Keep Your Commercial Buildings Free of Mold

7/29/2021 (Permalink)

Mold and mildew don’t need very much encouragement to grow. Once it starts, it can spread very quickly. Not only can it cause damage, but it can affect people’s health.

Mold can grow on a variety of surfaces, cloth, carpets, drywall, and wood. With a large commercial building keeping everyone cool or warm, condensation can form and provide the mold the moisture it needs to spread.

5 Tips for Keeping Your Commercial Building Free from Mold

Regular cleanings and maintenance inspections will help keep mold from taking over the building, in particular, areas that are not often used.

1. Deep Cleaning

Start with your HVAC system. Getting it cleaned, changing or cleaning the filters, and keeping it in great form will help stop the spread of mold spores. The vents, ducts, and the rest all need to be maintained.

When the air is not moving through the vents, dust and mold can just sit there, so when you turn it back on, the room fills with it all. Any amount of hair, dust, dirt, animal hair and waste, and mold can be in the vents.

The mold can get inside these areas and grow. There are times when you don’t need the system, so have it maintained in the spring and fall, to be safe. Reducing the movement of the mold will help considerably.

2. Dehumidify

Condensation can form during the hot months, during the cold months, at any time. A commercial building will have a lot of people, and people can cause condensation.

A dehumidifier will help draw moisture out of the air. It can make a big difference in a building that is very populated and turning off the heat or air conditioning is not an option.

Put them in areas when moisture is prevalent. Basements, upper floors, kitchens or cafeterias, shower rooms, laundry rooms, and anywhere that has excessive moisture. They are available in different sizes.

3. Make Repairs

Fixing small problems will help them from becoming big problems. Leaks in the roof or foundation, cracks in the walls or foundation, gaps around windows, taps or pipes that drip, or leak, and faulty thermostats.

These can all allow heat and cold air in or out, which means it makes it harder to control the humidity inside the building. Damp patches or pooling water, or a recent flood, should all be taken care of right away. Hire a professional.

4. Regular Checks

Building maintenance should be looking for anything suspicious on a regular basis. Keeping an eye on areas that have higher concentrations of moisture or humidity for signs.

Dark spots, fuzzy patches, musty smells, can all appear anywhere. Carpets, walls, ceilings, floors, and under sinks, behind walls in shower rooms, laundry room, bathrooms, and kitchen areas.

5. Regular Inspections

It’s a great idea to have your maintenance team take care of regular checks and repairs, but hiring a professional to inspect the building can be a great help. They can spot areas that may be developing mold that you are not aware of.

They are also great at finding areas of potential mold, too, so you can stop it before it gets a chance to start.