Keeping your kitchen clean and mold free
Part one of the Mold in your kitchen series revealed a list of surprising places mold can hide in the kitchen. Part two delved into the tools, cleaners, and methods to properly clean mold in your kitchen. In this final post of the series, you’ll learn how to maintain a mold free kitchen where you and your loved ones breathe easier and enjoy the fresh, clean space.
You’ve invested the time and resources to create a healthy, mold free kitchen – protecting this valuable asset can be easy with the right tools and techniques in place. The first step is easy and completely free and you just need a little space on your calendar.
Now is an ideal time to make a basic maintenance schedule for cleaning, filter changes, leak detection, and testing for toxins. Mold can grow and multiply in only a few days, so keeping track of unexpected leaks, and testing the toxin levels will help you recognize a situation before it becomes a bigger problem. After following the detailed cleaning procedures list on our resources page, and reading MFM’s posts about finding and removing mold, you are fully prepared to enjoy your mold free kitchen.
This simple checklist is a useful guide to maintaining the healthy kitchen you have created
Clean regularly (see detailed list for frequency, methods, and cleaners)
Use technology to detect leaks asap
Keep up with removing and replacing contaminated items
Test the space quarterly or more often if your health care professional recommends
The importance of regular cleaning cannot be overstated. If you or your house cleaning team keep up with properly cleaning the hard surfaces, replacing the kitchen sponge as needed, and vacuum weekly with a HEPA vacuum- but forget about cleaning a few places like the refrigerator drip pan or to Swiffer thoroughly around the windowsills – invisible mold can accumulate significantly in a few days. Posting a paper checklist inside a kitchen cabinet where you look daily and checking the box as it is completed is an easy, low tech way to stay on track with the cleaning. If you live by your digital calendar- setting up reminders and checking off completed items is just a few taps.
You might also find friendly reminders are useful for keeping up with replacement filters and items that can quickly become contaminated with mold like sponges or filters.
Here’s a list of common items found in the kitchen that should definitely be replaced regularly to maintain a mold free kitchen:
-Air purifier filters (iqair filter pack Alen Levoit)
-HVAC filters
-Water filters (Brita Soma PurPlus Aquasana
–Kitchen sponges)
-Plastic food container lids (replace with beeswax covers as needed)
-Most vent hood filters (look for more environmentally friendly washable replacements)
-Blender bowls (search Amazon or directly from the manufacturer)
–Dried spices, fruits, nuts, oils*
-Refrigerator deodorizers (baking soda too)
-Swiffer pads and dusters
–Towels & cleaning cloths
-HEPA vacuum bags (Miele, ProTeam)
Another method to safeguard your health is to monitor the current moisture levels in your kitchen. Though mold can exist in very dry climates, it is more prevalent in areas with humidity above 20%. Toxins can quickly become dangerous when wet areas are left untreated in common kitchen locations like behind sinks, or when a window frame becomes compromised allowing rainwater to sneak inside the walls. Scheduling quarterly or biannual inspections with a mold inspection specialist is a great idea whenever your budget allows. These professionals are trained to look in the places we don’t typically look, and have all the professional tools & resources to test suspicious discoveries.
If you prefer a more hands on approach, or your budget does not allow for the professional mold inspection service, there are DIY options to detect and monitor water damage in your kitchen.
Here are a few common tools & techniques to keep you informed about surprise leaks in your kitchen:
Utilizing handheld moisture meters
Plugging in a simple leak detection probe (app driven or battery operated)
Scanning monthly with a quality Thermal Camera attachment for your smartphone (a handheld tool to discover cool (‘wet’) areas, before they grow)
If a leak is discovered, repairing and remediating sooner rather than later will save time, money, and wellbeing. Some tools can even be rented for less than $20 from your local hardware store- there’s no reason not to regularly monitor your kitchen or any other part of your home for seasonal leaks or other water intrusion.
In less than fifteen minutes, you can open up your calendar and add quarterly reminders or call and schedule four appointments with a mold inspection team to safeguard your year ahead.
Maintaining a mold free kitchen would not be complete without also including regular testing and monitoring HERSMI scores for changes in mold, fungus, and bacteria counts. One can become overwhelmed with the choices of tests available for purchase and might even be tempted to skip the testing step. You have put in a lot of hard work and made the investments to get this far to create a healthy, mold free kitchen. Testing quarterly is a clear way to ensure it is maintained. Any reputable Mold Inspection service will already include testing when they inspect your home. If you prefer a completely unbiased result and follow the testing procedures closely, you can easily administer home testing.
Here are a few credible sources for testing your kitchen for mold and other biotoxins:
Envirobiomics: USA lab with fast turnaround that offers discounted combination kits including the number eight package that tests molds, bacteria, and fungus. Affordable dust allergen kits are also available. No doctors order is required.
An effective testing procedure for difficult to locate biotoxin sources is Restcon Environmental. The Pathways Testing kit is extremely useful locating where toxins are concentrated so the source can be properly remediated. The Pathways Testing procedure is also extremely useful during remediation or new construction to pinpoint invisible sources before they become hazardous.
For Additional testing laboratories- see our resources page, and always consult with your CIRS medical professional for guidance. The tests commonly available on Amazon for ‘too good to be true’ prices are not appropriate for thorough testing needed by people suffering from biotoxin exposure like Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome or Lyme disease, or Long Covid.
Planning ahead will ensure your kitchen remains mold free, even when you are away from home or have several obligations in your calendar. There’s no time better than this moment to take control of your health, and the kitchen is a high priority place to start. A mold free kitchen combined with a low amylose diet is a recipe for successful healing. It’s time to make regular cleaning, monitoring, and testing as important of a line item in your calendar as garbage day or doctor appointments. If you missed part one and two of this three part series- click or tap below to dive in and reclaim your health!
Part one: Understanding sources of mold in your kitchen
Part two: Removing mold, fungus, and bacteria in the kitchen
Part three: Keeping your kitchen clean and mold free
mmm… reward yourself with a square or two of vegan, mold free chocolate for reading the entire post 😉