There are some telltale signs that you have mold in your home but do you know what they are? If you cannot see mold, you will likely smell it as it has an earthy and many times, musty odor. However, your eyes are the best detection because mold is rather telling with its black, green, brown or even white colors in a variety of textures such as fuzz or even powder. Mold removal is essential not only for cleanliness and appearance sake but also for health reasons.

Sometimes, you will know that mold is near when people in your household start having allergic reactions to it or when you can smell it but not see it. Because mold tends to grow around trapped, moist places, keep an eye out for water leaks or other places where moisture accumulates for your mold removal activities.

Repairing the Area Growing Mold

The first important step for mold removal is identifying and fixing the area where moisture is coming into your home. Remember that mold needs moisture to grow so seek out probable places where leaks are likely to occur such as the roof and attic where plumbing pipes are. Sinks, toilets and tubs have also been known to leak, unbeknownst to anyone and can harbor mold. Poor venting and drainage of appliances can cause an accumulation of moisture, precipitating a mold infestation too.

Treating Materials Harboring Mold

If you are faced with a large mold removal project such as removing carpet, drywall, ceiling tiles, wood and more, always wear protective gear such as goggles, rubber gloves, a filter mask and clothing that is easy to remove. Breathing in mold spores can be a costly health mistake and you want to prevent becoming ill or having to be hospitalized.

If you catch a leak or overflow right when it occurred, you have a strong chance of cleaning up the mess and drying it out without any mold growth. However, if after two days the affected area is not dry, you will want to throw away or get rid of any affected items. Easy mold removal and clean up can often be accomplished with some strong detergent and water although a bleach solution is often the safer bet to effectively kill mold as well as disinfect the surface.

When you are engaged in mold removal and are using strong detergent or bleach, always keep your work area well-ventilated. Open doors and windows or use an exhaust fan to carry harmful fumes away as you don’t want to pass out!

Sometimes, particularly after a flood, hurricane or other situation where water has been standing in your home for a period of time, it is probably best to hire a professional for your mold removal needs. People with damaged homes from Hurricane Katrina could not return for months and as a result dangerous toxic mold started growing. If you are ever in a situation such as this, do not try and accomplish the mold removal on your own as you would not have the proper tools and materials to clean safely.

Before we tackle mold prevention, we first learn what kind of living organism molds are and how they grow. Molds are fungi that like humid and damp places where they can get enough moisture to grow. They also usually grow on dead organic matter or any organic matter that has enough moisture in it. This is the first clue to mold prevention, molds like moisture.

Molds also reproduce using spores. These spores are released into the air and these can be one of the many causes of allergies in people. Worst still, some molds can be toxic to people, not through spores but through their gaseous secretions called mycotoxins.

Steps To Mold Prevention

Mold prevention is easier said than done especially of you live in a house that has had some water damaged or leakage in the past. Molds thrive near water leaks and damp walls previously exposed to floods. Only by determining if your house has had any water damage in the past and then properly fixing the water damage can you achieve proper mold prevention.

Other than that, mold prevention is done by: Acting quickly on leaks and floods. Drying the area affected by water damage as soon as possible can effectively eliminate the possibility of molds growing in that area. Maintain roof gutters and clean them regularly. These methods can stop the gutters from accumulating debris that can in turn be storage for moisture and molds. Mold prevention in a building’s foundation can be done by making sure that the ground around the structure slopes away from it and not towards it. This can prevent water from seeping in to the foundation of the structure and prevent any possible mold infestation. Keeping drip lines and drain pans clean and free from obstruction maintaining low humidity indoors. This will ensure mold prevention since molds will not thrive as easily as when it is humid. Reducing condensation due to leaks or air-conditioning. Condensation is a source of moisture, no matter how little, which can feed mold spores and encourage their growth. Since this is an air conditioner we are talking about, the risk of inhaling mold spores or mycotoxins is high.

