home-canned goods that you might have and make sure the seals are not broken on them. Throw out anything the seal is broken on, unless you broke the seal yourself not long ago.
Know What To Throw Away When You Find Mold On Your Food
Everyone has had that battle with themselves while looking around in the refrigerator for something to eat: it has mold on it… do you eat it? Well, depending on just what kind of food “it” is, it might be salvageable and it might not be.
No matter what we put in the refrigerator, if it gets left in there long enough, mold will eventually start to grow on it. Jams, jellies, preserves, leftovers, it does not typically matter what it is. Most of us like good food and unfortunately, mold usually has the same tastes that we do and invades our refrigerators on a daily basis, ruining the meal of leftovers we thought we were going to have after work.
Improperly home canned foods are at risk for mold growth. Fruits and vegetables must always be washed carefully and inspected for quality before canning and not only that, but the jars and other equipment that is used must also be sterilized, usually by boiling them in water.
So, what do you do what that item in the fridge that has mold on it? There are not a whole lot of things that can be saved once it is contaminated with mold. But, dense items like hard salami or dry-cured country hams can be saved because these items have a pretty stable shelf life and it is common for them to have surface mold. Simply scrub it off.
Anything with a high moisture content or a soft texture, however, needs to be thrown away once mold starts to grow on it. This can include leftover casseroles, lunch meat, hot dogs, and bacon in the meat category and soft cheeses, yogurt, sour cream, and even cheeses made with mold should be thrown away. It may sound odd to throw away a block of cheese contaminated with mold if the cheese was made with mold to begin with, but it is likely that the new mold growing on your cheese was not part of the manufacturing process and this can be dangerous.
Baked goods like bread should also be thrown away because they are porous and may be contaminated below the surface.
Jams, jellies, preserves, and marmalades found to be contaminated with mold needs to be thrown away because they have a high moisture content and are soft enough for the mold to infect the entire jar.
No matter what we put in the refrigerator, if it gets left in there long enough, mold will eventually start to grow on it. Jams, jellies, preserves, leftovers, it does not typically matter what it is. Most of us like good food and unfortunately, mold usually has the same tastes that we do and invades our refrigerators on a daily basis, ruining the meal of leftovers we thought we were going to have after work.
Improperly home canned foods are at risk for mold growth. Fruits and vegetables must always be washed carefully and inspected for quality before canning and not only that, but the jars and other equipment that is used must also be sterilized, usually by boiling them in water.
So, what do you do what that item in the fridge that has mold on it? There are not a whole lot of things that can be saved once it is contaminated with mold. But, dense items like hard salami or dry-cured country hams can be saved because these items have a pretty stable shelf life and it is common for them to have surface mold. Simply scrub it off.
Anything with a high moisture content or a soft texture, however, needs to be thrown away once mold starts to grow on it. This can include leftover casseroles, lunch meat, hot dogs, and bacon in the meat category and soft cheeses, yogurt, sour cream, and even cheeses made with mold should be thrown away. It may sound odd to throw away a block of cheese contaminated with mold if the cheese was made with mold to begin with, but it is likely that the new mold growing on your cheese was not part of the manufacturing process and this can be dangerous.
Baked goods like bread should also be thrown away because they are porous and may be contaminated below the surface.
Jams, jellies, preserves, and marmalades found to be contaminated with mold needs to be thrown away because they have a high moisture content and are soft enough for the mold to infect the entire jar.
Beware, Mold Grows In Home Canned Food
If you like to can food out of your garden during the late summer and fall during the harvest season, you might be a little concerned about how best to keep mold and other microorganisms from contaminating your food. There are a number of different things that you can do to keep mold from growing in your newly canned food, but some of them might not be as obvious as you might think.
For example, paraffin was commonly used years ago to seal the tops of jars for jellies, jams, or preserves. This is no longer recommended, because mold is a common contaminant of these and it can send “threads” down through the paraffin and end up producing mycotoxins in the food. These soft spreads should be canned as you would anything else.
Food should also be stored properly and at temperatures under about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Organisms such as mold and bacteria can grow in higher temperatures and foods canned at home that are exposed to high temperatures can get quite hot inside and the air in the top of the jar will expand and break open the seal. The mold or bacteria will get inside the food and bam -- a jar is wasted. All canned foods should be dated and used within one year.
