Mold growth in your home can mean damage to interior surfaces, a bad odor in your home, and adverse health problems to you and your family members. However, even if you cannot see mold growth, it still needs to be cleaned out and tested for further problems. Here are some essential steps to cleaning your home to properly remove any mold growth and its related health hazards.

Clean Up Visible Mold

As a first step with a mold problem in your home, use a cleaner and a disposable rag to wipe off visible mold growth. Be sure you wear rubber gloves and protective clothing, eye protection, and a breathing mask to prevent exposure to mold. Mold can be a toxic substance that can cause you shortness of breath, rashes, and more serious conditions. For a large area of mold growth in your home, you should always hire a professional mold remediation company to handle the problem.

Sanitize the Areas

Anytime you have had mold growth on surfaces inside your home, it is important that once you clean up the visible mold that you disinfect to remove and kill off any remaining mold spores. Mold spores are microscopic and you cannot see them until they have been activated under the right conditions and they grow into a new colony of mold. For this reason, it is best to clean up the surfaces to remove residual mold spores. And you can do this with a cleaning solution of bleach and water or white vinegar.

Bleach and water in a combination of one-to-ten parts is a good treatment to apply onto a surface and allow it to dry. During this time, any remaining mold spores will be damaged so they cannot grow under moist conditions. White vinegar works in a similar manner, as it is an acidic solution, and just as long as you use it full strength, it will kill the mold spores.

Inspect and Test For Mold

A great way to ensure you have cleaned up all the remaining mold in your home is to hire a professional mold inspection. A mold inspector can use their equipment to test the air and surfaces within your home to find the mold levels in the area. This can help them determine if there is still mold growing within the space or present on a surface, you will want to know to have it cleaned professionally.

When mold spores are present in the air in heavy amounts, this can indicate there is still mold growing in your home, such as behind drywall, within insulation, or under carpeting or floorboards. Even though you may not be able to see mold growing on a visible surface, that does not mean it is present inside your home, and a professional mold inspection can help you determine whether or not you need to further clean out your home interior.