“I hate to admit it, but we have a mold issue in our house,” Jeannie said. “It’s frustrating and embarrassing – I feel like my kids can never have any of their friends over, because what if they have allergies? And truth be told, I’m worried that this mold might impact their health. I spray with bleach, I try to keep everything very clean, but the problem keeps happening. Can replacing our windows help control mold and mildew?”
If you’re experiencing mold issues in your home, you know how frustrating and overwhelming it can be. Mold needs three things to grow: warmth, a surface to grow on – things like wallboard and roof rafters work really well, and moisture. You need to keep your home warm for your family to live there comfortably, and of course you will need walls and a roof. That means moisture is the only factor in mold growth that you can actually control for – and that’s where replacement windows come into the picture.
Old, leaky windows can let a lot of moisture into your home. This is because there’s no tight seal separating the outdoors from the space where your family lives. Moisture can penetrate around the windows – where the sill sits in the wall – as well as through the window at any point where small cracks, gaps, or other compromises in the window’s structure lets moisture in.
Some rooms in the home have a tendency to be damper than others – the bathroom and kitchen being the prime examples – but mold and mildew can grow anywhere within the home. If you’re considering replacing the windows in your home to alleviate mold and mildew issues, whole home replacement is the ideal. However, if that is not an option, you’ll want to begin with the rooms that have worst mold issues first, as well as any room with a tendency toward dampness. While window replacement won’t completely alleviate a mold issue, it can significantly reduce the amount of moisture in the home – which means the household will be happier and healthier!
