Preventing Mildew Smell In A Bathroom
The obvious way to get rid of the smell of mildew is to clean the infected area.
Bleach or even vinegar are both very effective to get rid of mildew smells, only make sure not to mix them as when combined they form a toxic gas.
Try using a cleaning solution with one part bleach and one part water and wipe down any parts of the bathroom that give off a mildew smell.
Once you have wiped down the bathroom also check the shower curtain for any odors. You can wipe the curtain down too, but if the smell persists you may want to buy a new curtain.
After cleaning the bathroom make sure you give it good ventilation and give it regular cleanings.
If you cant find the source of the mildew smell in your bathroom
If you smell mildew in the bathroom first you want to check for any leaks near water sources. The search for any water damage on the floor, walls or ceilings.
If you dont find any water issues try using an air purifier or odor eliminator. Should the smell still persist and you cant locate the source, your best bet is to call a professional who can track down the source and help you get rid of the mildew for good.
Improper Installation Of Ceiling And Walls
Sometimes builders are unfortunately incompetent or are completely rushing through jobs and don’t think about consequences of installation.
Vitutally, the same effect can happen as a not properly insulated areas. If drywall is not installed correctly hot air can enter the wall cavity space.
Here’s an example:
The hot air in the wall cavity mixed with cold air in the living space created a dew point which led to condensation.
This particular house had a potent mold smell and sure enough, there was some mold within the wall space.
A Why Mold Smells Musty
Mold smells musty because it releases gas from organic compounds, called Microbial Volatile Organic Compound . Depending on the Mold type and growth size, the smell may be noticeable or not.
However, when you already smell the mold, you probably also inhale the flying spores. It can also mean that the mold has grown into significant size, even without your knowledge.
Black mold smell is probably the most common, especially in an old building or property with the moisture problem. The spores may fly and enter your nose, mouth, and eyes, creating not only bad smell but also health problems. On the other hand, this musty smell is a good detection tool for a mold problem, even if you are unable to see it.
Musty smell sometimes comes out from mildew, which is another fungus type that has more static growth patterns than mold. While mildew VS mold is different, their smells are usually similar. Both mildew and mold release spores and organic compounds that create gas, which create an unpleasant effect.
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Common Causes Of Water Damage Leading To Mold Smells
There are multiple reasons why your house can smell moldy due to mold but they all have one common factor which was stated earlier
Water damage.
It can come in many forms:
- Roof leaks
- Appliance leaks such as your refridgerator line or ice maker
- Air conditioning leak
- Etc.
When these types of leaks aren’t cleaned up quickly, mold can start to grow and let off odors.
Toxic Mold: How It Survives
Mold lives off of any organic matter and loves a warm, humid environment. This includes your leather jacket, a peach, old newspapers, bathroom walls, windowsills, ceilings, and wall-paper. Most often, mildew, which is a form of mold or fungus, infects our living or workspaces when there is a high level of moisture, like a musty basement or a shower wall. It comes in through our walls, windows, doors, carpets, or under the refrigerator.
Mold spores can also be carried in on our clothing, shoes, pets and our bodies. Doctors warn against breathing in mold over long periods of time. Often times, our homes and offices are infested with toxic mold and mildew. And, because it can hide in cracks in our walls, as well as other invisible places, most of us are unaware that we are being exposed to the extremely harmful effects.
Today, mold growth in homes and places of work is more of a health issue than we may think. So it’s important that you recognize the symptoms of mold in your home, and take steps to protect yourself and your family.
For further information, please read this blog post about how to get rid of mold.
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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.
Can Mold On Clothes Make You Ill
Mold has dangerous health effects that should not be ignored. Though your bodys reactions to mold depend on the amount of mold growing in your home, and the sensitivity of your current state of health, the presence of mold has long-term adverse health effects.
The Aspergillus species of mold on clothes can easily be inhaled by people and has been known to cause respiratory problems, like coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and even fever. For those who are particularly susceptible, like children, the elderly, or asthmatics, the consequences can be serious.
