Thursday, March 21, 2024

How To Tell If I Have Mold In My Home

Is Mold Inside Walls Dangerous Patricia Santa Monica

9 Signs You Have Toxic Mold In Your Home

Heres a customer that had severe mold inside the walls and crawl space. It affected her skin, this is how we treated it the mold: we used our dual dry decontamination fogging.

The best way is to verify by an air mold sample: this will determine if the mold inside the wall cross contaminated into the indoor breathing space.

Im A Los Angeles Renter And I Keep Telling My Landlord That I Think There Is Mold Inside My Walls What Should I Do Becca Los Angeles

Hire a Los Angeles mold inspector, especially if you know there was a leak and the property owner didnt dry it down properly. You can certify mail the landlord for your records, and deduct it off next month rent.

Most often, most Los Angeles mold inspectors will not open walls without owner of property consent.

What Does Black Mold Exposure Treatment Look Like

Just like the diagnosis, the treatment of mold exposure differs from doctor to doctor. One thing most doctors will advise you to do is to test for and, if needed, remove any unhealthy mold conditions from your home. Even if the treatment will help in the short-term, it wont be effective over the long-term if your indoor environment isnt improved.

To treat the symptoms, doctors may suggest:

  • Over-the-counter medication. Medicine that would decrease the airway inflammation and suppress the allergic reactions.
  • Nasal sprays to deal with a runny or stuffy nose or rinses to clear your nasal passages from inhaled mold spores.
  • Regular allergy medicine

A persons immune system must be working properly to fight mold symptoms, so changes in a lifestyle or diet might be necessary. In more severe allergy cases, doctors prescribe immunotherapy to relieve symptoms

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How Long Does It Take For Mold To Make You Sick

Probably over 95% of people have no symptoms and no long-term effects of mold exposure. After all, we are all constantly surrounded by mold spores wherever you go.Only people who are sensitive to mold actually react, and they usually react immediately, and they generally react to more severe mold exposure rather than everyday exposure.

How To Get Rid Of Black Mold

How to tell if my House has Mold

Depending on the severity of your black mold infestation, you can either clean it yourself or hire a professional. Hiring a professional is more expensive, but it prevents you from being exposed to the mold while trying to remove it. Youll probably want to hire a professional cleaner if you have wide-spread growth in multiple rooms.

If you choose to remove the black mold yourself, be sure to take the proper safety precautions. You want to avoid letting mold spores touch your skin or breathing them in by wearing:

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Signs Mold May Have Nested Itself In Your Home

Discovering mold in your home can be one of the most worrying experiences anyone can go through. But if youre finding mold on your walls, then this problem started a long time ago. Not many people are aware that they have a mold problem until its too late. As a result, they can end up spending a lot more money than theyve bargained for on a problem that could have been taken care of long before the mold makes an appearance.

The reason why mold is so dangerous is because many species contain a chemical called mycotoxin that can cause breathing problems, headaches, and, in severe cases, neurological damage. So its important that you look out for early signs so that you can take care of a mold problem before it starts to take over your home. here are some of the 11 signs of mold you should keep an eye out for.

What Happens If You Eat Food With Mold

The thought of eating something moldy likely makes you want to gag. Most of the time, this is the only symptom youd get after eating moldy food. If somethings not right with your immune system and you eat something moldy, you might experience symptoms like:

  • If you are allergic to mold, those allergy symptoms may be triggered also

If you notice mold on your food that you dont want to throw away, consult the USDAs guide on handling moldy food.

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What Does Mold Smell Like

Mold has a noticeable damp and stale smell, almost like wet paper. If you notice this musty smell coming from parts of your house, youre probably dealing with a mold problem. Ceiling tiles, wallcoverings, and wood products are most susceptible to moisture, hence why they are often the target of mold. Follow your nose and locate the source.

If your house has a chimney thats been neglected for a while, chances are its full of mold. You can inspect it by smelling it, but we highly suggest hiring a professional for a quick checkup and routine maintenance.

Youre Using A Humidifier

How to search for hidden mold in your home

A humidifier is great to use when the air in your home is dry so that your sinuses dont become irritated. The problem is that humidifier employ water in their operation, which encourages the growth of mold. Running your humidifier on low or intermittently throughout the months, especially during the winter is fine. However, if youre constantly running it throughout the year, then there is a much higher risk of moisture accumulating and causing mold to grow. You should regularly check the area around your humidifier for any signs of mold and clean it up immediately.

