Looking For Signs Of Mold In Your Home
Mold can occur anywhere it finds a damp location where it can feed upon the organic components in your building materials. When looking for mold in your home, its important to keep an eye out as well as a nose out for possible signs. Often times mold can hide behind furniture or appliances, making it more likely for you to smell the mold than see it for the first time.
Black mold will have a strong earthy, dirty, and musty smell and is the laymans term used for Stachybotrys mold. This type of mold can have a particularly strong smell making it more noticeable when starting to form. Unfortunately, mold only needs water, organic matter, a dark environment, and time to grow, meaning its often found in places that arent heavily trafficked in the home.
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How To Tell If Mold Is Toxic
Mold is a nasty problem to deal with for any home or business-owner. In the wake of a disaster such as a storm, its possible for mold to start growing in as quickly as 1-2 days. Whats even more alarming is when that mold turns out to be toxic, posing a serious risk to you and anyone else on your property.
To clarify, its not that the mold you are dealing with in and of itself is toxic. Its that certain strains of mold, like the notorious Stachybotrys chartarummore commonly known as black moldproduce mycotoxins. Its these mycotoxins which may cause a burning sensation in the throat and lungs, chest pain, persistent coughing, fever, rashes, and migraines. Prolonged exposure to Stachybotrys may lead to serious health issues, including breathing problems, fatigue, sinusitis and other pain in the sinus cavities, and even depression.
Why Choose Hrs Restoration Services
HRS Restoration Services employs the best technicians in the industry. Our trained and certified team is able to assist you, the homeowner, in bringing your home back to its pre-damaged condition in the quickest and safest fashion.
Using the latest technology, we are able to provide water and mold damage restoration in Phoenix and Denver. Our technicians stop water from coming in and identify hidden mold colonies, limiting the chance that mold would return to your home.
Protecting the health and safety of your loved ones is our highest priority and our team is ready to help as soon as you suspect mold is growing in your home.
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What Does It Look Like
Molds are a type of fungus and can look like their fungal cousins, mushrooms, and yeasts. There are thousands of types of mold, and their appearance can depend on the type and where it’s growing. Outdoors, molds can be seen gobbling up the dead organic matter on decomposing surfaces like fallen leaves and rotting logs indoors, house mold thrives in wet, humid environments like bathrooms and basements or anywhere that has recently flooded.
According to the CDC, the most common indoor molds are Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Alternaria. However, black mold, or Stachybotrys chartarum , is sometimes found in homes and other buildings. This greenish-black growth can grow on fiberboard, paper, dust, and lint, particularly in areas that may have recently flooded or suffered other types of water damage. While black mold can certainly look scary, the CDC says that Stachybotrys chartarum isn’t any more harmful than other types of mold.
How Do You Keep Mold Out Of Buildings And Homes
Inspect buildings for evidence of water damage and visible mold as part of routine building maintenance, Correct conditions causing mold growth to prevent mold growth.
Inside your home you can control mold growth by:
- Controlling humidity levels
- Promptly fixing leaky roofs, windows, and pipes
- Thoroughly cleaning and drying after flooding
- Ventilating shower, laundry, and cooking areas.
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Issues That Cause Mold And Mildew
Moisture is the chief cause behind the growth of mold and mildew. Mold spores entering your home are inevitable this is difficult to stop. But you can stop the factors that help mold and mildew to grow. Besides moisture, lack of sunlight, poor ventilation, and dirt and debris can cause mold and mildew to grow. Because of this, mold and mildew tend to develop in the home:
- Under carpeting
What Happens If You Breathe In Black Mold
For people sensitive to mold, inhaling or touching mold spores can cause allergic reactions, including sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash. People with serious mold allergies may have more severe reactions, including shortness of breath.
However, if you breathe in large amounts of mold for a long time, it can cause chronic allergy or cold like symptoms, or more serious side effects such as chronic fatigue, brain fog, or even mold growth in lungs or respiratory systems.
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Use A Humidity Monitor
Lastly, put up a humidity monitor in your home. This will let you know if the humidity levels are within a healthy range. By watching over the humidity level, you can prevent your home from being a breeding ground of black molds.
On average, the ideal humidity level for household settings is 30% to 50%. Once it goes beyond 55%, your home becomes an ideal place for mold growth. This is what you need to avoid.
A humidity monitor will keep an eye on the moisture level. This way, you can act fast to fix leaks and remove other sources of dampness.
Create A Bleach Mixture
If the black mold growth in your home is small enough for you to treat alone, a simple mixture of bleach and water can help. Add one cup of bleach to one gallon of water and apply it to the moldy spots. You can also find commercial black mold removal products.
