Mold is a disaster that no business wants to face, but unfortunately, many will have to deal with this problem. We all know that mold can lead to serious issues, and can be costly for your business if it develops, but not everyone knows the proper preventative measures that must be taken in order to avoid mold altogether. Today, we’d like to give you a few tips on how you can avoid mold disasters so that you and your business won’t have to suffer.
Characteristics of Mold
To counteract mold, it’s better to have an understanding of its attributes and behaviors. First and foremost, it can grow anywhere; it just needs a bit of moisture to grow. You can find it in air vents, in walls, under flooring, and more. Not only that, but it comes with an appetite, and will eat away at your building more and more the longer that it’s around. Here’s a tricky part though, if you take the moisture out of the equation, mold doesn’t die off, but instead hibernates until water or moisture returns. There are 250 different species of mold, and they can migrate through water or air movement to spread more mold spores throughout the surface or building. Growth can get more significant over time if a food source stays wet too. Lastly, and probably one of the most important things you should know, mold is very toxic, and people can have a severe reaction under heavy exposure, so be careful.
Preventing Mold Disasters
Try to keep an eye out, especially in places of moisture. You can look in any places where there is exposure to moisture, and frequently check your pipes for any leaks. If you do find moisture, try to eliminate it quickly, within a 48 hour period if possible. If you do notice a small amount of mold building up around moisture, try to treat it with bleach or chlorine, but be sure to eliminate the moisture too. Treating mold will only eliminate 99% of the mold spores, so if moisture were to return to that area, it could be prone to mold growth.
The Final Steps
If a mold disaster ever gets out of hand, there is only one solution: get professional help. If you ever need a recommendation, feel free to ask us about our partners, because we know about all of the best local businesses. Maintenance and staying careful are always best practices, but if you want to be sure you have the coverage that you need, please feel free to reach out to any of our professional agents. We’ll help you with all of your business or homeowner’s insurance needs.