Mildew Proliferates
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) The high humidity of the
East Coast’s summer has made
homeowners more aware of
household mildew, says an expert
in Penn State’s college of Agricul
tural Sciences.
“The huge snowfall prevented
the ground from freezing deeply,”
says Phyllis Adams, associate
professor of agricultural and
extension education. “Add to that
melting snow, rain and a humid
summer and you have perfect con
ditions to grow mold and
mildew.”
According to Alletta Schadler,
Lebanon County extension direc
tor, mildew and mold spores are
present in homes all the time,
growing when temperature and
moisture reach high enough lev-
Adams says the causes of most els.
mildew problems are not difficult
to understand or to solve. “Air can
absorb moisture. It’s like a
sponge,” she says. “Warm air can
hold more water vapor than cold
air. When the temperature of the
air drops, its ability to hold mois
ture is lessened until the air reach
es the dew point. Droplets of
water will form on any surface
that is at or colder than the dew
point of the surrounding air.”
Warm, moist air within a house
is attracted to all cold surfaces,
including windows, mirrors, the
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corners of basements, exterior
comers of a room or inside clos
ets. The buildup of condensation
creates the perfect environment
for mold spores to thrive.
Adams says mold spores grow
especially well on a dirty surface.
Cleaning regulary will make it
more difficult for mold and mildew
to grow.
Mold can spread from base
ment surfaces and along cold
walls upward through the floor,
often onto rugs, behind furniture
placed against a wall, onto book
shelves, or on cardboard boxes
placed against a wall.
“The first reflex when people
smell mold is to throw open the
windows, which is exactly the
wrong thing to do. It actually
makes the mildew worse,”
Schadler says.
In summer, mildew most often
plagues older homes that do not
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which can act as a de-humidifier
by circulating air.
Although mildew flourishes in
high humidity, several easy-to
follow preventative tips will keep
surfaces, furniture, clothing and
other possessions from looking
like moss-covered logs. Schadler
list the following measures:
• Keep doors and windows
shut during periods of high
humidity. Open them at night,
when the temperature outdoors is
the coolest, and then close the
house up in the daytime.
• Circulate air as much as pos
sible with portable fans. Make
sure air in the basement is being
circulated as well.
• Buy a dehumidifier for the
house. Schadler warns that most
dehumidifiers have water pans
that hold far less than the
machine’s advertised moisture
removal rate. To prevent constant
trips to empty the water pan,
Schadler suggests rigging a hose
from the appliance into a drain.
• If dampness in the house is a
problem, consider buying a
smaller dehumidifier for the
home’s upper floors.
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• Make sure the outside land-
scaping and rainwater will drain
away from the house. Poor
drainage and poor air circulation
around shrubs next to the house
will encourage mold and mildew
growth. Winds can bring mold
spores right in through an open
window.
Unfortunately, mold and
mildew are not just summer
afflictions. In winter, moisture
can collect within a home as a
byproduct of burning fossil fuels
(such as gas stoves, kerosene
heaters or gas fireplaces), cook
ing, using clothes dryers, or tak
ing long showers without using
an exhaust fan.
Winter mildew can be a prob
lem in newer, energy-efficient
homes. Often built with heavy
insulation and plastic moisture
barriers, newer homes can retain
enough moisture to begin con
densation —again creating a per
fect environment for mold.
Adams recommends these pre
ventative measures to control
indoor moisture:
• Limit the numbers of plants
in your home.
• When cooking, use lids on
pots and pans.
• Use the kitchen exhaust fan
when cooking and ensure the fan
vents directly outdoors. Many
range hoods filter only food parti
cles generated during cooking,
returning steam back into the
kitchen.
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• Use the exhaust fan when
showering. “Most people, espe
cially older individuals, don’t use
the exhaust fan because it makes
them feel colder," Adams says.
* Determine how the clothes
dryer is vented. Adams says dry
ers are often vented into the attic,
where hot, moisture-laden air
meets cold surfaces. “Where this
situation exists, I’ve seen water
droplets dripping off the rafters,”
Adams says.
* Make sure air is able to cir
culate in each and every room.
Keep closet doors open.
■ Diligently clean the house
and its surfaces at least once,
preferable twice a year.
• Make sure compost piles are
well away from the house. “Those
produce huge quantities of mold
spores,” Adams says.
Once mildew appears, Schadler
recommends quick action. All
affected surfaces should be
washed with a chlorine-based or
fungicidal cleaner. Do not mix
chlorine bleach with detergent
cleaning solutions, Schadler
warns.
Because mold and mildew
spores are ever-present, Schadler
says even the most obsessive
housekeeper can never complete
ly rid a home of the threat of
mold.
“The best way to prevent mold
is knowing what conditions make
it grow,” Schadler says.
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