Soak a paper towel in the cleaner and press it over the mold growth to dampen the area. Then start scrubbing. Avoid spraying moldy areas, since the droplets will collide with the mold spores and launch them throughout the room, making them easier to breathe in and harder to eradicate.
Be sure to dry the area thoroughly when youre done.
Do NOT mix bleach with ammonia. This combination can create toxic fumes that are far more dangerous than any mold youre trying to clean.
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What Is Black Colored Mold
A black colored mold has a black pigment by nature. It is usually associated with being the toxic kind, but thats not always the case. Black mold may not be toxic, but it can be an allergenic.
Nigrospora is an example of a black colored mold.
There is no evidence it is toxic to humans or other living organisms.
The most common black mold is Cladosporium, which has no known toxic side effects. This type of mold is common both inside and outside of the home. Heavy exposure to black mold could trigger an increase in allergy and asthma symptoms.
Other black molds include Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Dresclera, Pithomyces, Stemphylium, and Ulocladium.
None of these are toxic molds that produce mycotoxins, but Altermaria can cause severe allergy symptoms.
What To Use To Clean Mold And Mildew Safely
Before using any cleaners, you must ventilate! Ventilation is extremely important during cleaning, so that any disturbed spores exit the building. Close and tape off doors to the rest of the house and use a box fan in a window pointing out while cleaning. This will prevent spores from invading the rest of the home, and remove them from the air of the room to be cleaned. Also, ventilation helps remove the smell of whatever your cleaner of choice. Remember smelling good does NOT equal clean!
There are 3 simple ingredients you can safely use to clean away mold and mildew in your home: white vinegar, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide. Remember NOT to mix these ingredients! Keep reading for maximum cleaning power and safety!
Can it really be that simple? What about all of those mold and mildew cleaners that are being marketed? What about the claims that a certain product kills mold, removes mold, removes stains, disinfects surfaces and prevents mold from ever returning? If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Believe it or not simple and safe ingredients are better. To learn more about the products you use to clean your home, and how they are NOT regulated by the federal government, check out our articles: Cleaning Products Homemade vs. Store Bought and How to Choose the Best Black Mold Removal Products.
Hard Surface Cleaning
Hydrogen Peroxide
White Vinegar
Baking Soda
Essential Oils
Cleaning Softer Surfaces
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Difference Between Black Mold And Mildew
Black mold and mildew are two very common problems that people face in their everyday lives. Both can be equally bothersome and even have negative effects on your health. These types of fungi grow quite commonly in places like showers, attics, and even on food. It is important to understand the differences between the two because each has a unique course of action that should be taken.
How Does Black Mold Get Inside A House
Mold spores find their way inside by hitchhiking on clothes, pet fur, and air currents into your home. But spores cant get comfortable without plenty of water. This is why youll usually find black mold around water-damaged areas impacted by plumbing issues like floods or leaky pipes.
Materials like drywall, carpet, or gypsum board can soak up water, creating a perfect home for a black mold colony. If you find water damage at home, its crucial to remove all the affected materials to prevent mold from growing.
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How Do You Get The Molds Out Of Buildings Including Homes Schools And Places Of Employment
Mold growing in homes and buildings indicates that there is a problem with water or moisture. This is the first problem to address.
Remove moldy items from living areas. Once mold starts to grow in carpet, insulation, ceiling tiles, drywall, or wallboard, the only way to deal with the problem is by removal and replacement.
It is important to properly clean and dry the area as you can still have an allergic reaction to parts of the dead mold and mold contamination may recur if there is still a source of moisture.
Remove or replace carpets and upholstery that have been soaked and cannot be dried promptly.
Clean up and dry out your home thoroughly and quickly after any flooding. Dig out mud and dirt . Use a wet vacuum to remove remaining dirt. Scrub cleanable surfaces with soapy water and a bristle brush. Thoroughly clean all hard surfaces with water and dish detergent. Dry surfaces quickly and thoroughly after cleaning. If you have a fan, air conditioner or dehumidifier that wasnt affected by flooding use it to help the surfaces dry after you finish cleaning
Mold growth can be removed from hard surfaces with commercial products, soap and water, or a bleach solution of no more than 1 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water to kill mold on surfaces. Never mix bleach with ammonia or other household cleaners.
If you choose to use bleach to clean up mold:
Early Signs Of Black Mold In Your Home
Identifying mold growth typically happens after a water breach. This may be a leak, a flood, or even simply a condensation that is allowed to remain.
As water is a necessary ingredient for mold growth, discovering this type of breach is an indication that you may also find mold thriving in your home.
