Every year we look forward to the cooler days of fall.  We enjoy being outside in the beautiful weather and watching the leaves change color. However, fall can be a challenging time for mold sufferers.  Even when the insides of our homes are clean, and the indoor air quality is not compromised by mold growth, the cooler, wetter conditions outside, combined with the fallen leaves on the ground, can create a dangerous breeding habitat for mold.

When leaves fall onto your yard and cover the ground, the sunshine cannot penetrate to warm and dry everything out.  Then, when the leaves get wet and decay, mold forms, and the areas right outside your door reach mold counts that are TNTC (Too Numerous to Count). In other words, dead leaves and water combine to allow mold to grow into large, countless colonies of mold.  Any breeze or disruption of the ground cover releases all of these mold spores into the air. These airborne mold spores can then hitchhike directly into your home on your shoes and clothes.

Thus, if you are mold sensitive, you have a dilemma:  How do I avoid leaf accumulation without raking leaves and disrupting the mold that makes me sick?

A few helpful hints can help mitigate the situation:

  • Have someone else, such as a lawn service, rake and dispose of your leaves regularly for you.
  • If you have to rake them yourself, wear a 3m respirator mask (available at Home Depot or Lowe’s) and disposable gloves during the chore. Then, make sure to carefully remove your shoes outside. Also remove your outer garments outside or just inside your door, and place them in a plastic bag and seal it until you can wash them separately from your other laundry with the EC3 Laundry Additive.  This will prevent bringing the mold into all areas of your home and getting it on your furniture.
  • Before bringing your shoes back inside, mist them with EC3 Mold Spray or mix a spray with the EC3 Mold Solution Concentrate per package directions. When allowed to air dry, the spray will clean the mold spores completely from the surfaces of your shoes.
  • Avoid mowing over leaves to collect them. While convenient, the excessive disruption of the leaves can spread alarming amounts of the microscopic mold spores into the air.
  • If you use leaves to make mulch or save organic materials to make compost, STOP! Mulch and Compost are created by mold degradation of the organic matter.  This can be disastrous for mold sufferers and allergies!

Pet Owners

But what about out domestic family members who must go outside and into the leaves for walks, play, exercise, or biological reasons?  Their coats attract mold spores, and your pets can track unnerving amounts of mold into the house.  You may not think about the line where a physician might suggest you to get rid of your pet.

You can mist them with the all-natural and safe EC3 Mold Spray upon reentry to your home. Follow that with a brushing or toweling to make sure the spray covers their coat, especially their legs, feet, and underbelly.  You can then just allow it to air dry.

When you employ some of these simple tips, fall can still be an enjoyable season.

Print