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Mold: it’s the four letter word home and business owners fear the most.
It’s an infestation that spreads quickly, forming in damp, dark, invisible corners and releasing harmful spores into the air that wreak havoc with the health of the people in your home or working at your business. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that exposure to moldy environments can lead to throat irritation, coughing, wheezing, nasal stuffiness, skin irritation, and eye irritation.
Scary, right? But there’s good news: it’s preventable.
Mold is caused by excess moisture as the result of high humidity in your home. Not only can desiccant dehumidifiers in San Francisco quickly filter out lingering moisture that causes mold and mildew, but these devices can even reverse the formation of mold, turning your home or business back into the safe sanctuary it once was.
Read on to find out how dehumidifying your home can prevent mold or mildew:
Mold Formation
According to Moldtips.com, mold is a fungus that will always seek out warmth, food, and moisture. In order for mold to form, it needs all three of these ingredients in abundance.
This is why you’ll often find mold growing in the kitchen, basement, or bathroom, where warmth and moisture levels are naturally higher than the rest of your home. It often takes just two days for mold to form in a moist environment, so it’s important to act quickly in the wake of a flood, roof leak, or pipe leak.
How Does a Dehumidifier Work?
To understand how a dehumidifier works, you first have to come to grips with the concept of relative humidity. Simply put, relative humidity is the measure of how much water a body of air is holding compared to how much it contains when it’s “full”.
This measure is expressed in the form of a percentage. Now, if the relative humidity reaches 100%, you’re at what’s called “dew point,” or the point where the air is considered to be completely full of water and begins to condense on the cold surfaces in your space.
According to WebMD, the ideal relative humidity for a home is around 60%. At these levels, it is almost impossible for mold to form as the fungus is now missing one of its key ingredients: moisture.
To measure the moisture levels in your air at home, you can use a Hygrometer, which will give you an accurate reading of the relative humidity inside.
Moisture levels above 60%? It’s time to roll out a dehumidifier.
Dehumidifiers are available in a wide range of capacities to tackle a variety of spaces and moisture levels. However, no matter the amount of air that needs to be dried, the mechanics of dehumidification remain almost identical.
A dehumidifier, either by using evaporator coils or chemicals, filters the air by absorbing excess moisture and reintroducing the now drier air back into the atmosphere of your home. Over time, a dehumidifier can bring moisture levels back down below 60%, preventing the formation of mold and mildew.
Rent or Buy a Dehumidifier in San Francisco
Safeguard your home against mold and mildew with one of Allied Rental Company’s efficient dehumidifiers. Click here to compare desiccant dehumidifiers in San Francisco, or call us at 415-644-5792.