You may view living in a mobile home as one of the best decisions you ever made. You love it for financial and practical reasons, and you even try to sell your friends on the idea whenever you can. But, you know no home is perfect, so you and those friends you’re sharing with are wondering about the health risks of mobile homes.
HEALTH RISKS OF MOBILE HOMES: MOLD AND MILDEW
To begin with, do you ever notice that black or green stuff that is on the ceiling in your bathroom, or the walls on your shower? Most likely, it’s mold or mildew. Both are common foes in most homes, but mobile homes may suffer more so because of their small size, and inability to circulate air as well as larger homes.
Mold and mildew are fungi that can grow on basically anything. But they especially like to make their homes on any damp surfaces, or humid locations they can find. As a result, they can pose many health risks, such as asthma, eczema, upper and lower respiratory symptoms, and respiratory infections, to name a few. It’s important to take steps to avoid them as much as possible.
HOW TO AVOID AND TAKE CARE OF MOLD AND MILDEW
Because mold and mildew are most commonly found in damp places, one simple way to avoid them is to buy a dehumidifier, to help remove moisture from the air. A cheap dehumidifier can be found at almost any department store, or even online. Because your bathroom may be one of the dampest places, you may also want to buy a small dehumidifier specifically for it.
In the meantime, if you already have mold or mildew on your ceilings and/or walls, the best way to get rid of either one is to buy a leave-on mold/mildew spray. Apply the spray to spots that are prone to mold or mildew once a week. But be sure to use a disposable mask when you use it to avoid inhalation of mold and mildew or bleach.
FORMALDEHYDE IN YOUR MOBILE HOME
Formaldehyde is a colorless, strong-smelling gas. It’s used, among other things, to make walls, cabinets, and furniture in mobile homes. Short-term exposure to formaldehyde can cause you to feel sick, and give you symptoms of a common cold: a sore throat, cough, scratchy eyes, and sometimes nosebleeds. However, long-term or repeated exposure to it may cause sensitization and possibly cancer.
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AVOIDING LONG-TERM EXPOSURE TO FORMALDEHYDE
One of the best ways for avoiding too much exposure to formaldehyde is to open the windows in your mobile home and air out the entire house. If you notice sensitivities while inside your manufactured home, spending more time outside, is another option.
Obviously, no one wants to keep their windows open or be outside when it’s 10 below, so you might want to consider buying an air purifier with an activated carbon filter. It may seem unnecessary to spend so much on an air purifier, but good health is more important than money! And for you plant lovers out there, the Areca Palm will be right up your alley. Not only does it add a bit of outdoors to your indoors, but it removes toxins such as formaldehyde from your home.
SMOKING INDOORS
It’s cold outside, you’re on a comfy couch, and you just don’t feel like stepping outside to smoke. You might want to think again. For instance, not only will smoking or vaping leave a residue on everything that’s extremely hard to clean off, but it will get into your air conditioning and heat units, and leave smoke hanging in the air. As a result, it will damage your lungs and others’ who are breathing the second-hand smoke all day.
AVOIDING INDOOR SMOKING/VAPING HEALTH RISKS
To begin with, the easiest way to avoid the health risks of smoking and vaping indoors is to step outside to do your business. But if you just can’t seem to do that, you want to make sure you’re doing all you can to keep things clear of residue and second-hand smoke.
For example, an air purifier, such as the one mentioned above, would be a great option to keep your house fresher, and smelling clean. Changing or cleaning the air filters for your air conditioners and heaters every month is also important, and is a simple way to avoid many of the health risks of mobile homes.
HAPPY, HEALTHY HOME
In the long run, doing everything you can to avoid and combat the health risks of mobile homes will help you to stay happy, healthy, and enjoy your manufactured home!
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