Mold growth in your home should definitely be taken seriously. Ignoring it or explaining it away as other symptoms can cause the problem to go out of control and spread to every single corner of your home. Mold growth can also affect the structure of certain parts of your home, meaning that theyll need to be completely replaced and that can end up being quite expensive.

If you fear that you could have mold developing in your home, its important that you contact a professional as soon as possible to conduct an inspection. Youll be thankful that you took the initiative to ensure that your home and health are safely secured.

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You Feel Like You Have A Cold That Just Wont Go Away

Symptoms of a mold reaction can be as subtle as a perpetually runny nose and sneezing fits. That cold that you just cant seem to shake could actually be a sneaky sign of a mold problem.

Try to notice if your symptoms seem to worsen after spending time in a particular room or immediately after you finish doing laundry in the basement, for example.

Shower Tile Grout Is Dark

White grout that is starting to turn black is a sign that there is probably mold growing on it. Thankfully, this is the most harmless type of mold that is not going to cause you any health issues. Still, it can be annoying and unsightly to get rid of if it keeps coming back again and again. Its a good idea to clean your tiles regularly to prevent this mold from growing further.

However, mold can also start developing on the grout if there is a leak in the bathroom plumbing or flooding behind the walls that you might not be aware of. In these cases, there could be a more toxic kind of mold that needs the expertise of professionals to have it removed. If youre concerned about the mold in your shower, then you can always take a sample and send it off to be tested.

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I Found Mold Growing In My Home How Do I Test The Mold

If you can see or smell mold, a health risk may be present. You do not need to know the type of mold growing in your home, and CDC does not recommend or perform routine sampling for molds. No matter what type of mold is present, you should remove it. Since the effect of mold on people can vary greatly, either because of the amount or type of mold, you cannot rely on sampling and culturing to know your health risk.

Air Conditioning And Heating Vents

5 Signs You Have Mold in Your Home

You probably prefer your bedroom to be at the optimal temperature for you to get a good nights rest. While using the AC and heating unit are fine , its possible for mold to grow in the vents.

To prevent mold from contaminating your bedroom, you should:

  • Use a dehumidifier to remove excess moisture from the air
  • Dry up any condensation you find on the walls and windows
  • Invest in a mold-resistant mattress or, at the very least, a waterproof mattress cover

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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

Mold in the home is dangerous, as you have just read. But luckily, its usually easy to spot when you know what to look for. Below are some key warning signs that you might have mold in your home.

Symptoms Of Mold Growing In The Body

Mold is a fungus that can get into your body and grow. In some people, mold causes an allergic reaction, while in others it does not. For this reason, there is no one uniform set of symptoms indicating exposure to mold. Mold enters your body through your eyes, nose and mouth and affects your lungs, brain, skin and many other areas of the body 2. The severity of symptoms depends on the length of exposure, the quantity of mold and the severity of the allergic reaction 2. If you believe you have been exposed to mold, you should have your doctor run lab tests to check for mold in your body.

If you are experiencing serious medical symptoms, seek emergency treatment immediately.

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Do You Have Toxic Mold In Your Home

How to tell if you may be dealing with toxic mold in your home:

  • Watch out for a nasty smell: The most common sign that you arent dealing with any ordinary mold is a musty odor, sort of like rotting dirt of rotting leaves. Mold thrives in dark, damp, humid environments, so follow your nose to cramped spaces in your home if you detect an unusual smell.
  • Look for visible growth: While toxic mold often hides in your walls, crawlspace, or attic, sometimes it is out in the open, too. In these cases, you are likely to see dark rings or spots on the ceiling. While this mold is not necessarily toxic, you will want to have an inspection done right away to make sure.
  • You continue to see stains, even after youve wiped the mold away: It is not advisable to try and clean up mold yourself. However, if you have disinfected and wiped away a moldy area, and continue to notice staining on the walls, its probably time to call for that inspection you neglected before.
  • Pay attention to the color and consistency: We already talked about black mold above, though its more accurate to say that Stachybotrys chartarum has a greenish-black hue. Toxic mold can also have a grayish, soot-like texture, or a slimy, wet surface. In some cases, you may even notice furry orange or brown spots. If you find mold with any of these qualities in your home, dont get too close, and call a professional right away.
  • Spotting And Fur On Your Walls

