Garages often collect moisture because they're not connected to your home's central air system, even if the garage is attached to your home. Air conditioning removes moisture from the air, which is why the air in your home can feel comfortable while the air in your garage feels very humid.
When the humidity is high, mold will start to grow on any surface in your garage that provides food for them to eat, like wood, drywall, and sheetrock. Fixing the problem requires killing the mold and dehumidifying your garage to prevent mold from coming back.
Thankfully, removing mold from a garage is easier than removing mold from your home. Since it's not connected to your home's HVAC system, there's little risk that the released mold spores will migrate through the air and cause a mold problem elsewhere — they're confined to your garage. To learn how you can successfully get mold out of your garage, read on.
Kill the Mold in Your Garage
The best way to kill mold in your garage is to use a biocide spray that's specifically designed for killing mold. You can find these sprays at most hardware stores, and they will kill mold and its spores on contact.
You'll also need to purchase a respirator from the hardware store in order to protect yourself from the mold spores that will be released when you start disturbing the mold in your garage — inhaling the mold spores can cause health problems, especially if they're black mold spores.
Once you're wearing your respirator, carefully inspect your entire garage for mold and spray it with the biocide. Pay extra attention to areas near the ceiling of the garage, since this is where the most moisture accumulates — the rising warm air brings moisture with it. Once you've sprayed all of the mold in your garage in order to kill it, you'll need to stop it from coming back.
Dry Out Your Garage to Prevent Mold Returning
You should start by checking the roof of the garage for any leaks, as this can be a major source of moisture intrusion in garages. If you notice any signs of water damage like spots or rotting areas near the ceiling, you most likely have a leak in the roof of your garage — you'll need to have it fixed in order to solve your mold problem.
You'll also need to improve your garage's ventilation in order to stop moisture from building up in the garage and allowing mold to grow. The easiest way to improve ventilation is to have an exhaust fan installed in your garage. An exhaust fan will remove humid air from the garage and bring in air from outside, preventing moisture from building up.
However, an exhaust fan may not be adequate during the summer if you live in a very humid climate. An exhaust fan will cause outside air to enter your garage, and you'll still have a mold problem if the outside air is humid enough to support mold growth. In this case, you'll need to purchase a portable humidifier and run it in your garage during the most humid months of the year.
If mold comes back even after taking steps to dry out your garage or it seems like the mold in your garage is starting to spread inside your home, it's best to call a residential mold abatement service. A mold abatement service will both remove the mold inside of your home and your garage without spreading the spores, and they'll advise you on the best way to keep the humidity in your garage low enough to prevent mold growth.
For more information, contact a local company, like Decon Enviromental.
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