Mold spores and microscopic pathogens may be hiding in plain sight, armed and able to attack your family’s health, or lurking in the dark where you’d never think of cleaning or disinfecting. That’s plain sight, as in carpets, or out of sight as in ductwork or inside walls invaded by dampness. It’s a key part of the formula that could turn your home into a toxic breeding ground.
As someone in the business of eradicating these tiny but powerful invaders on a regular basis, specializing in emergency scenarios, I offer advice that might help you disarm a ticking time bomb before it explodes into a health emergency. This threat exists wherever you find water and humidity in a home. It may be in a damp basement or supposedly warm and toasty living quarters exposed to moisture that remains a permanent guest. My crew at NYC Duct Mold Water Cleanup are experts in finding and removing mold, whether in carpet, air ducts or behind baseboards, as well as cleanup and repair in the wake of flood, water and fire damage.
You may never experience such an emergency, but your home may be an emergency in the making. For instance, carpets are literally repositories of mold spores and bacteria. In fact, even with regular vacuuming and cleaning, carpets may host hundreds of thousands of bacteria in just a few square inches. They are kept alive by deep down moisture and sustained by food particles, even pollen and dead skin cells. Mold is even known to feast on drywall, wood or fabrics.
As someone who deals with flood and water cleanup, I am all too familiar with the places water can go and then remain as moisture. Cleaning air ducts is a must in the aftermath of burst pipes that inundate a home or damage from flooding. Pathogens and spores collect there and may then be blown about the premises through heating and air ducts. Again, it may require years to become a potential threat but it is something than can be averted by including duct cleaning as part of heating and air conditioning maintenance.
Without getting technical, mold spores and microscopic pathogens, which are carriers of disease and infection, can be kept at bay. I am not out to scare anyone, because if you don’t feel safe in your home, where can you go? Carpets are proof that an ounce of prevention will protect you and your family from some of these health hazards.
If I could offer just a few words of advice it would be these five: a deep and thorough cleaning. Use the right cleaning aids to kill the bacteria and make sure it stays away. That may take a little label checking on your part. It’s not complicated. For instance, a common household ingredients such as vinegar can help you do the job. Finally, keep the carpet as dry as possible— even if it means purchasing a dehumidifier or upgrading ventilation with ceiling fans.
In other words, don’t create an emergency where there doesn’t have to be one.
— Avi Haber, NYC Duct Mold Water Cleanup