Some of the signs of black mold in your house may be a musty smell, dark-colored tile grout, and warped drywall.
In many cases, homeowners are able to easily identify the obvious places where mold has spread. The issue comes in the more hidden spaces that require professional assistance to identify and properly dry, disinfect, and restore.
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Society Tests For Mold
Society examinations are where mold fragments in an example from the home are become bigger mold nests in a laboratory. In this manner society examinations determine the varieties of mold and mildews in properties.
Simply mold fragments that are still active could be increased. Dead mold bits in the home still trigger allergic reactions as well as health issues. Various other examinations could detect both living as well as non-living mold in a home yet cannot consistently determine the varieties of mold and mildews.
Youll require to place on your private investigator hat as well as get to function if you do assume that you might have a mold trouble. Examine all wet locations of your home. , if that does not transform up any sort of mold take into consideration calling in an expert.
It could be challenging to remain in a home where the mold is inducing a smell or shows up. You could really feel extremely uneasy nevertheless, for many people a percentage of mold will certainly not trigger significant illness. If you do experience from allergic reactions and also locate it is inducing breathing troubles it could be sensible to discover a short-term location to remain up until the mold issue is attended to how do you tell if you have mold in your home.
Advnt Biotechnologies has actually developed an exact, user-friendly mold examination set for mold detection that return outcomes within fifteen mins or much less the fastest of any kind of tool on the market today.
Visible Growths And Odd Colors
You may be able to visibly see a black mold growth in your home. While most black mold is indeed black, it can have a wide range of variations. For instance, you may notice a dark, furry growth or what appears to be a black stain, or there could be white, orange, brown, and even green specks.
A good rule of thumb is no matter what the color, get it treated to avoid damage to your health.
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Warning Signs You Have A Mold Problem
Molds are types of fungi that may grow indoors or outdoors, usually in damp, warm, and humid environments. The most common types of household molds might be found around bathrooms, basements, drywall, ceiling tiles, carpet, wallpaper, under sinks, and around plumbing pipes.
Mold in the home can pose serious health risks, but unfortunately many dont realize they have a mold problem because they dont know what to look for. Here you will read a little about mold warning signs, first as it relates to your health, and secondly as it relates to the structure and history of your home.
Mold Warning Signs: Allergies and Other Health Issues
When someone has mold in their home, they usually show allergy-related symptoms. If youre not sure whether your allergy-like symptoms are caused by mold in your home, then consider this question: do your symptoms get better once you go outdoors or leave your home? If so, then there is good chance that mold is the culprit.
Symptoms of mold allergies include:
- Itchy, watery eyes
- Irritated, itchy skin
Some forms of household mold are toxic, causing serious, life-threatening illness. These highly-dangerous molds might cause symptoms such as bleeding, internal organ damage, mental impairment, cancer, and even death.
Mold Warning Signs in Your Home
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How Mold Testing Works
There are two different kinds of professional-grade tests that experts tend to utilize to look for mold infestations. Both of them involve taking a small sample of material, which is then analyzed in a lab for traces of mold spores or the presence of mycotoxins. Urine test kits, as their name implies, require a small volume of urine from a human . These kits are used to determine if a person has a mold infestation in their body.
Meanwhile, home test kits require a small amount of dust or detritus from a buildings air conditioning or heating unit filters. Its not uncommon for professional environmental inspectors or mold remediators to use both kits in tandem after experiencing water damage, as they provide differentbut equally crucialinformation.
There is a third type of mold testing kit on the market its the kind that folks frequently see in hardware and big-box stores. These kits are designed to detect mold spores in the air, and they usually consist of a petri dish filled with microbial growth medium. The dish is exposed to the air for a set period of time in order to collect samples, and then its sealed and allowed to incubate. The idea is that any mold spores captured by the dish will then grow, allowing them to be seen and studied.
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How Can I Check For Mold
Its best to hire a professional to help you identify and remove mold, especially if youre allergic or vulnerable to it.
You should also consider hiring help if the mold covers more than 10 square feet, or if its hidden behind wallpaper, ceiling tiles, or other areas.
Here are some steps for identifying and removing mold.
Myths About Black Mold
Its important to address myths some people may have about black mold. One common rumor is that black mold releases toxic compounds called mycotoxins that cause health issues, like memory loss, headaches, and infant pulmonary hemorrhage.
But according to a review from 2017, theres no evidence that exposure to black mold causes particular health conditions.
Furthermore, while a variety of molds produce mycotoxins, these compounds are primarily dangerous for humans only when eaten in significant quantities.
A 2019 review of research into this topic states theres currently no evidence that mycotoxins in the air cause disease.
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