Standard mold remediation is always the best way to deal with a mold problem, but, understandably, not everyone can afford it immediately.
The longer you spend inside of a home that’s in need of mold removal, the more likely it is that any symptoms you’re experiencing may continue to worsen.
Mold remediation doesn’t have to be expensive, and any good mold removal company will usually work with you to explain what they plan to do, and how costs can be lowered.
Still, adjusting a large bid or scope of work might still leave you with a mold removal project that doesn’t fit within your available budget.
Insurance & Financing
Insurance is also an option, but there are pros and cons to using it, such as high deductible, limited coverage, and increased insurance rates going forward.
Many mold removal or mold remediation companies also offer financing. Here at Mold Solutions, we’ve partnered with a firm that offers the best financing options we could find, which includes some 0% APR options. View our Financing page here.
If financing and insurance aren’t options, there are still things you can do to reduce mold and improve your home’s health.
DIY Mold Reduction Tips, Free or Cheap
So, what’s a homeowner to do if they need mold remediation but can’t afford it? Do this.
These suggestions are either free or extremely inexpensive, and they’ll help you put off mold remediation while you work to gather your funds.
(But, as stated earlier, standard mold remediation will always be your best choice, and it may even be cheaper in the long run, since the cost of not doing it when needed could be increased medical or home service bills.)
1. Open Windows if Weather Is Nice
Opening windows—if outdoor humidity is low (below 50%)—can improve indoor air quality as well as reduce the concentration of mold spores within your home and air, as well as the microscopic “volatile organic compounds” or mycotoxins that mold can create and release.
2. Reduce Indoor Humidity
High humidity levels alone are often enough to cause mold growth because mold is microscopic. The little moisture in the air that might feel only unpleasant to a home’s occupants, could be more than enough moisture to allow mold to grow. Its spores are microscopic after all. To reduce humidity, run ceiling fans, open windows when the weather is clear and dry, and clean up spills or leaks quickly.
3. Clean & Dust Your Home
Dust, dead skin cells, pet dander, and dirt are all things that mold can grow on, and very easily so. Since the growth of mold often causes (and depends upon) there being something organic that the mold can break down and “digest,” dusting, vacuuming, cleaning, and reducing dust, pet dander, hair, etc., are all effective ways to reduce or prevent mold growth, and to improve your indoor air quality.
4. Some Plants Can Help
Plants are a bit trickier, as some will increase indoor humidity while others will reduce it. Whatever plants you do have at home, be sure not to overwater them, or to spill water around them. Snake plants, spider plants, and peace lilies are great choices for indoor air quality improvement, as they purify the air—at least a little bit. Fake plants won’t improve indoor air quality, and some will worsen it, as cheap plastics and vinyls are used to make them, and they “off-gas” or spit small particles (VOCs) into the air.
5. Change Your A/C Filters (More) Often
Changing your A/C filters improves indoor air quality, and you may need or want to do so more often than recommended by manufacturers. If you have pets, live in a dusty area, or feel your indoor air quality isn’t great, consider changing your filters out more often.
6. Do DIY Mold Removal (Small Areas, Certain People Only)
If the mold in your home is less than 10 square-feet—about the size of a regular window—you can often safely remove it on your own. However, there are times you should not do so: If you yourself are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or if there are infants in the home, you should hire a mold removal specialist. If you truly can not do so, you should do any DIY mold removal while they (your child) is not at home, not open up walls or move furniture, and be very observant of what happens after your DIY project: If your child gets ill, please seek both medical and mold removal help as you may have “kicked a hornet’s nest” and made your mold problem even worse.
7. Open Curtains, Let Sunlight In
Sunlight inhibits (slows or prevents) mold growth, so opening your curtains when the sun is shining is a decent way to reduce mold growth—it won’t solve an existing mold problem, but can help you to prevent further mold problems.
8. Run a Dehumidifier ($20 on Amazon, Walmart)
Your A/C is your biggest and best dehumidified, but running it all day is expensive. Instead—or in addition to that—you can buy a $20 dehumidifier (or several) from Amazon or Walmart, and place them in the areas of your home you spend the most time in, as well as the bedrooms. Dehumidifiers will literally suck water out of thin air, and aside from being scientifically fascinating, they’ll greatly improve your indoor air quality and help prevent mold growth.
9. Run Ceiling & Exhaust Fans
Your bathroom fans removes steam and moisture while you shower, shave, etc., and it should be running during your shower and for 10-20 minutes afterward. If you steam on your mirror, there’s enough moisture there to cause mold growth. Any ceiling fans you have in the home can also help circulate your indoor air, reducing humidity. Turn them off while you dust and vacuum and for a few minutes afterward as any remaining dust settles, but turn them back on throughout the day.
10. Spend More Time Outdoors (Daily/Often)
Once you have your home nicely cleaned, and your ceiling fans and dehumidifiers are running, you can and should spend some more time outdoors than you might normally do. If you work from home, this could mean going out to a local coffee place with a laptop, or just taking walks more often. If your home is in fact the source of your mold allergies or other symptoms, you’ll likely notice that they get less (get better) when you’re away from home, and then get a bit worse while you’re at home. So, spending more time outdoors daily can help you.
11. Get a Free Consultation from Mold Solutions
We offer free environmental consultations to homeowners in Clearwater and throughout the Tampa Bay area. When you call us, or fill out the short form on our website, we can come out to your home free of charge, and give you our two cents on the size and scope of the mold problem you might be dealing with.
We’ve seen all of the best and worst-case scenarios, and will work with you and your resources to help all that we can.
That’s another way to make mold remediation less expensive: Spot and solve the exact source of the problem, rather than targeting and treating a huge part of the home that may have been fine all along.
You may be in a situation that warrants immediate mold removal, and it is always best to at least have it checked out. But times are tough and the above free or cheap DIY methods of indoor air quality improvement are valid and hopefully helpful.
Economic factors and the rising cost of living are another reason our Free Environmental Consultation is so valuable—it’s 100% free, and we’ll give you all the best advice we can.
Request a Free Environmental Consultation here.