The key to mold prevention is to properly maintain your home or building by controlling leaks and any other sources of moisture. Humidity and condensation are also sources of moisture and these must be stopped or carefully monitored for mold prevention.

Mold is fungi that give off gases as a form of waste secretion. In some types or species of molds, these gases can be dangerous to humans. Molds spores can also be a threat to our health but compared to the gaseous secretions, called mycotoxins, spores are not as dangerous. Although, too much exposure to mold spores can also be lethal to the elderly and infants, over exposure to mycotoxins can be lethal to everybody.

The Toxins Can Be Life Threatening

We can tolerate small amount of exposure to mycotoxins but large amount can be dangerous to us. Those who have a low immune defense system can be more susceptible to mold poisoning than healthier individuals. The elderly and small babies are more prone to mold poisoning. Those who have infections or are sick can also fall victim to mold allergy or mold poisoning.

Mold poisoning symptoms manifest themselves through frequent nosebleeds, coughing up blood, anemia and chest congestion. Milder symptoms of mold poisoning that can be aggravated by further by continuous exposure to molds are hay fever-like symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, water and red eyes, itchy eyes, coughing and a mild throat irritation.

As soon as you suspect that your symptoms are from mold allergy or mold poisoning, consult a doctor immediately. Many people die from over exposure to mycotoxins because they do not believe that mold has the capacity to kill us. Mold poisoning may start out as a mild allergy to molds but it might soon develop into a full-blown case, which may turn out deadly for you.

Things To Look Out For

Be vigilant if you smell a musty odor frequently in your home, as this is one of the ways of knowing if you have a mold infestation. It is dangerous to continually smell or inhale molds so better call a professional who can assess you home effectively and find out if you do have molds inside your walls or ceiling.

Be alert for tiny black specks on your ceiling and walls. These could be signs of molds in the drywall or the insulation within your walls. Clothes can also be infested with molds if they are stored damp. Molds start out as small black spots that eventually grow and destroy the clothing. Do not wear or use clothing or towels that might have a mold infestation. Getting the mold onto your skin can be dangerous for you.

Having cold, allergy and other atypical, unexplained health issues should prompt you to wonder whether or not you might have mold in your home. Investing in your health as well as your home is important so you should look to a mold inspection service to help you identify any mold problems as well as offer a specific course of action to solve it.

When you hire a mold inspection company, there are several goals that you should keep in mind. First of all, you want any and all defects in your home identified which could cause the outbreak of mold in your home. And second, you should receive a clear and concise report which outlines all the problem areas during mold inspection as well as the best way to clean up the mold and prevent another outbreak.

Important Things to Consider for Mold Inspection

Whatever you do, do not choose the mold inspection company with the lowest price because they may not be the best at what they do. Instead, choose a mold inspection service based on their training, qualifications, certifications, experience and testimonials. In addition, do not choose a company that offers both mold testing as well as mold remediation as this represents a conflict of interest.

Look for a mold inspection company that invests in the latest and greatest technologies such as moisture meters, mold particle counters, canine mold detection assistance and infrared thermal cameras and imaging. Also, check the credentials of the inspectors to make sure that they are certified mold inspectors or even certified indoor environmentalists as they too have mold training.

You know that the inspection company is worth its weight and price if they inspect every part of your property like the air conditioning, plumbing fixtures, attic, basement, roof, exterior of the home and more. Their fancy equipment should be able to detect mold that is often unseen by the naked eye.

The mold inspection company should either have their own microbiologist on staff or outsource to a laboratory with mold accreditations. In addition, the mold inspection report should include physical findings as well as lab results and interpretation of the data. A bottom line prognosis should be in the report as well as suggested steps to eradicate the mold.

Mold is serious business and investing in a mold inspection service is the smartest move you can make to protect your home and family. If you can afford it, consider getting a second opinion from another mold inspection company which uses a different laboratory. Having two reports to compare should give you a definitive plan of action.

