Mold Growth In Your Home: How To Prevent It

Mold in your home is an easy problem to overlook—it likes to grow under living room upholstery, in damp kitchen corners, and behind bathroom fixtures. But, because it can cause various health problems, it’s wise to be aware of the best practices to prevent mold growth in your home. What is Mold, and Why Does it Matter to Your Health? Mold is a fungus that grows and spreads when mold spores come in contact with a damp surface. It is found primarily outside but can become a problem in your home if you’re not careful to keep your environment clean and dry. Mold in your home can cause health issues like: Allergic reactions Asthma attacks for those with breathing issues Irritation of eyes, skin, nose, skin, throat, and lungs Sneezing, coughing, and wheezing From there, repeated mold exposure can cause even more severe reactions and health implications. Mold can enter your house through doors, windows, air vents, on your clothing and shoes, and when your pets move from outdoors to indoors. Here are a few tips to limit mold growth in your home. 3 Tips to Prevent Mold Growth In Your Home 1. Keep Your Home Well-Ventilated to Promote Air Circulation One of the most effective ways to prevent mold growth is to keep your home well-ventilated. Open windows and doors to help air to circulate and keep humidity levels low. Mold can also grow in a house with polluted air. To improve the air quality in your home, vacuum regularly and dust all surfaces to remove potential pollen and mold spores. You can also fill your space with air-purifying plants like snake plants, spider plants, English ivy, or aloe vera.  If you have a ventilation system in your home, make sure it’s working properly. A broken or malfunctioning ventilation system can contribute to mold growth, so have it checked regularly and repaired if necessary. 2. Avoid Moisture Build-Up The most common cause of mold growth is moisture. So, stay on the lookout for growing patches of dirt-like matter in your bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, and basement, where water leakage is common. Take steps to prevent moisture in these areas by… Using an exhaust fan when cooking. Keeping the bathroom door open and using the ceiling fan when showering. Putting screens in all kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room windows so you can easily open them to promote airflow. Wiping down wet surfaces immediately and drying them off completely. Running a dehumidifier in your dampest home areas. 3. Keep Humidity Levels Below 50% Mold thrives in humid environments, so it’s imperative to keep the humidity levels in your home below 50%. One way to measure the humidity levels in your home is to use a humidity monitor. This device measures the amount of moisture in the air and will help you determine if you need to take steps to reduce the humidity levels. There are several different types of humidity monitors available. Choose one that best suits your needs. Some humidity monitors plug into an outlet, while others are wireless and can go anywhere in your home. If you have a ventilation system, your HVAC technician can take a reading (or multiple readings) throughout your home to determine current humidity levels. The ideal humidity level in your home is between 30% and 50%. If your home is measuring higher than that, try… Running a dehumidifier or air conditioner to help take some of the moisture out of the air. Drying laundry outside on a clothing line. Taking cool showers. Keeping gutters clean. Fixing leaky pipes, windows, and roofs. Opening windows and running fans to promote air circulation. Pro tip: Move the monitor from room to room and keep a journal to track humidity levels in different parts of your house. Moral of the story: Stay on the lookout for musty, earthy smells and growing patches of moisture and dirt-looking material on walls, carpets, tiles, and ceilings. Keep your home as cool and dry as possible, do everything you can to promote airflow, and be especially careful in wet places like your kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and basement.  It is easy to get stuck thinking that health is only influenced by nutrition and perhaps, exercise. But, so much more plays into feeling your best and being your healthiest self. Improving the health of your home improves the health of your body and helps you live your most Nutritious Life. (Image: Shutterstock)