Before you put any food into your jars, they should be thoroughly sterilized first. This is done by filling the jars and the canner up to about 1 inch over the top of the jars with hot water. These should then be boiled for around 10 minutes and for every 1,000 feet over 1,000 feet in altitude, add an extra minute. Remove the jars from the water and drain their contents back into the canner to use for processing the foods, since this water is already sterile. Put the food into the jars, add the lids, and tighten on the screw bands. Some foods are said not to need pre-sterilized jars, but it is better to be safe than sorry, right?
Any food you are going to can should be of good quality, peeled, and thoroughly washed beforehand. Attempting to can any food that is questionable will only result in wasted time and effort.
Food should also not be packed tightly in the jars. Allow some air space between the food and the jar’s lid.
Jars must also not be left in the canner after they are finished processing. As the jars cool off, they can suck in water from the pot and this may contain any number of different spores or microbes. Allow the jars to cool naturally somewhere at room temperature where they will not be bothered.
For example, paraffin was commonly used years ago to seal the tops of jars for jellies, jams, or preserves. This is no longer recommended, because mold is a common contaminant of these and it can send “threads” down through the paraffin and end up producing mycotoxins in the food. These soft spreads should be canned as you would anything else.
Food should also be stored properly and at temperatures under about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Organisms such as mold and bacteria can grow in higher temperatures and foods canned at home that are exposed to high temperatures can get quite hot inside and the air in the top of the jar will expand and break open the seal. The mold or bacteria will get inside the food and bam -- a jar is wasted. All canned foods should be dated and used within one year.
Before you put any food into your jars, they should be thoroughly sterilized first. This is done by filling the jars and the canner up to about 1 inch over the top of the jars with hot water. These should then be boiled for around 10 minutes and for every 1,000 feet over 1,000 feet in altitude, add an extra minute. Remove the jars from the water and drain their contents back into the canner to use for processing the foods, since this water is already sterile. Put the food into the jars, add the lids, and tighten on the screw bands. Some foods are said not to need pre-sterilized jars, but it is better to be safe than sorry, right?
Any food you are going to can should be of good quality, peeled, and thoroughly washed beforehand. Attempting to can any food that is questionable will only result in wasted time and effort.
Food should also not be packed tightly in the jars. Allow some air space between the food and the jar’s lid.
Jars must also not be left in the canner after they are finished processing. As the jars cool off, they can suck in water from the pot and this may contain any number of different spores or microbes. Allow the jars to cool naturally somewhere at room temperature where they will not be bothered.
Keeping Mold Off Of Your Personal Items And Clothes
Mold grows everywhere, but sometimes we humans give it a little help by some of the habits we exhibit in our daily lives. We do not always know when mold is present, though, or what may cause mold to grow or what prevents it from growing. There are a few different things that you can do in order to keep mold off of your stuff and out of your house, but you will not be able to get rid of all mold from your living environment. It is in the air we breathe and on the ground we walk on; only when it starts to grow in colonies can we see it with the naked eye. While you cannot completely get rid of it, you can help prevent it from growing in colonies on your personal belongings.
Any fruit and vegetables in your kitchen should be checked for mold every day or so and anything that is showing spots of mold should have the mold either cut out of it or simply thrown away. Do not allow mold-contaminated fruits or vegetables to stay in your refrigerator or next to anything else.
If you have a baby or babysit one on a regular basis, odds are good that you have some baby bottles in your kitchen. They are made of odd shapes these days and sometimes you cannot get them completely dry and this includes some toddler “sippy” cups that have hollow handles that allow liquid from juice or milk inside. If they are not cleaned properly and dried thoroughly, mold can grow in them. The solution? After washing them and drying them, put them in your freezer until you need them again. Mold does not like to grow in cold temperatures and if the bottle has been washed immediately before being put in the freezer, it should be sterile.
Also, any wet clothing should never be thrown onto carpet and left there or even really on any floor. Once they stay there for over 24 hours, mold can start to grow on these and if the wet item is at the bottom of a dirty laundry basket or even worse, on the bottom of the floor of a closet underneath dry dirty clothes, it can contaminate everything else that it touches. The best way to deal with wet clothing from a swimming pool or from being outside in the snow is to wash it as soon as possible and do not put it in the same basket with dry clothes.
Any fruit and vegetables in your kitchen should be checked for mold every day or so and anything that is showing spots of mold should have the mold either cut out of it or simply thrown away. Do not allow mold-contaminated fruits or vegetables to stay in your refrigerator or next to anything else.
