We’ve mentioned before about how bathroom vents play a key and critical role in helping to reduce and eliminate humidity in your home. The reality is that removing humidity after a bath or shower is key to prevent mold from growing or developing in your living areas.
So, once you have a bathroom vent installed, it’s important to regularly focus on maintenance and insulation.
Here are 5 easy and simple ways to get your bathroom vents ready for winter (even if you aren’t!).
1. Clean the intake grates to make sure that air can flow through freely.
Intake grates often get coated with fluff, lint and other things from regular use, so make sure they are clean and not sticky or coated with anything that could prevent air from flowing freely. Overall, a decrease in air flow reduces the vent’s ability to remove humidity.
It can also cause your fan’s motor to overheat and then reduce its use and lifespan!
2. Ensure the space between the fan’s housing and the drywall continues to have a tight seal.
When an exhaust fan is installed, experts advise that the opening made in the wall or ceiling to house the unit should only be as large as needed to house the device; however, sometimes do-it-yourself-ers or even professional contractors create a hole that is much larger than necessary.
It’s important to ensure a tight seal between the fan and drywall and to periodically check it. Foam insulation or caulk can be used to ensure a tight seal.
We recommend checking it at least every change of season.
3. Insulate any vent pipes that go through a “cold space” before they exit to the outdoors.
Proper and adequate insulation will help reduce and prevent condensation on the pipe’s exterior as warm exhaust air passes through the cold space. One example of a cold space is your attic. Condensation that passes through an attic, for example, can lead to unchecked mold growth there and elsewhere.
4. Ensure that exhaust air is not being redirected somewhere else, such as into an attic, soffit, crawlspace or other areas inside your home, or within another adjoining or adjacent dwelling unit.
5. Ensure a flapper is installed on the vent pipe outside the home in order to prevent cold air from backflowing or returning into the bathroom.
Are you battling a mold problem or potential problem in your bathroom or elsewhere in your home? Call us for a free phone consult at 416-575-6111 and we can help ensure your bathroom venting is in tip top condition!
Is Toronto on the verge of a backlash against “slum landlords” and the unsanitary conditions they permit or foster in the buildings they own?
It appears that way. The Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, comprised of 20,000 citizens, wants a crackdown. Of the 5,000 multi-residential buildings in the city, far too many have become infested with cockroaches and toxic black mold.
The mold problem is becoming particularly concerning during the city’s powerful heat wave, during which the absurdly humid conditions can foster mold growth in floor tiles, ceilings, fans, drywall and more.
Various residents complain that their landlords either “do nothing” when faced with complaints over bugs and mold or take far too long. Mold isn’t something to be left alone. It cause respiratory problems and can exacerbate asthma, especially in youths.
If your landlord isn’t helping to fix your mold problem, there are a few steps you can take. The city does have a program designed to inspect rental apartment buildings for tenants who feel ignored by their landlords. But the process can still take time as there are a limited number of inspectors.
Another route is to hire a Toronto mold inspections company, which doesn’t cost nearly as much as you may think. The sooner you remove the mold, the better, as the spores can spread and keep multiplying. A good mold inspection and removal company will eliminate the problem in a manner that prevents it from coming back.
Better yet, if you do get a mold removal or inspection, consider enlisting the help of a group like the ACORN to make sure your neglectful landlord foots the bill!
MoldInspections.ca is the trusted leader for mold-free homes and breathable indoor air spaces in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and beyond. Providing certified mold inspection, detection and testing since 2005, we service home owners, real-estate agents, landlords, property managers, insurance companies and businesses. Featured on CTV and recommended by contractors, we regularly serve as expert witnesses in court proceeding relating to Mold and Indoor Air Quality issues. Do you have mold? Call us today for a free quote at (416) 575-6111.
Why do you need a mold inspection?
1. Most of the time, mold is not visible on surfaces. Mold spores are not visible to the human eye although they are everywhere. The mold inspection is integral to the building owner and occupants so that the problem area can be pinpointed. Our mold inspection is not designed to find the obvious mold growth but the not so obvious.
2. Working with a mold removal contractor is easiest when a fungal assessment of the building/problem area is performed. The mold removal contractor’s environmental insurance requires that testing is performed.
MoldInspections.ca has inspectors that perform hundreds of inspections every year for homes, institutions and commercial properties. The assessments are done with state of the art equipment and a detailed report of all the findings. The mold removal contractor then uses our recommendations as a Scope of Work for the remediation project.
In general, when dealing with a mold issue indoors we want to know the size of affected area, the level of contamination including types of molds and airborne concentrations and the source of the moisture so that we can prevent future mold growth.
