The sales of domestic dehumidifiers in Australia have skyrocketed in the past 12 due to high humidity levels in the air. This results from continuous rain along the east coast and other parts of the country. Australia is coming out from a long drought and straight into the wettest weather in history. If you have mould in your home, then you need to read on.
So Do dehumidifiers remove mould?
The simple answer is that dehumidifiers remove excess water from the air, reducing moisture and Relative humidity. Microbial growth starts when humidity reaches around 70%, so the lower the humidity, we can reduce the chance for mould growth.
So, is it as simple as installing a dehumidifier for mould problems? The short answer to this is No. Dehumidifiers only remove excess water from the air and do not remove mould, get rid of mould or act as a mould cleaner. More work needs to be done before the mould can be eradicated in your home.
Here are a few steps you can start once you have purchased a dehumidifier to assist with controlling mould or reducing mould in your house
1. Clean all visible mould using a HEPA Vacuum cleaner. Try to contact your vacuum cleaner manufacturer and find out whether they have a HEPA filter for your current vacuum cleaner or a generic heap filter that fits your current vacuum from eBay or Amazon
2. If you have a domestic HEPA air purifier, then use that to clean the air in the area where there is visible mould. If not, you can hire a HEPA air filtration unit from Kennards to hire or Coast for about $150 per day incl GST
Once you complete the mould removal and removal of mould spores in the air using air purifier units. It’s time to manage the humidity to prevent mould growth.
What level of humidity is at risk of mould growth?
Any home's humidity level should be as close to 50%RH as possible.
How to control humidity in a home to prevent mould
There are several ways a homeowner can control the humidity in a home or a unit in a bid to prevent mould growth.
1. Using a dehumidifier to reduce moisture
2. Using an open system to control humidity
3. Fix all builder defects and install insulation
4. Check the subfloor and install subfloor ventilation
Remember that you need to do mould removal first, then the humidity control method is to continue to maintain the environment. For the shelves, you can use any mould remover, like exit mould or mould remover bunnings.
Alternatively, if you are looking for a natural source, then use clove oil for mould or clean mould with vinegar. We have clients who continue to ask us does vinegar kills mould. Yes, it does, so use it. Just fill it in a spray bottle, and it's ready to attack your mould problem.
Regardless of what type of mould is in your home, even if it's black mould, as long as it can control the humidity level, it's harder for mould to grow outside of the affected area. If the mould growth in your property is out of control, then you need to contact professional mould removal services if you are experiencing any health problems. Also noted is that building materials which are porous surfaces that have mould spores and mould grows on it then needs to be removed and discarded.
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