Particularly when you first arrive, you might notice the humidity here is pretty high and it will take some getting used to. After a short time you probably won't notice it much.

One thing the heat and humidity bring is the perfect environment to grow mold.

Mold seems to be one of those topics that keeps coming up in conversations with new clients, so I thought I'd touch on it here.

Not too long ago, one of my clients who had been deployed for a few months, and returned home to their 1980 square foot home in Paradise Estates that had been baking in the sun with no ventilation for some weeks. Windows closed, storm shutters locked, power disconnected.

Dark. Warm. Moist.

Basically, they turned their home into a 1980 square foot Petri dish. Cleaning up mold can be quite a task. Particularly when it's in everything you own. Let's talk a little about how to mitigate it.

The truth is that we're exposed to mold all the time, but unless you have a medical condition, the levels of natural exposure aren't anything to be overly concerned about.

(This was NOT on Guam)

Some people ask about dehumidifiers.

They're available on both bases for a little over $100.00. The problem is They're not exactly energy efficient, and you either have to run a hose to a convenient drain, or empty the water once or twice a day. And they sound something like a window type air conditioner when they're running, and actually put off a little heat. Personally, I have two dehumidifiers, and they're both sitting in the closet for the past five years.So what do you do?

Aaaargggh!!!

I've found that keeping a bit of air flow and not letting my place get superheated works pretty well. Personally, I never turn my air conditioner off. In the mornings when I leave for work, and even when I leave Guam for a few days or weeks, the thermostat is set on 85, and I leave the ceiling fans on to keep the air moving. I'm sure I have some mold somewhere, but I've never seen it. Changing out your air conditioner filters (I change mine once a quarter) and making sure any water leaks are taken care of promptly seems to just about do the trick at my house. Your mileage may vary, but that's all that's necessary in my home.

If anyone has any mold tips, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.