Lots of people worry about the possibility of mold, but not everyone realizes that the garage can be a top spot for mold! And it can be hidden really sneakily. Luckily, you’ve found this article, and we’re going to break down our top 10 expert tips for preventing mold in your garage.
We’re Cleaner Guys, a professional mold removal company with more than 20 years of experience! We’ve been dealing with all things mold for a long time, so you can trust our advice on dealing with mold.
Table of Contents
- What IS Mold?
- What are Signs of Mold in a Garage?
- Is Mold in a Garage Serious or Dangerous?
- Top 10 Expert Ways How to Prevent Mold in a Garage
- How to Clean Mold in a Garage
- Frequently Asked Questions
What IS Mold?
Mold is a fungus that grows wherever it can find moisture, warmth, a food source it can absorb, and oxygen. This means that mold is most commonly found in areas with high levels of humidity, or anywhere there is water damage, like a leak or a flood. Not sure what counts as water damage? Find out in 30 seconds by opening this article in a new tab.
Mold spores are floating around in the air all the time, both inside and outside, just like dust. It doesn’t land and grow just anywhere. But wherever mold spores find excess moisture, like from a leak or condensation, they will land and begin to root and grow, often within 48 hours.
Mold looks like clusters of dark, small spots (see the image below). It can be green, black, grey, yellow, or sometimes brown. It looks and feels fuzzy, grainy, or slimy. Do not touch mold to find out its texture! Touching mold can stir its spores into the air, which can cause mold sickness and irritate your skin. Learn more about this here.
What are Signs of Mold in a Garage?
Sometimes, you can see mold growing on a surface, and then it’s easy to spot! But sometimes, mold grows hidden inside the walls, and you can’t see it. But there are signs you can look for that are strong indications of mold! Below are the top 5 signs of mold to be on the alert for in your garage.
- Musty, foul, or earthy odors. Mold has a distinctive, strong, pungent, musty smell. Pay attention to if you smell anything like these odors when you step into your garage.
- Cracking, bubbling, sagging, or wrinkling in the wall paint. This sign often accompanies discoloration, and is a very strong sign of water damage — and therefore mold — in the walls of your garage.
- Discoloration. Discoloration is primarily a sign of water damage inside a wall, but water damage almost always leads to mold, so there’s probably mold too. “Discoloration” looks like brown or grey stain marks on walls or ceilings, often described as looking like coffee spill stains.
- Water damage in the past. Excess moisture in your home can breed mold within 24-48 hours. If you’ve had any kind of water damage in the past, like a leak or an overflow, and it wasn’t cleaned up by a professional water damage mitigation company, you probably have mold.
- Soft or squishy walls. This is a clear indication that the drywall is saturated with water, which means likely mold growth inside the wall.
This list is an excerpt taken from our more detailed article on all the signs of mold inside walls. Check out the 5 additional signs of mold there by clicking here!
Is Mold in a Garage Serious or Dangerous?
Yes, mold in a garage can be very serious and even dangerous, because it can cause mold sickness! Mold spores cause many people to have an allergic reaction that we call “mold sickness”. Its symptoms can range from mild but never-ending cold symptoms, to extreme and debilitating reactions.
Endless mysterious headaches, sleeplessness, and persistent congestion, coughing, and sneezing are all very common reactions to mold somewhere in the building you spend the most time in.
In fact, one of our most recent jobs here at Cleaner Guys is a prime example of what we’re talking about in this article! An elderly lady called us because she was experiencing terrible headaches that wouldn’t go away, and she had learned that mold can cause headaches. She asked us to come out and inspect her home to see if there was any mold in it.
Can you guess where we found massive mold growth? In her garage (photos below) — a room she rarely went into! And yet, even though the mold was all the way in the garage, it was still affecting her in the house.
Top 10 Expert Ways How to Prevent Mold in a Garage
These are the professional tips that we share regularly with our clients, to help them avoid mold growth in the future! Follow all of them, and you’ll be far, far less likely to see mold in your home.
- Check regularly. Every month or so, look around for any of the signs of mold listed above.
