June Home Maintenance To Do: Stop Mold before it Starts

Ah, June. School’s out, the days are long, and the weather’s getting toasty. We get it—your vacation is beckoning.  But before you slather yourself with SPF 75 and reach for a margarita, do yourself a favor and tackle a few maintenance projects. A little pain now means a big gain later—you’ll ensure your home runs smoothly through the dog days of summer.

One of the home maintenance to-do’s you really need to check off is stopping mold before it starts.  Why worry about mold during Summer?  Well, June kicks off a stretch of the hottest months of the year, but in many states across the South, East and even Pacific Northwest, heavy rains are also the norm. The experts at Home Advisor say that all that heat and moisture provide the perfect climate for mold to flourish.

But before you start getting worried that this is going to be a difficult task, there is an easy trick you can use to keep mold at bay: Lower your thermostat. “Some homeowners try to save money by setting the thermostat at an unsafe high temperature, especially in high humidity areas,” says Phil Kuczak, air-conditioning service and installation manager at Best Home Services in Naples, Florida. “The cost savings on the power bill could quickly be far outdone if you end up with a mold problem.”

Also try to put your AC in the “auto” rather than “on” position. If your fan is running continuously, then any moisture that’s condensed on your AC’s evaporator coil during cooling doesn’t have a chance to drain off—and it can be blown back into your home. This can cause rapid mold growth, especially in high-humidity regions.  Kuczak also cautions against trying to limit or increase airflow to certain rooms by shutting supply grills. That can cause condensation buildup, leading to mold growth around those grills and in the adjacent ceiling or wall.

When to call in the pros: If you have a mold problem, expect to pay a small fortune for a pro to remove it. Homeowners spend up to $3,200 on average for mold remediation.

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