Fight Mold

Mold is not a problem in most new homes. Older homes with crawl spapes, or stone basements are another problem altogether.

We have a hold in our basement floor that fills with water. We put about one-half jug of bleach in it to kill mold every spring. We have also white washed the walls. I know that it is old fashioned, but we found nothing else that could protect against mold as well. Once mold is there - you need to pay a professional to get it out.

Even if you bleach an area with a mold problem, you won't get it all. I've heard of a few homeowners with mold in a closet. They treated it without success. When they finally pulled the walls out, they found the problem went through several rooms - the mold crawled up the house. They needed to rip everything out and redo it to eliminate the mold. Even still - they whitewashed the wood to stop further growth.

Mold is one of those problems that are easier to prevent than cure. We keep a heater in the basement through the winter months to prevent mold. We also wash walls down with bleach once a year. It doesn't take long, but so far our house is good.

Another trick is to put a heat lamp in areas where mold might grow. Just go to the co-op or farm store and buy one used on chickens. They are big, and red, but will work just fine in any normal light outlet. They give off heat, but also a light that (appears) to retard the growth of mold.