Tips for a Healthy & Mold Free Home
Damp air in a Mississippi home is uncomfortable! It can also lead to mold, which lowers the value of your home. Excess water vapor in a closed home can also be bad for your health and you’re more likely to develop respiratory problems like asthma and allergies.
Dehumidifiers are designed to monitor and manage a room’s humidity levels by drawing excess moisture out of the air, ventilating damp and musty-smelling rooms. During humid months, we at ServiceMaster of Hattiesburg recommend you consider a dehumidifier in your basement, bathroom, and attic to protect your health (and your home.)
Benefits of a Dehumidifier
Running quietly and efficiently in the background, dehumidifiers reduce humidity levels, making your home less hospitable to allergens. Dust mites, mold, and mildew thrive in damp environments; search for a dehumidifier that has a dust filter to further control your symptoms.
A dehumidifier can lower energy costs and helps your air conditioner run more efficiently. When the air in your home is more humid, the A/C must do the function of cooling the air and removing moisture, which means it has to work harder. As an added bonus, running a dehumidifier helps reduce dust in your home, so you won’t have to clean as often.
Signs You Need a Dehumidifier
In addition to suffering from constant symptoms of allergies, consider a dehumidifier if you have some obvious signs of high humidity in certain rooms or areas of your home, including:
- Water stains on the walls or ceilings of your home
- High humidity rooms with poor ventilation or no ventilation (especially in areas like bathrooms that have no windows)
- Frequent condensation on the windows in certain areas of your home
- Small black spots (mold spores) growing on the walls or in areas with high humidity, such as the bathtub or shower
- Musty or mildew smells
You may also want to consider a dehumidifier if you live in an apartment building, since mold and mildew spores can travel through ventilation systems and can build up in the walls between apartments. Even if you keep your living area clean, these allergens from other areas of the building can be harmful to your and your family’s health.
Choosing the Right Dehumidifier Size for Your Space
In many cases, one dehumidifier will be enough for your home, as humidity challenges are often confined to a specific room or general area. Choose small capacity models for a single small room and large capacity models for larger areas such as a large room, basement, or an apartment. However, if you live in a very humid climate, suffer from significant allergies, or have a large home and frequently experience excess humidity, you may want to consider having a whole-house dehumidifier installed.
Tips for Getting the Most from your Dehumidifier
Keep your dehumidifier away from walls, curtains and furniture and keep all doors and windows closed when you use it. The more centrally the unit is placed, the more moisture it should remove from the air. Empty the collected water out of the dehumidifier after every use. Check and clean or replace the air filter, as well as the exhaust grilles, to prevent dust build-up and allow free air flow.
Use at the right times– when you have excess moisture in your home. For example, switch yours on just after you’ve taken a shower, or if you’re drying clothes.
Experienced Mold Removal in Hattiesburg
Home dehumidifiers are great appliances to remove occasional water vapor build-up. But if you see spots of mold on your windowsill, ceiling, or floor boards, then you have a much bigger problem than damp air; you have mold problems.
ServiceMaster of Hattiesburg team of mold removal experts are highly trained and experienced in successful mold remediation. The team uses the best techniques to find the source of your mold problem, fix it, and 100% eradicate all mold growth.
When you choose ServiceMaster of Hattiesburg to get rid of your mold problem, you can rest easy knowing that you have hired a professional team who will get the job done right the first time.
About the Author
Darrin Renz, OwnerServiceMaster of HattiesburgDarrin Renz and his wife, Cindy, have owned and operated ServiceMaster of Hattiesburg since 1997. For two years, they ran the business themselves before hiring an additional technician to assist with fire and water damage restoration. Since then, they have continued to grow the business, serving residential and commercial clients in Hattiesburg, Laurel, Meridian, and the surrounding areas.
