Small amounts of mold are common in most buildings and are pretty harmless if left untreated. It’s when the amount of mold starts to increase that there’s an issue. As a property owner, you should start worrying about the health of your tenants and the safety of your building.
Mold is a substance that can grow on any organic surface. It requires high humidity, and a warm, dark environment. It often begins spreading rapidly through your property without you knowing. Mold spores are invisible to humans, but travel easily through the vents and can attach to clothing and animals, making everyone in the building an easy vehicle for spreading mold around without knowing.
Why It’s Important to Keep Mold at Bay
Exposure to mold can cause a variety of different health issues for tenants. People with allergies, asthma, or weak immune systems are likely to be negatively affected by mold spores in the air. Symptoms like difficulty breathing, congestion, and skin irritation can become prominent. Tenants can potentially take action against landlords if the mold problem becomes bad enough without being fixed.
How to Prevent Mold in Commercial Buildings
Illness in tenants isn’t the only reason to prevent mold. Mold can cause structural damage if left untreated for long periods of time. It may also lead to larger problems in your building. Here are five ways to prevent mold growth in your commercial property.
1. Watch for Signs of Mold Growth
Mold can grow in places that you may not think of. Remember, it will attach itself to any organic surface and only needs moisture, darkness, and warm temperatures to thrive. Create a plan to check for mold growth regularly. Watch for spotty and fuzzy spots on your walls, surfaces that appear damp at times, areas that have high humidity. Pay attention to smells as well. If you notice musty smells, this can be a sign of high moisture content – the perfect place for mold growth.
2. Make Necessary Repairs
Your building may have cracked foundations or leaks in the roof that can lead to high moisture levels. Bring in a professional restoration company to repair these issues and prevent moisture from entering your building.
3. Install a Dehumidifier
This will prevent excess moisture from building up in the air, which makes it more difficult for mold to grow. Install machines in basements, attics, and other areas of your building to keep humidity to the proper level.
4. Clean Your HVAC System Regularly
Mold spores travel through your ventilation system. Chances are, your HVAC system doesn’t get cleaned regularly. You can reduce the transfer of mold spores by hiring a professional HVAC cleaner.
5. Hire a Professional Mold Remediation Technician
At times, the mold infestation may be too much for a landlord to handle. The professional team at McMahon Services can assist you in providing a personalized plan to get rid of mold infestations. Any existing problems will be addressed, and moving forward, your property will be free of mold.
If you find yourself with a mold problem in your commercial property in Chicagoland, call McMahon Services today. Our mold remediation team will respond 24/7 to find the problem and stop the mold at the source. Without this step, you can almost guarantee that the mold will quickly return.
McMahon Services knows what to look for, and more importantly, where to look for hidden mold spores as well as the leaky pipes, roof, or other issues that are causing the problem to begin with. We will help you create a plan to fix the problem, and remove all the mold from your property quickly and effectively to prevent the spread of mold spores to other areas of your business. Call us today to schedule your free consultation.