Mold is one of those things that can really hit your health hard. While some people aren’t bothered by it, for others it’s a quick ticket to poor health and so it’s nothing to trifle with. If you’re wondering how to get rid of mold around the bathroom fan, then today is your lucky day!
With a bathroom fan, you’ll want to check that it’s a proper size for the job and that it’s well-ventilated. A dehumidifier can also help to make the conditions inside the bathroom less mold-friendly and a little strategic ducting can also work a treat. It’s all about making the bathroom cleaner and drier!
Today we’ll explore the problem in a little more detail, starting off with why the mold is there in the first place and then following up with the best ways to deal with it. Don’t worry – you’ve got this – it just takes a little strategizing!
Why Is There Mold Around my Bathroom Exhaust Fan?
When mold is rearing its ugly head, it’s all about moisture. Too much water in the air makes an area a perfect place for mold to grow. This can occur from simple local humidity, lack of ventilation, or even a fan that’s too small for the job of airing out the bathroom. Thankfully, it’s easy to fix, once you know the factors!
Can Bathroom Mold Be Harmful?
Some people aren’t bothered by mold, but for others, it can definitely be a detriment to their health. Mold produces spores, which can be inhaled, and depending on how your body deals with it, those spores could be harmless or they could go the other way and make you violently ill!
As such, it’s important to deal with mold as soon as you notice it, as this is a living thing on the walls and it can spread very quickly if left unchecked. As such, let’s look at some ways to get it under control and even to prevent it in the first place.
Leave the Door Open More Often
One of the easiest solutions is the most overlooked – opening the door more often! Bathrooms tend to be tiny unless you’ve done very well for yourself, and a tiny room where water is regularly used from the sink and the toilet… well, let’s just say that the water vapor level is well-received by mold spores!
Opening up the door, unless you live somewhere with a lot of humidity in the air, is the best and easiest way to help dry up the bathroom interior and to make it less ideal for the growth of mold.
So, the number one trick, if you’re wondering how to get rid of mold around the bathroom fan, is to simply let the air circulate more by means of an open door!
Is Your Fan Up to the Job?
Check your bathroom fan. Oftentimes, a small fan is used when the bathroom is a substantial space to ventilate. When this happens, the small fan simply can’t move the air efficiently enough, and mold spores settle and grow.
If this is the case, then it’s time to upgrade, so check the fan to make sure that it’s up to the job ahead of it. It only takes a minute or two and the right fan can make an enormous difference.
Duct-up the Exterior
Make sure that your fan is ducted properly on the exterior side. After you take a hot shower, for instance, a properly ducted exterior helps to draw the heated mist away from the bathroom properly so that it doesn’t settle inside the bathroom itself. This is important, so you’ll definitely want to check it and duct it up if you need to!
A Dehumidifier Can Be a Game-Changer
A dehumidifier helps to remove moisture from the air and can really make a difference in bathrooms where mold is taking hold. Some states, such as Louisiana, have a whole lot of humidity in the air and this can make fighting mold a bit of an uphill battle.
A dehumidifier can really make a difference, so it’s well worth considering if you are fighting mold and seem to be losing of late!
The Sewage Pipes Might Need Cleaning
Sewage buildup is silent and only manifests visibly as slower, less efficient flushing – at least until there’s a clog! The best thing to do to avoid those pipes becoming too clogged is to simply use a bit of preventative maintenance.
For newer plumbing, sometimes this can just be a matter of flushing boiled water down, but you also have commercial drain cleaning options such as ‘Drano’ and other cleaning chemicals that should help to deal with clogs before they can become a bigger problem.
If you don’t, then this ‘dirty water’ isn’t visible, but it’d definitely help that mold along, so be sure to schedule some regular maintenance for those sewage pipes. A little goes a long way and it can save you a lot of money – as those of you who’ve experienced flooding or worse from a clog can attest.
Consider Glossing up Your Bathroom Paint
Gloss paint is pretty, but it’s also ‘pretty useful’. High gloss paints, as it turns out, have quite a lot of resistance to mold.
The smooth, shiny colors are simply too hard for the mold to get a proper foothold on, so if you have problems with mold around your fan then consider redecorating the area with a fresh coat of glossy paint. You’ll be happy that you did!