7 Must-Have Cleaning Products of 2021

We are all home a lot more than ever before. We’re also a lot busier than we have ever been before. So that means a lot less time (or desire?) to clean our homes. But, in addition to the concerns of the pandemic, it’s also flu season. So, keeping away the germs is one of the most important things we can do for our health right now.  We’re big fans of “clean” cleaning products, as well as innovative technology. So it makes us geek out when the two worlds collide. There are a number of companies breaking boundaries in the cleaning world in terms of safeguarding ourselves from COVID and all that lingers in the air.  Here’s 7 new wellness cleaning products that will change the game for you in 2021. No More Moldy Humidifiers  I don’t know about you but, every time I clean out my humidifier I’m super grossed out. How can all that gunk be good for me?! Canopy was developed by  Dermatologist Dr. Dendy Engelman, who was on a mission to create a no-mist humidifier. Gone are the days of the gross, gunk filled tanks. This anti-mold machine provides clean, filtered moisture but without bacteria.  It’s small enough to sit on your nightstand and has a calming night light glow.  Canopy Humidifier, $150 Turn Tap-Water into A Killer Cleaner Turn water into wine? Ok no, this new product  can’t do that. But Ozone Clean can turn your tap water into a chemical-free multipurpose cleaner that kills up to 99.999% of bacteria and viruses. We spend a big chunk of our paycheck on cleaning products, so this product will help save up to $400 a year. You might be thinking “this is too good to be true” because we originally thought the same thing…but below is the gist, and it’s actually quite simpler than you’d expect.  Ozone Clean uses century-old science (aqueous ozone) that has been used for decades as one of nature’s most powerful disinfectants—but only in the industrial space as the technology was too expensive for household use, until now. Spray it on anything…counters, appliances, bathrooms, rugs, toys, pet items, even FOOD to wash away bacteria and pathogens on veggies, fruit, fish, meat and poultry.   HoMedics Ozone Clean, $99 One-Stop Shop Clean Product App  The cleaning market is saturated with a lot of promises and claims. But, how do you really know which products are truly “clean”? You’re new best friend Merryfield. This is a one-stop app for shopping clean label products from brands you can trust.  Every product was vetted by their Clean Council, a group of four industry experts, from nutrition to beauty and industry quality standards, with decades of experience in the clean label industry. Not only does it introduce users to new brands and products, but it breaks down all those confusing label claims and rewards you for shopping from partnering brands.  Even cooler? You can earn points for shopping that can be redeemed for gift cards to retailers including Amazon, Sephora, and Target.  Download Merryfield here. Your QuaranTeam Cleaning Bundle We’ve got to keep our QuananTeams protected. Puracy, a natural home and personal product company, has an  arsenal of eco-friendly cleansers to wash away the mess and keep everyone in their family safe (babies and pets, too!).  These products are free of essentially everything—sulfates (i.e. SLS, SLES, SCS), caustics, phosphates, phthalates, animal byproducts, dyes, chlorine, allergens, optical brighteners, perfumes, chlorine, ammonia, formaldehyde, bleach, and more. No more choosing between safety and efficacy. We love their surface cleaners and laundry detergent! The best part? Every purchase helps Puracy give back to nonprofits and charitable organizations around the U.S. Puracy products, starting at $4 A Machine that Removes COVID From the Air Now, more than ever, we’ve come to appreciate the importance of feeling safe, secure, and protected in our homes. OxyPure is the first air purifier proven to remove coronavirus from the air. OxyPure’s technology automatically detects a room’s air quality and odors, then reacts in real-time to purify the room. In addition to viruses, OxyPure eliminates lead, mold, dust, pollen, smoke, pet dander, allergens, and bacteria. It can connect to your smartphone or tablet so you  can control air quality from anywhere. Important to note, it is a bigger piece of equipment, so you may need to make some space for it.  NuWave OxyPure Air Purifier, $599 Plant-Powered Sponges Sqwishful is a Brooklyn-based, woman-owned company with a mission to create a zero waste sponge that actually works! The Pop Up sponges are 100% plant-based and biodegradable, and can outlast the use of 30 paper towel rolls. When you’re ready to replace it, compost it! Compressed to reduce its carbon footprint, you inflate the sponge with water (= super fun, kids love running them under H2O) and it’s designed to expand and fit your hand with angles for cleaning corners and edges. Sqwishful Pop Up Sponges  (pack of 3),  $6 Clean Dryer Balls We love the Zum products almost as much as the company’s vibe. Dryer sheets will add toxic chemicals to your laundry loads.  Zum Clean Wool Dryer balls fluff your clothes, smooth out wrinkles, speed up drying time, and they’re reusable for up to hundreds of loads. And if you love that dryer sheet smell, don’t worry…they also have aroma blends like sea salt or Frankincense and Myrrh. And don’t stop there, you should also try out their soaps for face, body, hands and home—all without nasty ingredients. Indigo Wild Zum Clean Wool Dryer Balls, $21.83 (photo credit: Shutterstock and brands)