3 Hidden Places Mold Can Live in Your Home

Mold is sneaky. The spores can creep into hidden parts of your home—parts that have the perfect conditions that allow them to grow and thrive.

We’ll show you 3 of those hidden places and how you can keep mold from growing there.

Why mold grows there: Dust can easily get trapped in the fiberglass materials. Add moisture from a leak in the attic, and mold has all the conditions it needs to thrive.

How to prevent mold from growing there: Check your attic for any roofing leaks, especially after one of Florida’s many storms. If you do find a leak, call a roofing contractor ASAP.

Why mold grows there:  If air ducts in your attic or crawl space have leaks or holes, they’ll suck in the surrounding dust and humid air. This gives mold the food, moisture and right temperature needed to grow.

How to prevent mold from growing there: Find air duct leaks and seal them. To do that, have a professional HVAC contractor perform an air-pressure test on your home’s ductwork. Once they find the leaks, they can seal them.

Note: The evaporator coil lives in your indoor unit and is the part that cools your indoor air.

Why mold grows there: Two reasons:

• Moisture builds up on the cold coil as it cools your hot, humid air.
• Dirt and dust, which mold feeds on, can easily build up on the coil if you don’t change the air filter when it gets dirty.

Now, if you don’t run the AC for awhile, mold will have food, moisture and the perfect temperature to thrive on the coil.

Since that coil comes in contact with all your indoor air, you could be carrying mold spores throughout your home.

How to prevent mold from growing there: 3 ways:

• Check your air filter once a month and change if it’s dirty.
• Don’t turn off your AC for more than 24 hours (like when going on vacation). Let the AC run just enough to keep your home below 80 degrees.
• Twice a year, get professional air conditioner maintenance, which includes cleaning the indoor evaporator coil.