There are many mold exposure symptoms that can present themselves if you or one of your family members has been exposed to mold. Unfortunately, these symptoms often go unchecked, due to the fact that they tend to mirror the symptoms of less serious health problems. While, obviously, recurring health problems could be a sign of a more serious underlying problem; these symptoms could also mean that you have untreated mold in your home.

So, how do you protect yourself against the dangers of mold exposure? The best way is to familiarize yourself with mold exposure symptoms; and to be sure to have your home tested, if the symptoms are recurring and tend to increase in severity. The cost of having your home tested and treated can be quite costly; but when mold exposure symptoms can cause, in rare cases, death – isn’t the price well worth it?

Physical Symptoms

There are many physical mold exposure symptoms. These run the gamut from extremely mild allergy symptoms, to more severe symptoms like upper respiratory infections and seizures. Obviously, the more toxic the mold, and the longer you are exposed to it, the more severe mold exposure symptoms you will experience.

Other mold exposure symptoms include hair loss and weak nails, frequent nosebleeds, and cold-like symptoms including stuffy nose, runny eyes, and sore throats. More severe symptoms can include reproductive organ complications, cancer, anaphylaxis (trouble breathing), and extreme weight loss. In some rare instances these exposure symptoms can also lead to death.

Psychological Symptoms

Mold exposure symptoms can also present themselves as psychological symptoms. These can include memory loss, chronic fatigue, anxiety and depression, and insomnia. Again, these symptoms are often misdiagnosed, and treated with medications that produce little or no results. If left untreated, these symptoms can become the more serious physical mold exposure symptoms.

Treatment Of Symptoms

Often, mold exposure symptoms are diagnosed as the health problems they mimic. This mistreatment of mold exposure symptoms often leads to more serious health conditions. If you have been treated for any of the above symptoms without positive results, you may be a victim of mold exposure. If you, or any member of your family, experiences recurring illness, and popular medical treatments do not seem to be making an impact on your health, it may be time to have your home professionally inspected for mold.

Regardless of whether the mold in your home is toxic or not, it can still affect you and your family with mold exposure symptoms. Even if you do not suspect your home to be infested with mold, it is still a good idea to have it regularly inspected by a professional so as to avoid serious mold exposure symptoms in the future.

Mold causes a lot of problems in many households because it can be a huge potential health hazard causing a variety of illnesses. That is why mold detection is so important and more homeowners should be wondering about this problem. It is not only a matter of cleanliness but also a matter of safety, not only for you but also anyone who visits your home.

Primary Mold Detection Steps

The question of the day from homeowners is usually, “How do I know if I have mold in my home?” Well, there are some preliminary signs that you should look for when it comes to mold detection in and around your home. First of all, mold have a distinctive musty, almost earthy type of odor so if you smell it, you have it.

Inspect both the inside and outside of your home for patches of discoloration on the walls, ceilings, floorboard, roof, home siding and more. Evidence of mold may also look like furry, speckled or generic textured type of growth. Of course, some mold grows behind walls, above ceilings, beneath roof shingles or behind siding on your home … places that are almost impossible to access for mold detection.

One area in your home that you may not think of to inspect during your mold detection duties are the air-conditioning ducts. Depending on the humidity in your home, it is possible that on occasion, condensation has formed inside the ducts. Mold loves moist conditions and thrives in a variety of temperatures. Can you imagine all of those mold spores permeating your home every time the air conditioner comes on? Mold detection is crucial to a happy, healthy and safe home.

Testing And Identification Of Molds

Part of mold detection is indoor testing and air sampling, which is not recommended unless you suspect mold in your home but do not see signs of it anywhere. Paying a professional for mold detection can be expensive because of the special certifications and testing equipment that is involved.

Identifying the type of mold is not important so much as that there is mold present in or around your home. Mold detection leads to the same type of treatment for these fungal growths regardless of the strain present. You should be aware that if your home exhibits a large outbreak of mold during mold detection, you might have to find alternate accommodations until the outbreak is treated. Don’t expect to have your insurance company cover any damage, mold detection services or treatment, even if the problem was not your fault.