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    There are so many varieties of mold that you can’t really identify the type based on specific shape, size or color. It can appear as a furry, dark growth, as a black stain, or as black, white, orange, green or brown specks. Rather than look for out-of-the-ordinary, multi-colored flakes in every inch of your home, identify areas that are moist and then look for possible signs of mold. The fungus thrives in cool, damp areas, and it will be much easier to find it by limiting your search to areas that are affected by excess moisture. Yes, paint and wallpaper gets stained and marked from every day living, but if you see a pattern to the stains, or they appear in the corners of a room, this is usually a good indicator that mold is present.

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    Your Attic Insulation Is Lumpy

    Wave off the spider webs and take a closer look at the insulation in your attic. Attic insulation that is very lumpy and uneven-looking may mean a bigger problem, says John Bodrozic, Co-Founder of HomeZada.The insulation could be in bad shape due to unforeseen roof leaks, which could also mean potential mold issues. If your attic has poor circulation or improper ventilation, it could create ideal conditions for mold growth.

    Can I Just Get Into The Wall And Use Bleach To Clean It

    It may be tempting to get into the wall and spray everything with bleach by yourself. However, if you have never done this before, it is better to call someone licensed to deal with mold. This is especially true if you have never gone into the wall and dont know how to detect how extensive the mold damage is. Leaving the eradication of mold to professionals will save not only your health but also your sanity. A professional team will have all the protective gear, detection tools and methods necessary to get rid of all the mold in your home.

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    Who Is Most At Risk For Health Problems Associated With Exposure To Mold

    People with allergies may be more sensitive to molds. People with immune suppression or underlying lung disease are more susceptible to fungal infections. Individuals with chronic respiratory disease may experience difficulty breathing. Individuals with immune suppression are at increased risk for infection from molds. If you or your family members have these conditions, a qualified medical clinician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment.

    How Long Do Mold Symptoms Last

    5 Signs That You Have Mold in Your Home

    The tricky thing about mold exposure is that its different for each person. The amount of time mold exposure symptoms persist depends on:

    • What type of mold they are exposed to,
    • How long the exposure has been,
    • How well their bodies eliminate toxins

    Those who process toxins well can see their symptoms disappear as quickly as a few days.

    Others who eliminate toxins slowly can experience symptoms for much longer. They could be ill for months or even years after the source of mold is eliminated.

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    How Toxic Is Mold

    Any mold that produces mycotoxinsthe myco refers to fungusis toxic, and it can be quite poisonous. One of the more alarming varieties is Stachybotrys chartarum: Dense, black, and usually present where moisture has been a long-term, unresolved issue, like a damp basement or in an abandoned home, this fungus can trigger a suite of health issues, like persistent headaches, diarrhea, breathing trouble, and more. But other types can also cause issues, warns the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention : All molds should be treated the same with respect to potential health risks and removal. These are the signs of mold that you should be looking out for. Plus, learn the other ways your house could be making you sick.

    Identify Areas Known To Harbor Mold

    When you believe you smell mold, go on the hunt to find it. Look near water supply pipes, around water drainage lines and sewage pipes, anywhere near dryer vents and in laundry rooms, under sinks, in the ceiling above a finished basement, near bathroom exhaust vents, around sump pumps, and inside wall cavities.

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    How To Get Rid Of Mold

    There are plenty of DIY mold removal options for you on the web some more effective than others. These may suffice if the problem is minor. After DIY treatment, it may be good to have an air quality test taken to measure the effectiveness of your work.

    If the problem is more than minor, DIY methods will likely only remove the appearance of mold for a short time. For more serious problems, the best approach is to hire a certified and reputable local mold remediation company.

    Most mold remediation companies will recommend demolition of the infected part of your home to literally remove the mold, so keep in mind that you might have additional expenses to restore a portion of your house. On top of that, the process might take several days.

    If you are looking into demolition-free mold removal, then consider companies that use a dry fog technique. When properly done, this method not only kills mold without demolition, but it also takes less than a day to complete.

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