How to kill house mold:

Start by identifying the full extent of mold growth in the affected area at your place and this could be easy or difficult depending on your situation.

Here at Dust Chasers blog, we always try to post articles regarding the indoor air quality, along with a lot of DIY`s for you as a homeowner, in this article we will write about mold, we give you some tips and tricks to determine and assess the mold situation in your house, but always remember, you can always count on us when you decide to improve you indoor air quality here in Toronto-Canada
There is no home that is immune to mold growth, and not all mold is dangerous, how can you tell for sure? That`s what this article is all about, in this article we will go through the 7 key steps to safely and effectively to deal with mold growth whenever it appears in your place.

1. Assess the situation: 

Start by identifying the full extent of mold growth in the affected area at your place and this could be easy or difficult depending on your situation.

 

Start by identifying the full extent of mold growth in the affected area at your place and this could be easy or difficult depending on your situation. As a homeowner you can deal with the moldy areas less than the size of about a sheet of plywood or so but larger patches or moldy areas that involve some kind of sewage backup are best left to the pros.

2. Eliminate the moisture source.

Start by identifying the full extent of mold growth in the affected area at your place and this could be easy or difficult depending on your situation.

 

Mold only grows in the presence of moisture, that`s why you need to make the area permanently dry before you can expect permanent freedom from mold. Basements are a good place for mold to grow
But ventilation is not always the answer. Only ventilate basements when outdoor areas are cooler than the air inside your basement. Basement ventilation during a hot humid weather only actually encourages mold growth.

3. Make removal decisions.

Start by identifying the full extent of mold growth in the affected area at your place and this could be easy or difficult depending on your situation.

 

Some molding surfaces are ideal for treatment and restoration, but it`s usually easier to remove and replace large areas of moldy drywall, ceiling tiles, carpet and other non-structural materials. Wear a heap rated respirator when you work to protect yourself from air borne mold spores. Here is a simple tip: Even seemingly dry basements can allow enough moisture vapors to migrate up through the concrete
To trigger mold growth on cardboard so never tore anything organic directly on a concrete basement floor, especially cardboard boxes.

4. Dry out the area

Dehumidifiers help you eliminate excessive moisture and can be purchased from the local home improvement store.

 

Drying out chronically moldy locations is crucial for success and air circulation heat and a dehumidifier are the three most powerful drying tools you got. You`ll get best results if you monitor the relative humidity of the space, allowing more or less outside ventilation to speed drying depending on the outdoor temperature and humidity conditions.

5. Kill mold and discourage regrowth

Mold Stain Eraser

Mold Stain Eraser

Mold Stain Eraser

 

This is where the common practice of using bleach to kill mold is actually a mistake. This is one place where the new registered fungicide technologies are better than bleach for breaking the mold cycle. The most widely available non-toxic registered product that I found so far is Concrobium Mold Control , it`s a liquid that kills mold and mold spores by mechanical action physically crushing all the aspects of mold organism as it dries. This mechanical action is how a non-toxic product like this can actually kill mold, it also discourages regrowth if the area occasionally becomes moist again.

6. Eliminate mold stains

Mold-Stain

Even dead mold still looks ugly and when traditional bleach can sometimes brighten moldy surfaces bleach is also toxic and it often discolors the surrounding areas. The best option I found so far for removing old mold stain is a product called mold stain eraser , it`s an oxygen based product that comes as a powder, mix it with warm water, let it sit for ten minutes then apply the solution onto discolored surfaces up to 45 minutes after mixing. In my tests MOLD STAIN ERASER removes mold stains in many situations without changing the color of surrounding materials; the active ingredient eventually reverts back to oxygen and water so nothing harmful is left behind.

7. Prevent mold regrowth

Even fungicides that offer residual mold control aren’t magic; ultimately you need to keep moisture levels down to eliminate an eventual mold relapse and this means different things and different situations. Ensure sufficient ventilation, keep indoor relative humidity at or below 50% specially during winter weather where it`s specially cold outside and constantly be on the lookout for roof leaks from ice stand, water coming at the basement or chronically leaking pipes specially in hidden places like behind washing machines or under the kitchen counter.

Bottom Line:

Killing and eliminating indoor mold isn`t complicated and you don`t have to expose you or your family to harmful chemicals if you do the work right. First dry things out, and then kill the mold producing organisms. Remove any mold staining and then keep things dry, that`s all there is to it.
Ontario Duct Cleaning
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Condensation on Duct Work

 What is the cause?, How to fix it?

What a lot of people do not realize is that condensation on duct work could be a big problem!.

Condensation on duct work could lead to mold infestation and leaking ceilings!

It could cause all sorts of secondary problems such as mold infestation and leaking ceilings!.If you have been following up with our blog, you should already know that at Dust Chasers quality Air duct cleaning services and HVAC hygiene in Toronto-Ontario-Canada, we have always emphasized  that when it comes to indoor air quality there is a lot of DIY`s that a home owner could do with out having to hire professionals like us.You might not think that this could be an issue that people in Toronto have to deal with, but believe me most of the people with condensation on their air ducts don`t even know about it! Nothing to worry about! In this article we will address how this condensation occurs on your air ducts, why this can be a problem, what are the causes of condensation on your duct work, and what you can do to get rid of it for ever!