Each person’s situation is different so it can be hard to have any generic measures in place for mold detection as well as how to treat the problem. If you are truly concerned about the possibility of mold, invest in a professional who can give you a definitive answer.

Molds are fungi that can practically grow anywhere and on anything. They are multi-celled organisms that reproduce asexually or sexually using spores. Of the several hundred thousands species of spores, not all can make a person sick or produce an allergic reaction. Frequent exposure to molds can be dangerous to an individual.

Most people who are allergic to molds and mold spores often have symptoms that are reminiscent of hay fever symptoms. These range from a runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, red eyes, watery eyes and sometimes asthma may occur for those prone to it. This is why a mold count is important especially during the summer months when the molds are happily reproducing and growing. People need to be aware of the risk they have when they go out during a day with a high mold or pollen count.

What Is A Mold Count?

A mold count is the amount of mold in the air during a given test. The announced mold count is not the current amount of mold spores in the air but the amount during the test which could have been taken earlier in the day or the previous day. In spite of this, the current amount of mold in the air might be somewhere close to the mold count.

A mold count is often announced by the National Allergy Bureau to forewarn those individuals who are susceptible to mold allergies. These allergic reactions in people often come more often during the summer months. A mold count is often announced along with a pollen count. Both are for the sake of those who are allergic to pollen and molds or both. Many people do rely on the National Allergy Bureau for the current mold count or pollen count before venturing outdoors.

How NAB Gets A Mold Count

A plastic rod is coated with a substance similar to grease and then it is spun around the air for approximately 24 hours. After the elapsed time, an analyst will study the particles stuck to the rod and try to figure out which particles are present in the rod. The amount of pollen and mold spores found in the rod is then calculated to bring out past day’s mold count and pollen count.

Mold count and pollen count can be helpful for those who have allergies to these particles and organisms. The National Allergy Bureau tries to be as accurate as possible when announcing these counts.

Most experts claim that there is nothing to fear from mold, even when it is in your home. However, that does not mean that you should skip a proper mold assessment when you suspect that there is mold in your house. Especially if you have children or pets in the home you are going to always want to conduct a proper mold assessment if you suspect that you may have a mold problem, because there are certain types of mold that can be potentially dangerous.

The First Step

Whenever you suspect mold in your home, the very first step is a mold assessment. This includes a variety of different tasks, such as surveying the moisture levels of walls, ceilings and floors, locating visible mold growth, and testing the air for the quantity and variety of mold spores, for instance.

It is important to understand about mold before conducting any mold assessment, so you can understand how mold grows and what is involved in the process. Basically mold and fungi can grow on any type of substance, as long as there is moisture present. When they reproduce they make spores, which can be carried on by air currents alone, and then when any of these spores land on a moist surface that is suitable for life, they will begin to grow and then you have even more mold.

Problems

There are many reasons for conducting a mold assessment, namely the health problems that can come about when there is mold present that is not taken care of. Usually the problems with mold tend to stem from the symptoms that result from exposure to the mold, and this can include adverse health effects and even possible allergic reactions.

There are also much more serious health effects that can be caused as a result to mold exposure, and this includes everything from fever, flu-like symptoms, fatigue and respiratory dysfunction to frequent and excessive nose bleeds, dizziness, headaches, and even liver damage.

It is obvious to see why a mold assessment can often be so important, especially if there are a lot of people living in the home, and particularly when there is a lot of mold growth. If you are not prepared or willing to deal with the situation yourself then you can always call in professionals to get the job done for you. Especially if you are not sure what type of mold it actually is and you do not have the proper equipment you should not do a mold assessment yourself.

Ok, mold and mildew don’t exactly come from the same type of fungi but they are often interchangeable in terms of when you are talking about growth and clean up. As much as anyone can ascertain, mold and mildew are more descriptions of their physical appearance rather than two totally different fungal organisms.