- Get a dehumidifier. Humidity is often the culprit behind mold. Invest in a dehumidifier for the garage if you can, and keep the humidity at 50% or lower.
- Keep garage plumbing from freezing. The most common cause of water damage and mold in winter is pipes that freeze and then burst! Know how to keep that from happening to you with our handy 8-step guide!
- Declutter garage storage. Mold loves to grow on old, slightly damp cardboard and textiles. This means that we very often find mold on the boxes of old brick-a-brack that people leave in their garages for years and years. Do regular decluttering and cleaning in your garage, and you can avoid this common mistake!
- Replace cardboard storage boxes with plastic bins. Doing this might cost a little upfront, but it will save you all that time decluttering regularly! Mold doesn’t like to grow on plastic like it does on cardboard.
- Make sure windows are sealed well. If there are any windows in your garage, Make sure they’re sealed well! Water intrusion through neglected garage windows is common.
- Remove standing water right away. Storms, snow, and rain can drive puddles of water into your garage. Sweep them out as soon as possible to avoid mold!
- Reseal the garage door. If you find water seeping into your garage regularly through your garage door, replace the weather-sealing strips around it!
- Clean regularly. Garages are often the dirtiest, dampest area of the house, because no one bothers to clean them regularly. But that’s how mold thrives! So give your garage a thorough clean every quarter, and make sure mold doesn’t root.
- Invest in annual professional mold inspections. If the elderly lady mentioned in the previous section of this article had invested in annual mold inspections, that nasty mold in her garage would have been caught much sooner, and she wouldn’t have suffered for so long! It’s a bit like insurance; if you invest a small amount now, you’ll save yourself potentially thousands of dollars down the line. Learn more about annual mold inspections here!
How to Clean Mold in a Garage
If the area of visible mold is small (less than 1 square foot), then you can safely scrub it off with an antimicrobial fungicide. But suppose the area of visible mold is larger than that. In that case, the only 100% certain way to get rid of all the mold is to have a professional mold removal company remove the mold-infested materials.
Many unprofessional sources on the internet claim that you can easily clean most mold yourself, with such DIY remedies as vinegar, bleach, rubbing alcohol, and more. As experienced mold experts, we strongly advise you not to try any of these methods. They are all ineffective on mold that covers more than about a 1-square-foot area, and they can actually damage the surface the mold is on! Not to mention bleach and rubbing alcohol emit toxic fumes, and are risky to use.
We’ve published a series of 5-minute articles on the effectiveness — and surprising ineffectiveness — of the most common home remedies people try on mold. Check them out below.
Learn Why Real Mold Professionals Don’t Recommend:
Vinegar on mold (most of the time) ➜
Frequently Asked Questions
If you can seal off the room with mold from the rest of the living area and not go near it, then it can be okay to stay in a home with mold in it. However, mold spores cause mold sickness, so you shouldn’t stay in a home with mold for a long time. It’s best to relocate while the mold is removed. Learn more here.
Touching mold will cause it to release clouds of mold spores, like dandelion seeds. These mold spores can make you sick. Touching mold with bare skin can also cause irritation in that area. You can soothe the irritation, inflammation, or itchiness with aloe vera, soothing lotion, or an oatmeal bath soak.
For mold in an apartment, you should immediately contact your landlord. The mold may be from water intrusion from another unit, or it may be from a leak that the landlord should have fixed. However, not all states legally require landlords to remove mold in their apartments! Washington State doesn’t. Look into the laws around landlord vs tenant responsibility in your state, and check out our full ultimate guide on apartment mold here.
If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of needing a mold removal or mold inspection company in Western Washington State, consider Cleaner Guys as a high-quality, well-trusted option. We’re proud to boast award-winning customer service, lower prices than others, and top-notch workmanship! Contact us today through the menu at the top of your screen.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. No part of this article is medical or legal advice, and may not be used as such. For all serious medical matters, consult your doctor. For all serious legal matters, consult your legal advisor. This article contains Cleaner Guys’ experience and opinions only.