Other types of mold on clothes can cause skin allergies and rashes, if you are particularly sensitive. You can also suffer from fatigue, headaches, and dizziness caused by mold on clothes.
The long-term effects of having mold on clothes, and in your home, can lead to a weakened immune system and recurring ill-health that could indirectly lead to severe infections like tuberculosis, and thus must be remedied as quickly as possible.
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Can Mold Behind Walls Make You Sick
Just because you are not in close contact with a substance, does not mean it is not harmful. Even when it is behind walls, mold can make you sick. It can also make you ill even if you see it and it does not smell like anything.
You are especially at risk if you have asthma or allergies. Other people especially vulnerable to the substance include young children, the elderly, people with lung diseases, or people with compromised immune systems. It can even cause breathing complications in pets.
Having it inside your walls can also cause structural issues on your property. It will feed on the wooden structure in your house until it rots and breaks down. You will then have to keep repainting and repairing walls! In this way, it can make both you and your house sick when left unchecked.
When To Call A Professional
If you happen to smell mildew and cant find the source of where its coming from, then the next step would be to call a trained professional who can remedy the situation. Thats just one instance though.
Should there be so much mildew you cant handle it yourself or if there are susceptible people in the home where the mildew could be hazardous, call a professional immediately.
You dont want the mildew becoming a greater problem than what it already is.
We have Mold Remediation Technicians that can help Find the Source of the Mildew ,Remove it from your home & help Prevent it from returning.
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Home Remedies For Musty Smells In Homes
When it comes to the removal of the musty smells harbored within your home, you may try everything you can think of with no alleviation of this odor in the air. Whats next? Depending on the strength of the musty odors in your home, you may have to turn to other solutions and home remedies to rid the smells from the air space for good. These home remedies can include the intake of fresh air within the environment, increased air flow, and the help of an air purifier for musty smell removal.
Visual Indicators Of Mold Growth
Seeing mold is obviously a sign that you indeed have mold. Greenish black areas, slimy textures residue left by stachybotrys chartarum and even simple mildew are all signs that a mold inspection needs to be scheduled. However, what most people dont realize is that smaller mold spores may look like ordinary dirt or soot, but it could actually be mold in disguise. And so, people ignore it.
If you visibly see mold growing, no matter how small, immediately take action. If common molds can grow somewhere so can black mold and toxic molds like that are slowly poisoning many across the country who dont realize how important it is to remove mold. Whenever you find mold make sure either you, the homeowner, or your landlord, if you rent, remove it immediately because all mold species can present a major problem if theres no remediation. Even seemingly insignificant mold patches can quickly spread.
The fact that you have mold means you have the right conditions for it to grow and proliferate to several other areas of your home.Sometimes mold is unusual looking and doesnt look like classic mold. In fact, some mold can appear whitish and thread-like, while other kinds of mold look like tiny clusters of black spots. Mold can appear in various colors including black, white, gray-green, or grayish-brown. Sometimes the mold that grows behind vinyl wallpaper can look pinkish-purple or even orange.
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Health Symptoms That Can Be Caused By Mold In Your House
Mold doesnt bother everyone. In fact, out of thousands of mold species, only a few dozen will trigger any health problems at all, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Still, some of us are sensitive to molds. People who are allergic to an indoor mold can experience year-round symptoms like a sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, and more for those who also have asthma, mold can trigger an asthma attack. People with a weakened immune system or a chronic lung condition like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can develop a serious infection in the lungs if theyre exposed to mold.
People without allergies and asthma arent immune to the effects: In 2004, the Institute of Medicine concluded that people without pre-existing lung conditions can also experience symptoms like nasal congestion and a sore throat if they live in a house with damp floors or moisture accumulation.
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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 Fix Humidity Problems In The Home
A home that has high relative humidity problems indicates there is a problems with the HVAC system, ventilation or poor living habits such as running the air conditioning with the windows open. A licensed HVAC contractor or engineer may need to be contacted.
But that sounds expensive, right?