                 How Does Condensation Form on Duct Work?

                                                            Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air.

Whether or not you realize it, there is water around us, in fact that is what actually humidity is, it is a measure of how much moisture is in the air.Air can only hold a limited amount of water, when the air is holding as much water as it can possibly hold, the humidity level is 100%.

                                                            Dew Point

The dew point is the temperature at which the water vapor in a sample of air at constant barometric pressure condenses into liquid water at the same rate at which it evaporates.

We know that the air can hold a limited amount of water, but the amount of water the air can hold varies depending on temperature and pressure, as the temperature goes down the amount of water it can hold goes down, because of this the relative humidity goes up, The atmospheric temperature at which the air is saturated with water is called the dew point. The process by which water begins to condense from a gas into liquid form is called Condensation.

                                                          Condensation

Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from gas phase into liquid phase.

 

 

 

 

Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from gas phase into liquid phase,Condensation Forms when the water vapor in the air drops out of suspension and condenses into a liquid form, the colder the air, the more likely it is that water will condense.

                                 Is condensation on duct work a problem?

Yes it is and we will tell you why, first, if water is dripping off of your ducts and onto your insulation it can cause the insulation to compress, which would obviously decrease the R value (ability to insulate).
Second, it could cause your ceiling to leak, which could damage drywall and cause the ceiling to collapse over time. The last but not the least it could feed mold growth, mold could be a health issue, in the upcoming articles we will talk about mold and how you could prevent it.

                                     Causes of Condensation on Ductwork

If you don’t have adequate insulation on your duct work, and second, if there is excessive moisture in the the air

.

If you don`t have adequate insulation on your duct work, and second, if there is excessive moisture in the air. Keep in mind if you have proper amount of insulation on your duct work, condensation will not form.

                              Prevention and Treatment of Condensation on Ductwork

Fortunately it is not a hard fix to get rid of the condensation on your air ducts.
Look at around your duct work to see if there is adequate insulation wrapped around your air ducts.
Take a look at indoor humidity levels, are they too high? If yes, Turn the humidifier off, if you do not have a humidifier you might consider purchasing a dehumidifier, we will write about dehumidifiers on our upcoming blogs, make sure to check back!.

 

Conclusion

At the end of the day, if you see condensation form on your air ducts, it is either because of inadequate or poor insulation around your air ducts, or the humidity levels are too high in your house, it shouldn`t take you a very long time to figure it out, feel free to give us a call should you have any questions, Dust Chasers is your go to source for air duct cleaning services in Toronto-Onario-Canada, feel free to get involved and tell us what you think!
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Some facts you did not know about Ozone!

Often times we write about the importance of indoor air quality, there are different approaches, hiring a local  indoor air qualityspecialist for an inspection and probably getting  your air ducts cleaned by professionals like Dust Chasers in Toronto-Ontario-Canada could be a good step to get into the game, however  there are also other things you got to keep on top of, we have mentioned previously  that Air Filters Play a key role for removing dust particles out of the HVAC system but did you know that some air filters Produce Ozone? , here is a list of some house hold devices which also produce Ozone:

 

•             TVs

•             Computers

•             Air Purifiers 

(Even air purifiers that claim “No Ozone” produce Ozone if they have a UV light or a fan).

Basically Ozone is the most effective way by Mother Nature to clean the air, so at some levels it is not harmful, Ozone is simply Oxygen (O2) with an added molecule O3 that extra atom is very instable and it will attach itself to pollution or pollutants like odor and some bacteria (most effective on odor).

Here are some facts about Ozone:

•             The EPA standard for ozone exposure is 80 parts per billion (PBB) over 8 hours.

•             Ozone levels over 100 parts per billion (PBB) can injure the nose/lungs.

•             “High Ozone” warnings signal that the air is bad.

•             People with Asthma should definitely go Ozone-Free.

•             At low levels, as in nature, it does a superb job of purifying the air.

•             Some air purifiers have on/off Ozone, allowing you to “treat” the room.

•             Effective on odor, bacteria, viruses, some pollutants and chemicals.

Depending on the results you want to achieve you could definitely benefit from one of the following:

•             Ozone- (purify) odor, pollution, chemicals, treating a room.

•             HEPA-(Clean) dust, hair, pollen, for help with allergies.

•             UV-(Sanitize) germs, bacteria, viruses, to help the immune system.

Just keep in mind that anyone with allergies wants to get a Hepa filter since Ozone is not really effective at that.

Conclusion:

We can’t escape Ozone and it protects us from sun, basically just like the sun, we need the sun to survive we need Ozone to survive. Thunder actually produces Ozone that is why the air smells really fresh, its nature’s way of naturally purifying and cleaning the air. People with  Asthma  should stay away from Electronic Air Cleaners.

Be sure to comeback as we will be covering different kinds of Electronic Air Cleaners in the upcoming weeks,

Keep in mind that DustChasers quality air duct cleaning services and HVAC hygiene is your go to source when it comes to indoor air quality in Toronto-Ontario-Canada.

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This article was originally written by Alex.

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