What’s bacteria and mold doing inside your home? If it’s not being tracked down and removed — and the conditions that spawn it corrected — it may be thriving. Mold spreads by releasing millions of microscopic airborne reproductive spores. Many individuals are sensitive to certain mold types and there are a few types that almost everyone is allergic to. As long as active growing mold isn’t identified and treated, it continues to infect the home.
Where extensive contamination has taken hold, professional mold remediation services are required. However, several DIY measures can alleviate conditions that allow mold to gain a foothold as well as mitigate limited, individual spots of contamination.
Control Moisture
Dormant, inert mold spores exist everywhere and cause no symptoms until they shift into active, growing mold. What activates dormant spores is moisture. It may be chronically moist areas such as bathrooms or kitchen, a basement or crawl space that harbors dampness like a dripping pipe, or simply high indoor humidity. Ventilating moist rooms, eliminating ongoing moisture sources including plumbing issues and installing a dehumidifier help deprive mold of what it needs to thrive.
Maintain the HVAC System
As your central cooling and heating system circulates air throughout the house, reproductive mold spores go along for the ride. Active mold spores aren’t killed by filtration. In fact, they may replicate and spread contamination further. Therefore, change your air filter monthly. Also, ask your HVAC contractor about disinfecting the A/C indoor evaporator coil — a frequent mold breeding ground — and installing germicidal UV lights to sterilize system airflow.
Deal With Spot Outbreaks
Where mold grows on a hard, impermeable surface, it may be wiped away and the surface treated with a dilute mixture of water and household bleach. Where mold is growing on permeable surfaces such as wood, carpet or drywall, however, it may penetrate into the material and superficial removal/disinfection will not eliminate it. In that case, the infected material should be removed and discarded.
Ask the air quality professionals at Paitson Bros. for more information about effective mold control. We’ve been looking out for Terre Haute homeowners since 1922.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Terre Haute, Indiana about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about bacteria and mold and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 812-645-6859.
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Jeff Paitson is a third generation business owner who continues to run the business with the same values that have been passed down from previous generations since 1922.
Jeff’s belief is that the business belongs to Jesus Christ; therefore 10 percent of the company’s profits go toward the Maryland Community Church.
Jeff is a Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce member and in his spare time, he enjoys 
Ethan Rayburn is a lifelong resident of Terre Haute and a 2005 graduate of Purdue University.
An Eagle Scout, Ethan spent four years as a non-profit executive with the Boy Scouts of America before joining Paitson Bros. as a comfort advisor and later General Manager. In that role, Ethan has brought a renewed enthusiasm for customer care, integrity, value, and service to Paitson Bros. Heating & Air Conditioning.
Ethan enjoys singing and was a member of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club. He also enjoys playing and coaching soccer, spending time with his family and two young boys, and volunteering his time and resources with his church, Terre Haute First Baptist Church, which he has attended from a very young age.
Paitson Bros
1 (812) 232-2347
Serving the Wabash Valley, IN Area Since 1922