If you have a baby or babysit one on a regular basis, odds are good that you have some baby bottles in your kitchen. They are made of odd shapes these days and sometimes you cannot get them completely dry and this includes some toddler “sippy” cups that have hollow handles that allow liquid from juice or milk inside. If they are not cleaned properly and dried thoroughly, mold can grow in them. The solution? After washing them and drying them, put them in your freezer until you need them again. Mold does not like to grow in cold temperatures and if the bottle has been washed immediately before being put in the freezer, it should be sterile.
Also, any wet clothing should never be thrown onto carpet and left there or even really on any floor. Once they stay there for over 24 hours, mold can start to grow on these and if the wet item is at the bottom of a dirty laundry basket or even worse, on the bottom of the floor of a closet underneath dry dirty clothes, it can contaminate everything else that it touches. The best way to deal with wet clothing from a swimming pool or from being outside in the snow is to wash it as soon as possible and do not put it in the same basket with dry clothes.
Important Information About Mold And Home Canning
Canning vegetables and fruits is a popular summertime activity for a lot of people, especially women in rural areas that have too much of one thing or the other grown in their gardens for their families to eat or for them to give away. Whether it is jams, jellies, marmalades, pickles, soups, or almost anything else, if it can be canned, someone is probably doing it during the harvest season.
A similar process is used in the commercial canning industry, but the boon of doing your own canning from home is that you know exactly what is going into the jar you are putting your food in. You have complete control over everything that goes inside and your exposure to pesticides and chemicals used on the foods in a canning factory is limited to what you use to protect your own garden from bugs and rodents.
Home canning also uses techniques that are tried and true to preserve food and prevent them from being contaminated by mold, yeast, and bacterias. Botulism and other diseases are caused by these contaminants and the canning techniques used to help prevent them are still in widespread use today. What can you do to help prevent your home canned goods from spoiling after you can them..? And how do you know if they’re spoiled after they’ve been on the shelf for a while..?
If you are a canner and have had some problems with spoiled or mold-contaminated jars in the past, then there are a few different things that could be causing your foods to spoil.
The first thing that you need to do is make sure that your fruits or vegetables (or whatever you are canning) is thoroughly washed and of good quality. They also usually require peeling if you want a quicker processing time.
If the food is packed too tight in the jars, then the temperature in the center of the jar does not get high enough for a long enough time to allow for the complete sterilization of what is inside. Pack food loosely in jars and use the time, pressure, and temperature required by the recipe.
Put the lids on the jars after filling them and immediately begin processing the food before any microorganisms can start to grow. Once mold spores get into the jars, you’ll have problems later on because a lot of times high temperatures simply do not kill mold spores, just like cold temperatures don’t tend to. Use sterile equipment and jars.
Lastly, if you find mold growing in one of your jars after you open it, the best thing to do is toss it. Soft foods will become completely contaminated by mold, unlike hard blocks of cheese and other dense foods.
A similar process is used in the commercial canning industry, but the boon of doing your own canning from home is that you know exactly what is going into the jar you are putting your food in. You have complete control over everything that goes inside and your exposure to pesticides and chemicals used on the foods in a canning factory is limited to what you use to protect your own garden from bugs and rodents.
Home canning also uses techniques that are tried and true to preserve food and prevent them from being contaminated by mold, yeast, and bacterias. Botulism and other diseases are caused by these contaminants and the canning techniques used to help prevent them are still in widespread use today. What can you do to help prevent your home canned goods from spoiling after you can them..? And how do you know if they’re spoiled after they’ve been on the shelf for a while..?
If you are a canner and have had some problems with spoiled or mold-contaminated jars in the past, then there are a few different things that could be causing your foods to spoil.
The first thing that you need to do is make sure that your fruits or vegetables (or whatever you are canning) is thoroughly washed and of good quality. They also usually require peeling if you want a quicker processing time.
If the food is packed too tight in the jars, then the temperature in the center of the jar does not get high enough for a long enough time to allow for the complete sterilization of what is inside. Pack food loosely in jars and use the time, pressure, and temperature required by the recipe.
Put the lids on the jars after filling them and immediately begin processing the food before any microorganisms can start to grow. Once mold spores get into the jars, you’ll have problems later on because a lot of times high temperatures simply do not kill mold spores, just like cold temperatures don’t tend to. Use sterile equipment and jars.
Lastly, if you find mold growing in one of your jars after you open it, the best thing to do is toss it. Soft foods will become completely contaminated by mold, unlike hard blocks of cheese and other dense foods.
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