Top 3 Places Mold May Be Hiding in Your Home

11/19/2020 (Permalink)

Mold growth may be hiding in your home.

When’s the last time you stuck your head up your chimney? Have you cleaned your refrigerator’s drip pan recently? Or ever? Mold growth isn’t limited to flooded rec rooms. Virtually everyone can spot mold on wood paneling or moldy drywall in a garage, but it takes a targeted inspection to locate these popular hideouts for mold.

3 Popular Hideouts For Mold

1. Front-Loading Washing Machines

The gasket on the front door of your washing machine is essentially Old Country Buffet for mold. It's frequently wet and it's home to a never-ending supply of one of mold’s favorite comfort foods: lint.
To prevent mold from claiming your washing machine, make sure you keep the door open when the washer isn’t in use, and clean the gasket once a month. Use a microfiber cloth or retail washing machine wipe to clean the gasket, and then dry it thoroughly.

2. Chimneys

You’d think the presence of fire would deter mold growth or, even better, vaporize it. You’d be wrong. The bricks in your chimney are full of cozy little nooks and crannies for dirt, debris and water to congregate. If your chimney isn’t regularly maintained, your cap may be letting in water as well. As such, your first step in eradicating chimney mold is to have your chimney inspected to make sure its cap and flashing are keeping out rain and snow.
Once your chimney is structurally sound, contact a chimney sweep. He or she will remove dirt, debris, mold and creosote. The result? A mold-free and more efficient chimney.

3. Refrigerator Drip Pans

Nobody looks forward to deep cleaning his or her fridge, but the drip pan underneath should be essential annual cleaning to prevent mold. This pan's entire job is to collect the stuff that mold’s dreams are made of: food and moisture. To keep yours clean, wipe down both it and the floor beneath it with white vinegar.

These are just three of the places mold growth may be hiding in your Roanoke Rapids, MN, home. When in doubt — and particularly if you notice that familiar musty smell — contact your local mold mitigation company for an assessment that will bring you peace of mind.