Will An Air Purifier Help With Mold? How to Get Rid of It

Mold is insidious, with a foul aroma and plenty of health risks. You may be wondering how to handle mold inside your home, questioning how to get rid of mold with an air purifier. Here is some help on how to use the best air purifier to clean mold from the air.

What is Mold?

It can be helpful to understand exactly what mold is before you go about tackling the problem. Mold is a fungus or multicellular organism known for its ability to rapidly reproduce and disperse itself through the air. Mold exposure can cause several health issues, including throat irritation, nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, cough, wheezing, and more.

However, it is not the only environmental pollutant that can affect indoor air quality. Pet dander, dust mites, and other airborne particles are also common pollutants found in homes and offices.

Mold thrives in damp areas of the home where there is organic matter to latch onto. In other words, if you experience a water leak and this water leaks onto wood, you will likely get mold.

To prevent this, technologies like filtration are essential. Filtration comes in different sizes and can easily be incorporated into the home, no matter how much space you have. Different filtration technologies help trap mold spores, meaning they do not reach any other areas of the house that could be contaminated. This helps keep the air free from mold, allowing you to breathe easier.

If you’re already aware of this problem, you’ll want to pick up a good air purifier for mold to start reducing the levels in your home.

Can an Air Purifier Get Rid of Mold?

Certain types of air purifiers will do a good job at removing mold spores from the air, which should reduce the number of adverse health effects. If you are looking to capture mold spores, you will need an air purifier with a high-grade filter. We recommend the use of a true HEPA filter when dealing with mold spores, as these filters will easily trap spores before they can disseminate throughout the rest of your home. You must dispose of this filter once it has done its job.

It is important to note that an air purifier will only reduce mold spores from the air and will do nothing to combat any physical outgrowth of mold. A good air purifier will also reduce mold’s particularly foul and pungent odor, however.

Tips to Eliminate Mold

In addition to running a HEPA-equipped air purifier, there are a number of other ways to get a handle on your mold situation before you get sick.

Fix the Cause

Mold doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Mold is normally caused by a damp environment filled with organic matter such as wood planks. Water leaks are known to cause mold outgrowths when left unrepaired for a period of time. You should perform due diligence to address the root cause of the mold before any other remediation process, otherwise, the mold could just return. The leak could be from a burst pipe behind a wall or in the ceiling so take that into consideration as you budget out repair costs.

Place a Dehumidifier

Mold thrives in humid environments so part of the remediation process should be reducing the overall humidity in your home. An air purifier, like the Levoit LV-PUR131S, will help with this, but your main go-to should be a purpose-built dehumidifier. Place one of these in any rooms where mold has been appearing and let it do its job. Please note, that you will have to regularly empty a dehumidifier’s water tank to keep it operating at peak efficiency.

Professional Remediation

If your mold problem is out of control and you are experiencing adverse health symptoms, it could be time to call in a professional mold remediator. These qualified pros will bring out the big guns to completely eradicate your mold outgrowth. A well-regarded contractor will even place a guarantee on the remediation, returning for free if necessary.

DIY Clean-ups

There are a number of steps you can take on your own to handle a mold problem. Place an air purifier with a HEPA filter in the infected room, along with a dehumidifier. Next, clean all of the surfaces with a homemade cleaning agent. We recommend using vinegar, bleach, and water, though ratios will vary depending on your needs. Finally, place a cup of vinegar in each room where mold has appeared. The vinegar will naturally combat mold spores, though it may take a day or two before you start to see results. Please be careful when taking these steps and wear protective gear. Ensure that you also clean bad odor from your air purifier which may be caused by the build-up when cleaning molds.

Additionally, you can hide your air purifier, if it is an eyesore and still leave it working effectively. This may not help maximize your air purifier efficiency, but if you install a germicidal air purifier in an A/C duct, that’ll keep it hidden.

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