How to Prevent the Onset of Mold in Closets

The last thing you want to find in your custom closets is mold. Not only does mold add an awful, musty odor to your closets and its contents, but it can also damage your clothing and other items. 

Mold can grow anywhere in your home, but your closets provide the perfect conditions for mold to thrive - dark, damp, and warm with no air circulation. The best way to avoid the onset of mold is to limit the amount of moisture and humidity. 

This article provides essential tips to help stave off the onset of mold in your custom closets.

Every few months, give your closets a thorough cleaning. Remove all items, making sure to empty cabinets and drawers. Wipe all hard surfaces with soap and water. Vacuum or sweep your closet floors. Consider steam-cleaning carpeting. Before returning your belongings to the closet, ensure all surfaces are dry.

Packing your clothing too tightly together prevents air from circulating within your closets. Moisture builds up in areas with poor air circulation. To open up more space in your closets, Affordable Custom Closets & Garages advises decluttering and organizing your clothing periodically and purging anything you no longer want. For additional organizing tips, check out Four Steps for Organizing Your Custom Closets.

Inspect your closet’s interior regularly for water damage from leaky pipes or air conditioning ducts. Dry the wet or damp area and repair leaks as soon as possible. Replace old or rusty pipes to prevent future leaks.

When moisture can’t escape, it builds up in the air and accumulates on hard surfaces as condensation. To improve airflow, keep your closet doors open as much as possible. Place a fan near the door to increase air circulation. For closets near a bathroom, keep the closet doors closed when the shower is on. 

Let clothing, shoes, linens, and towels dry completely before storing them in your closets. The moisture remains in the air after evaporating, causing mold to grow.

Plastic traps humidity and moisture. Remove clothing from plastic dry-cleaning bags before hanging. In addition, do not use sealed plastic storage containers. Store any clothing or linens in baskets or boxes with holes, for better airflow.

The Environmental Protection Agency recommends maintaining “indoor humidity levels below 60 percent but ideally between 30 and 50 percent.” Use a dehumidifier or air conditioner in your closets to remove moisture from the air. Another option is to install an exhaust fan to reduce humidity levels.

Dirt and organic substances encourage mold growth. Mold damages many fabrics including cotton, linen, rayon, silk, and wool. To protect your clothing, ensure that everything you put inside your closets is clean. It’s also a good idea to keep your laundry hamper somewhere other than your closet.

When humidity gets trapped, it causes a musty odor. Do not keep highly absorbent items such as blankets, pillows, and towels in your closets.

Do not store anything on your closet floors in case a water leak occurs. Instead, find a home for each of your items.

To help eliminate additional moisture and humidity in your custom closets, Hunker.com recommends installing a low-wattage light bulb and turning it on for four to six hours per day.  Keep clothing and other flammable material away from the bulb.

To prevent airborne mold spores from entering your closets, use an air purifier with a HEPA filter. Make sure to clean the filter every week to avoid mold growth.

Whenever moisture is present, there is the potential for unsightly mold. Reducing moisture and humidity is the best defense against mold growth. Use the advice in this article to “mold-proof” your custom closets.

Sources

• https://www.nccustomclosets.com/four-steps-for-organizing-custom-closets
• https://www.epa.gov/mold/brief-guide-mold-moisture-and-your-home
• https://www.hunker.com/12162535/how-to-control-closet-humidity