Well another option is:
Get an external dehumidifier. This is especially good if you are just having a humidity problem in one section of the home.
External dehumidifiers can work great and don’t necessarily need to be ran 24 hours a day. You can run it for a few hours in a room while you are somewhere else in the home and it can make a big difference.
The downside about external dehumidifiers is they need to be emptied because they fill up with water pretty easily.
To prevent humidity problems that can lead to condensation, you should also make sure the air conditioning is set to the “Auto” position and not “On”. You will really start to see mold growing on your clothes if you do this.
What Is House Mold
Molds are organisms that grow indoors as well as outdoors. Outside, theyre an important part of the ecosystem. Indoors, they can be problematic. Youre likely to find mold growing in the darkest, dampest spaces. More than a cosmetic problem, mold can damage your home and contribute to health issues.
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How Do I Know Mold Is In My Walls
Sometimes, your home will smell wet or earthy because of a storm. Most people will be able to tell if something smells off rather than normal. One sign is that the smell does not air out when you open the windows. MVOC smell is persistent, no matter what you do.
You will most likely feel like you are breathing in damp or stale air, even when you ventilate the home. This can irritate your throat and nose and make you cough or sneeze. It also seems to come from all over the home, rather than in one isolated area or wall.
Growth Spots Of Varying Colors
Black mold, as the name implies, is often dark in color. When searching for black mold, look for circular-shaped spots that are black, dark green or dark brown. Some black mold can also take on shades of orange or have flecks of white within it.
Most of the time, black mold has a slightly furry appearance. Larger growths of mold may appear as a black stain that stretches along your wall, floor or ceiling.
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How Mold Affects Your Health And The Health Of Your Home
When left untreated for long periods of time, mold can cause structural damage to your home and the contents of it. Though moldy environments do not always cause health symptoms, the CDC says that exposure to moldy environments may cause nasal stuffiness, throat irritation, coughing and wheezing, or eye and skin irritation. Those with mold allergies may have more severe reactions, and the EPA reports that for people with asthma who are allergic to mold, it can cause asthma attacks.
I Heard About Toxic Molds And Black Molds That Grow In Homes And Other Buildings Should I Be Concerned About A Serious Health Risk To Me And My Family
There is always a little mold everywhere in the air and on many surfaces.
Certain molds are toxigenic, meaning they can produce toxins . Hazards presented by molds that may produce mycotoxins should be considered the same as other common molds which can grow in your house. Not all fungi produce mycotoxins and even those that do will not do so under all surface or environmental conditions.
Mold growth, which often looks like spots, can be many different colors, and can smell musty. Color is not an indication of how dangerous a mold may be. Any mold should be removed and the moisture source that helped it grow should be removed.
There are very few reports that toxigenic molds found inside homes can cause unique or rare health conditions such as pulmonary hemorrhage or memory loss. These case reports are rare, and a causal link between the presence of the toxigenic mold and these conditions has not been proven.
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Why Does Mold Have A Musty Smell
Mold produces gasses called microbial volatile organic compounds . Many of these gasses are odorless but some have a musty odor, the smell typically associated with mold. If you notice a musty odor in your home, you probably have mold growing there, even if you dont see any mold. Mold often grows in hidden places, like inside walls, under carpets, and inside heating and ventilation ducts.
What Happens If You Inhale Mold Dust
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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.
Beside above, how do you know if mold is making you sick? If your Total Body Burden is high, or you are genetically predisposed to recycling toxins, regular exposure to mold can cause allergy symptoms, such as:
Also Know, is it bad to inhale mold dust?
Mold or mold spores may cause asthma attacks in people who have asthma and are allergic to mold. Even in some nonallergic individuals, mold can cause symptoms of irritation in the eyes, skin, and airways.
Can mold spores stay in your lungs?
The body has natural defense mechanisms that help prevent dust and other particles from entering the lungs. However, mold spores can often bypass these defenses because of their small size and overwhelming numbers. Mold spores move into,accumulate,and settle into the lower lungs.
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