Your garage is the perfect breathing ground for mold to thrive. Warm temperatures, darkness, and oxygen are all factors that contribute to its growth. Dealing with mold in the garage can take time, but with the right steps in place, your garage will be completely free of mold.
Living Conditions for Mold Growth In Your Garage
You must be vigilant when combating the growth of mold in your garage. The following conditions allow mold to expand in as little as 24-48 hours:
- Moisture
- Humidity
- Darkness
- Food Source (e.g., wood, plants, fabric)
As temperatures continue to rise in warmer months, it’s important to routinely examine your garage environment to ensure mold isn’t present. However, you should also be on the lookout even when temperatures drop. As long as temperatures aren’t freezing, mold has the opportunity to grow year-round.
Preventing Mold in Your Garage
To avoid an endless cycle of mold growth and removal, you must find the source of the problem. This will prevent any old areas of mold from transferring to new areas of your home.
Find Any Water Leaks
Does your garage have any areas that may be leaking water? This could be from pipes or rainwater leaking through an unsealed garage door. Whatever the case may be, moisture is what mold spores live off.
Check Your Humidity Levels
Moisture and warm temperatures cause the rise in humidity levels in your garage. Be on the lookout for high temperatures and be sure your garage is properly ventilated to circulate air in and out of the garage.
Declutter Your Garage
Cluttered items such as photos and fabric can become a food source for mold if left in your garage for too long. Get your garage organized by limiting the items that stay in your garage. Any additional items should be removed and put in an area that isn’t affected by fluctuating temperatures.
Drain Water from Your Garage
Standing water brought into your garage can become a major issue if not taken care of. Having a drainage system in place or even squeegeeing your floors until you can get a drainage system can help dramatically.
Areas of Your Garage to Keep an Eye On
Inspecting individual areas of your garage can help you keep unwanted mold under control. Whether you have standing water on your garage floor or rain leaking through your garage door, it’s important to handle these situations from the moment you notice them.
Garage Door Mold
When it comes to mold, wooden doors are at a higher risk for mold growth compared to vinyl and wood composite. The wooden material can become a food source if not properly care for. To protect your garage door investment, ensure your door is properly sealed to avoid water leaking into your garage. Without the presence of moisture, mold cannot grow on your garage door.
Walls & Ceiling
Walls and ceilings work the same way when it comes to mold. Cracks in the wall and ceiling create a living area for mold if moisture is present. Poorly insulated rooms can contribute to the problem even more.
Perform routine inspections of your garage walls and ceilings to ensure there aren’t any cracks in the infrastructure. A ventilation system will also help with this, as it will allow air to circulate in and out of the garage including that mold on your ceiling.
Floor
Be sure that there’s a method in place to keep garage floors dry. Water that’s brought into the garage by foot traffic, cars, and weather has to be able to drain out of the garage. Although concrete isn’t a food source, mold spores and mineral deposits can be tracked in, which makes it easy for mold to live and spread.
Remove Existing Mold from the Garage
Prevention is the first step in removing mold from your entire garage. Remember the following prevention tips to combat mold growth:
- Find and seal water leaks in your garage door, walls, ceilings, and floors.
- Properly ventilate your garage.
- Declutter your garage.
- Have a water drainage system in place.
Depending on the location of your garage, you may run into minor issues with moisture getting into the garage. With the right preventative steps in place, you’ll be able to combat the growth of mold and protect all areas of your garage.
If mold growth persists, contact a professional in your area to come out and look at your garage. They will be to gauge if there is an underlying problem in your garage’s infrastructure.