To get even more confusing, mold and mildew can often grow together side by side although they do occur frequently in particular mediums. For instance, mold can grow on food, walls and other larger, physical structures. Mildew refers to the fungal growth on plants, clothing that has sat too long in your washing machine and the discolorations around your bathtub and on grout.

Textures And Colors Of Mold And Mildew

When it comes to mold and mildew, the textures of these fungal growths are what really make each type distinctive. Most people can easily identify mold because of its fuzzy, thick texture. In addition, most types of mold are black, green, rusty red, blue as well as many variations of these colors. In addition, mold can also be slimy at times, depending on where it is growing and the amount of moisture in its environment.

Of both mold and mildew, mildew is less likely to cause allergic reactions and illness although it does have a similar musty odor as mold. Mildew is typically more of a discoloration such as gray or white and when on hard surfaces or plants, is powdery in texture. If you remember your forgotten laundry in the washing machine, usually just re-washing the clothing is enough to kill the burgeoning mildew while more extreme measures are needed for fabrics with its only colony of visible mildew that has been growing for a while.

Typical Places Where Mold And Mildew Reside

While it is true that mold and mildew do reside side by side in certain areas like the bathtub, more often than not, they are seen as two separate entities. Mildew often grows on forgotten wet fabric, damp or humid affected books, tile grout, shower curtains and various plants.

Mold is more prevalent in moisture-ridden environments such as humid basements, attics where leaky plumbing might go undetected, roofs, behind walls and even under carpets that might have soaked up a lot of water from a flood, broken water heater or even an overflowing toilet.

Between mold and mildew, mold is definitely the worst when it comes to causing health problems. Mold typically produces more spores, which are easily released into the air that you breathe. Black mold and toxic mold are two major fungi that mean serious business and cause quite a few of the mold-related illnesses.

Both mold and mildew can be treated in a similar fashion and that is why you often see cleaners in the grocery stores touting their “cleaning action against both mold and mildew.” Most people do not think about the distinction between the two and often think of them as interchangeable. You might say that mold and mildew are two sides of the same fungi.

Molds are microscopic fungi that infest almost everything on this planet. They are multi-celled organisms that grow into what are called hyphae. Molds are one of the most resilient organisms ever found and can remain dormant for some time until the right conditions are met for their growth.

Molds are not entirely bad organisms as they help in manufacturing several foods and even medicine for us. They primarily grow on organic matter, which makes it basically everything on earth. They need moisture and humidity to grow favorably. Their spores are microscopic and can float on the air and when they land on anything they can grow when conditions are favorable. These spores are also the allergens that cause many human allergies.

Mold Allergy Symptoms

Most people have reactions when exposed to molds or molds spores. The mold allergy symptoms are much like hay fever symptoms such as sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose, red watery and itchy eyes, headaches due to sinuses and possibly chronic cough. Mold allergy symptoms are not limited to the symptoms listed above but these are the more common ones.

These mold allergy symptoms can be controlled by cleaning up the possible molds in bathrooms using a borate based chemical solution, always checking to see if there are any mold colony growths in places prone to mold growths, not storing wet clothes, shoes or any other apparel in bathrooms or closed in places. Using a dehumidifier to keep the humidity in the bathroom or room low is also recommended.

Mold allergy symptoms can be treated by anti-allergy medication but medical practitioners recommend removing the source of the allergy entirely to prevent any other serious mold allergy symptoms. Perennial exposure to molds and their mold spores can cause mold allergy symptoms to grow more severe.

Toxic Mold Symptoms

Make sure you do not misjudge your mold allergy symptoms for toxic mold symptoms. These two are entirely different and toxic mold can kill you. Some toxic mold symptoms that you need to watch out for are blood in cough, a bleeding nose, difficulty in breathing, pulmonary hemorrhage and skin rashes.

Mold allergy symptoms need to be controlled because constant exposure to molds can be dangerous to your lungs and health. It is better to spend some time and money in repairing your home or any other part of your house compared to spending a lot of time and money in the hospital due to mold allergy symptoms gone awry.