Appliance Maintenance to Prevent Mold
Here’s what you should do and how often to prevent mold growth in your home.
Dehumidifiers, bathroom exhaust fans, and kitchen range hoods can vastly improve the air you breathe indoors, but they also have a downside: if not maintained properly, they can become little mold-producing factories.
Consumer Reports says that neglecting to thoroughly clean a bathroom fan or dehumidifier, for example, allows dirt to accumulate and this, plus a little moisture, creates the perfect environment in which mold can grow. Another place you are likely to find mold growth is in a front load washing machines.
Cleaning dehumidifiers once a month is recommended. Yet, according to the article, 60% of the dehumidifiers found in today’s households are not cleaned frequently enough and may be fostering mold growth. Bathroom exhaust fans are another source of mold but only 16% are cleaned every few months as recommended.
Failure to clean these appliances rigorously can also result in the growth of fungi and bacteria that cause lung inflammation.
Here are the recommended cleaning schedules for household appliances:
- Once every few months: bathroom exhaust fans and kitchen range hoods
- Once a month or more: humidifier, dehumidifier, portable air filter/purifier, and wood-burning stove/fireplaces.
- Once at least every six months for a heavy duty cleaning of a washing machine, and once a month or more for regular washing machine maintenance.
So, if you’re the culprit and neglected to clean household appliances regularly, check them carefully for mold. Mold can spread from these devices to other parts of your home, and that can be detrimental to your health – let alone your wallet.
Contact RTK to schedule a mold or indoor air quality test today!
How do you know if your child has a cold, the flu, seasonal allergies, or a 
If your child is allergic to mold and also has asthma, his or her asthma symptoms may be triggered by exposure to mold spores and can sometimes be severe. In addition to the usual symptoms, your child may experience acute coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.
As you know, dust and debris collect in HVAC and heating units over time. When those materials absorb moisture, mold can form quickly.
If you find 
Your home harbors a vast array of VOCs sources, including:
RTK has tested hundreds of homes for VOCs and was surprised to find out that in many cases, popular brands of furniture, including baby items, were off the charts for these dangerous chemicals. 
VOCs are a serious concern in the home and can pose a significant danger to our health and well-being. VOC testing is important for identifying potential sources of exposure to harmful chemicals, improving indoor air quality, and ensuring compliance with regulations. Homeowners can take steps to reduce their exposure to VOCs by choosing low-VOC products, increasing ventilation, and storing products safely. 
Believe it or not, there are usually VOCs in new clothes, especially those wrapped in plastic like men’s shirts and socks. Textiles are not regulated for VOCs, so anything that is wrinkle free, permanent press, or crease resistant generally contains formaldehyde. Many clothing dyes even contain VOCs. Luckily, it is usually as easy as running it through the wash a few times to rinse out those chemicals.
Dry cleaning can cause a more serious threat to your health and the environment. Most dry-cleaning processes use the dangerous chemical tetrachloroethylene, which is widely used as a scouring solvent that removes oils from fabrics, as a carrier solvent, as a fabric finish or water repellent. Exposure to tetrachloroethylene can cause a host of health issues, including irritation to the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and respiratory system. It has also been shown to cause liver damage and is a potential occupational carcinogen.
Common Symptoms of VOC Exposure Include:
Problem is, VOCs are found in thousands of different household and office products, from electronics to paint to carpeting to furniture, and are off-gassed over time. That means your home’s indoor air quality is likely to become polluted. Now, especially during flu season and the coronavirus pandemic, when these diseases affect the lungs even more, we need to be extra vigilant about keeping indoor air as clean as possible. Otherwise, the impact of VOCs on your health can be pretty steep.
One of the biggest sources of formaldehyde, in particular, are new building materials, according to an article in the 
Open your windows – even for just a few minutes a day – to circulate fresh air.
With winter in full swing, we tend to focus on conserving heat in our homes and tightly latch storm windows, secure the doors from drafts, and check the attic insulation. But we should be thinking about keeping our homes healthy as well. Unfortunately, many homes, especially newer ones, are built so airtight that they cannot breathe – literally! So, a warm and cozy house becomes a “sick home”.
Inadequate ventilation is a top cause of sick home syndrome. The newer “air-tight” homes are sealed so well that hardly any fresh air enters. Moisture builds up but can’t escape and that makes a perfect breeding ground for mold. Without fresh air circulating through your rooms, indoor pollutants including chemicals from paint or rugs, mold, radon, and other airborne particles, have nowhere to escape.
Mold grows on water-damaged materials and can cause allergies. To prevent it:
Lead paint was used in homes built before 1978, after which it was banned. But many people merely covered the old paint with new. So, when sanding during renovation work or opening or closing windows, the dust may contain lead. Lead dust and paint chips can cause lead poisoning, which is especially dangerous for children. Lead poisoning has been linked to a host of issues, including autism-like symptoms and ADHD. If you have an older house, get it tested for lead before you close up your house this winter.
VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, are toxic vapors that are off-gassed from man-made materials and everyday household items. When homes are closed and air-tight during the winter, VOCs tend to build up in the air, causing poor indoor air quality. This can cause headaches, dizziness, coughing, and other issues. Try to limit use of and exposure to cleaning and disinfecting chemicals, candles, new furniture, carpeting or flooring, non-VOC paint, air fresheners, and