Protect Your Porch from Mold and Mildew with These Tips

There’s certainly no better way to spend your spring and summer than out on your deck or porch. But this structure will require regular maintenance to keep it looking like it did when originally installed. From frequent painting to power washing to staining to sweeping, it takes a lot of effort to keep a porch looking nice.

It’s one thing to keep the dirt and debris off your porch, but one of the main challenges of keeping it clean is preventing mold from growing. Especially for wood patios, the building materials are porous, and mold can grow easily within the wood. Concrete is also porous, but mold can be removed with a simple power-washing job.

Mold has the ability to grow anywhere as long as there is moisture and an organic food source.

How to Find Mold

Mold often grows behind walls, under floors, and certainly underneath and within the cracks of patios. So, it’s common for mold to grow without you even noticing. The key is to know exactly what to look for. Mold can grow in a variety of colors, including white-grey, greenish-blue, and black. It can also be found in dark, wet, and humid spaces, like on, underneath, and in between the wooden boards of your patio. Typical temperatures for mold and mildew to grow can range anywhere between 77- and 88 degrees Fahrenheit, with humidity levels ranging from 62 to 93 percent.

When searching for mold, be sure to check all spaces on, within, and under your porch. This includes patio furniture, nearby bushes and flowers, outdoor lighting, a grill, and everything else on your porch. Finding mold quickly will help prevent it from spreading and causing serious damage.

Dangers of Mold

Once mold develops, it disperses its spores into the air and search for other dark, damp spaces to inhabit. The spores in the air can also trigger a number of health issues, like asthma, itchy eyes and throat, nasal congestion, coughing, sneezing, and much more.

Mold and mildew are also harmful to your porch. Once it grows, it eats away at cellulose, an organic material within the building materials. If the mold is not moved right away, it can cause staining, buckling, and weakening within the building structure. If left alone for the long term, affected areas of the porch may need to be replaced.

How to Remove Mold

Depending on the type of building material used for the porch, different mold removal methods may be used. Just be sure to conduct the cleaning process on a dry, warm day to allow the wet building materials to dry in the sun. Check out the following types below:

• Cement: Simply power wash the cement and be sure to reach within the cracks. Also check the sides, railings and underneath the porch.
• Wood: Use vinegar or a chemical spray containing mildewcide and scrub the affected area with a firm wire brush. Be careful not to use a chemical that can corrode the wood.

After cleaning the structure, allow it to sit in the sun and dry. Then inspect the affected areas to make sure no stains or spots remain. You may need to repeat the cleaning process a few times.

If you still have trouble, be sure to call a mold remediation professional. Leaving mold and mildew on your porch is not something to ignore as it will spread and cause more damage. A mold removal contractor will use advanced products to remove all cases and restore a like-new condition within your porch.

Ensure that your porch has some sun exposure to remove any moisture

How to Prevent Mold on Your Porch

It is a lot easier to protect your porch from mold and mildew than to remove it. Check out these tips on keeping it clean and dry.

• Remove any items lying on your porch, including bins, tools, and other non-essentials.
• Limit as much shaded area as possible. This can include adjusting plants and moving furniture to allow as much of the sun’s heat to keep your porch dry.
• Get rid of mold and mildew food sources by sweeping off dirt and dust.
• Use household cleaners or soap and water to scrub down the porch every few weeks.
• Allow for proper drying time at the end of the day if you hose down the porch.
• If you’re painting, use fungicidal paint to create a barrier between moisture and the porch building materials.
• Don’t hesitate to remove any mold as soon as you find it, using either bleach, vinegar, or a pressure washer.
• Inspect the porch frequently if there has been a lot of rain.
• Allow all patio furniture and other wet items to dry in the sun after rain.

More Tips to Keep Your Porch Looking Nice

A clean porch is certainly an inviting porch, but here are some other steps to accentuate its appearance:

• Sweep at least once each week
• Paint or stain the porch to keep it looking fresh and/or like-new
• Pressure wash or hose it down once a month
• Bleach it twice a month

Mold Removal Services

As mentioned, mold can be a pesky substance that is difficult to remove and it can come back quite easily. Depending on the amount of moisture, homeowners may be overwhelmed with the amount of mold and decide to call in a professional. If you have found yourself in this situation, this would be a good idea.

When searching for a local business, it’s important to find a professional who is IICRC-certified, trained and licensed to provide the service. This will protect not only the porch from future cases of mold, but you from having to spend more money on a second service.

Qualified, experienced mold removal contractors will identify all cases of mold, even within hidden areas on porches. They will then create a barrier to prevent it from spreading, although a specialized barrier may be needed outside.

Advanced products and equipment are then used to remove all cases of mold at the source, including any remaining bacteria. Finally, the affected areas will be dried using professional drying equipment and techniques to prevent it from returning in the future. A final inspection will be made to ensure all mold is removed.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.