The Most Common Areas in Your Home for Mold to Grow

Now that Spring has finally arrived, the house starts to warm up. While trying to enjoy the warmer temperatures, something perturbs you: there’s a funky smell. You’ve emptied all the trash cans, cleaned the refrigerator and vacuumed and mopped the floors. Still, the noxious smell lingers. Where is it coming from?! The house is spotless; is the smell you?

After washing every bit of laundry and even your lone pair of gym shoes, the smell is still there! Googling what the smell might be coming from, you learn that it might be—no, don’t let it be so—it’s mold!

Unfortunately, just about one of the only things homeowners insurance doesn’t cover is mold. Homeowners insurance covers fire damage, theft, Acts of God; the one thing it doesn’t cover is what you must destroy: mold. Homeowners insurance helps you prepare for all other household battles, but mold, mold you must conquer on your own.

Here are the areas in your home most susceptible to mold growth and what to do to stop it from spreading.

Mold’s Favorite Hiding Places:

Carpet

Look at your carpet. How many spills has it been splattered with? It’s not just stains you should worry about; it’s mold too. FacilitiesNet reports that “spills, floods and leaks allow water to soak the carpet, its pad and often underlayment. Moisture in the air introduces even more water to the carpet."

If you’re home has been flooded or there has been a leak, use a wet vacuum to suck up the excess water. Set up dehumidifiers and rotating fans around the space to help dry the area. If the leak or flooding is more than 48 hours old, it’s time to pull up the carpet and have it replaced.

Window Seals

It has been a very wet winter, especially if you live in an area that has, until recently, been under drought conditions. The freezing wet temperatures outside and the warm conditions inside creates condensation inside your window seals. The happy mixture of dirt, dust and water is a mold spore’s dream.

To be rid of the mold, House Logic recommends opening your windows after a heavy rain and wiping away the collected condensation with a rag. By maintaining your windows regularly, mold won’t have a chance to grow.

Under-the-sink Cabinetry

Mold likes to grow in dark, moist areas. A particular favorite of the mold spore is under bathroom and kitchen sinks. The cabinet under the sink is usually filled with cleaning supplies, trash bins and other items. This makes a leaky pipe hard to see, and if you can’t see the leaky pipe, you’re definitely not noticing the mold growing around it.

Remove all of the items from under your bathroom and kitchen sinks and wipe down the cabinet. You can remove mold using mildew spray and a scrub brush. If the mold is holding on, you will need to go with “ a natural mold and mildew killer."

While homeowners insurance doesn’t cover mold, this article will help know what to look for and how to get rid of it. For all of your other household needs, homeowners insurance is there. Visit CoverHound for a free quote today.