Monsoon Mold Prevention Checklist

Mould will not grow without moisture. That is EPA’s principle, and every item on this checklist follows from it. Tick through it before, during and after the rains.

Why it works

Mould needs moisture, oxygen and organic material. Oxygen and organic material are everywhere; moisture is what you control. EPA’s indoor target is relative humidity below 60 percent, ideally 30 to 50. On textiles, conservation research found mould appears in one to five days at 80 to 90 percent, and leather in about ten days at 80 percent.

Before the rains

Water out

• ☐ Terrace and roof drains cleared
• ☐ Wall cracks and past damp patches checked
• ☐ Window sealant and frame drain holes checked
• ☐ Balcony drains cleared
• ☐ Plumbing leaks repaired
• ☐ AC drain pipes checked

Storage

• ☐ Wardrobes emptied, worn clothes washed, everything sun dried
• ☐ Leather cleaned and moved to top shelves
• ☐ Wardrobes pulled off outside walls
• ☐ Gaps left between stacks
• ☐ Books and documents off floors and outside walls

Tools

• ☐ Hygrometer in the bedroom and the main wardrobe
• ☐ Charcoal bags sun dried and placed in wardrobes, bathroom, shoe rack and car
• ☐ Car cabin filter replaced, AC evaporator cleaned if it smelled musty

Every day

• ☐ Exhaust fan or window open while cooking
• ☐ Bathroom fan or window open while showering
• ☐ Towels hung spread out
• ☐ No worn clothes back in the wardrobe
• ☐ Clothes from the line finished drying indoors before storing
• ☐ No laundry drying in the bedroom

Every dry spell

• ☐ Windows open for cross ventilation
• ☐ Wardrobe doors open for an hour
• ☐ Shoes, bags and bedding in the sun
• ☐ Charcoal bags in the sun for two to three hours

Every week

• ☐ Hygrometer readings checked; act if above 70 percent for a week
• ☐ Leather checked for white bloom
• ☐ Water poured into rarely used floor drains
• ☐ Bin washed and dried
• ☐ Car footwells press tested, boot floor lifted
• ☐ Behind furniture on outside walls checked for damp

When something gets wet

• ☐ Source stopped
• ☐ Dried within 24 to 48 hours (EPA: in most cases mould will not grow if dried in this window)
• ☐ Leak repaired

When mould appears

• ☐ Item removed and cleaned outside the room
• ☐ Growth physically removed, not just sprayed (dead mould can still cause allergic reactions)
• ☐ Moisture source fixed at the same time

After the rains

• ☐ Wardrobes emptied and checked
• ☐ Musty items washed and sun dried
• ☐ Bathroom grout and ceiling cleaned
• ☐ Walls behind furniture checked
• ☐ Charcoal bags that worked through the season replaced
• ☐ Car cabin filter replaced if it has been a very wet season

Where a charcoal bag fits

Wardrobes, shoe racks, bathroom cabinets and cars are enclosed air, where room ventilation does not reach. In a sealed 200 square foot chamber, relative humidity fell from 82.0 percent to 42.3 percent over 48 hours with a Dr. CHARCOAL bag present (report MS-240119-03). In 24 hour contact testing to AATCC 100, the material reduced Aspergillus niger by 96.63 percent against control (report BT-240119-01).

On the sunlight instruction: What sunlight does is dry the bag, freeing pore volume that water vapour had taken up.

Keep reading

• How to Prevent Mold
• Complete Guide to Monsoon Home Care
• Monsoon Odor Survival Guide
• Protecting Your Home During Monsoon
• Monsoon Wardrobe Care
• Monsoon Car Care
• White Fungus in Wardrobes
• How Mold Grows
• Complete Guide to Mold & Mildew

Sources

1. US EPA. A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home. https://www.epa.gov/mold/brief-guide-mold-moisture-and-your-home
2. US EPA. Mold Course Chapter 2. https://www.epa.gov/mold/mold-course-chapter-2
3. Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI Note 13/15: Mould Growth on Textiles. https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/canadian-conservation-institute-notes/mould-growth-textiles.html
4. Canadian Conservation Institute. Technical Bulletin 26: Mould Prevention and Collection Recovery. https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/technical-bulletins/mould-prevention-collection-recovery.html
5. Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI Note 8/1: Removing Mould from Leather. https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/canadian-conservation-institute-notes/removing-mould-leather.html
6. Park C et al. Dominance of Biofilm-Forming Methylobacterium Species in the Evaporator Cores of Automobile Air-Conditioning Systems. mSphere 2020;5(1). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6968652/
7. General Motors Service Bulletin 99-01-39-004F, HVAC Odor Correction Procedure, via US NHTSA. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2014/MC-10138594-9999.pdf
8. ITS Laboratory, Noida (NABL TC-6179). Report MS-240119-03, Humidity reduction, 31 Jan 2019. Held on file, available on request.
9. ITS Laboratory, Noida (NABL TC-6179). Report BT-240119-01, Anti-microbial analysis, AATCC 100-2012, 31 Jan 2019. Held on file, available on request.

Dr. CHARCOAL non electric air purifiers. Activated carbon for cars, wardrobes, bathrooms and homes. No electricity. No fragrance. No Smell is the Best Smell.