Is mold in your house affecting your health?

7/31/2017 (Permalink)

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With summer, comes mold. An excessive moisture level enables household mold to grow on floors, walls, ceilings as well as in furniture, posing serious health risks on building occupants. Mold can turn out to be an uncontrollable problem in your home if not detected and eliminated on time. If there is a constant source of humidity or moisture in the space, it makes the conditions favorable enough for mold to take a complete hold on your home walls and flooring. The problem worsens if any of your family members is sensitive to allergies and/or mold specifically.

How house mold becomes uncontrollable

Mold is a natural fungus found in our environment. It is also found in buildings where dust, moisture, and dirt accumulates. While most house molds don’t bring serious problems, the little mold spores in your home can rapidly multiply in number of moist and damp environment and bring health concerns.

You must have seen mold growing on plants and food. The same way, mold grows on wood, paper, fabric and home building items such as dry wall and home furniture like carpets. All mold needs to thrive, is the moisture.

Home molds can instantly find a favorable breeding setting in homes if there is:

• High humidity level from humidifiers
• Poor venting of clothes dryer
• Too much steam-cooking
• Backed-up sewer
• Leakage in roof
• Flooding
• Constant dampness in crawl spaces and basements
• Water pooling from overflowing toilet or bathtub
• Leaking plumbing

It is to be noted that if leaks are detected on time, water is cleaned up from flooded basements, and areas are thoroughly dried out, the mold spores present in the air can be prevented to make a home in your building. Furniture or carpets that get wet, should be immediately dried in order to prevent mold growth.

How House Mold Can Cause Health Concerns

Almost all kinds of mold lead to respiratory problems. People having a sensitivity to mold get a negligible reaction, while those who are specifically allergic may have more noticeable symptoms. Certain kinds of mold are more hazardous than others since they cause severe health problems. The mold containing chemical named mycotoxin, is highly risky if inhaled.

Generally, the home mold may cause the following symptoms:

• Nasal problems such as sneezing, running nose and congestion
• Throat problems
• Wheezy, difficulty breathing
• Frequent cough
• Worsening allergy response
• Skin rashes
• Irritation in eyes
• Asthma attacks

The Vulnerable People from Mold

Though mold affects the health of everyone, yet following are the people are more vulnerable to health problems caused by home mold:

• People having asthma, allergies and/or other respiratory problems
• People having weak or affected immune system, for instance, patients having HIV
• People who are on chemotherapy medications
• People passing through or recently had organ transplant
• Elderly people since they have weaker immune system
• Toddlers, infants, and young children

How to Encounter Mold?

To control mold growth and stop the health problems caused by it, you must first strive to get rid of sources of moisture in your home. Household mold is often visible and many cases don’t require mold testing. Mold may leave a fuzzy, velvety and leathery appearance, along with shade from yellow to green to black, sometimes looks like a discoloration or stain. If you find mold or sense a musty smell, take steps to block moisture sources. The cleaning of small spaces affected by mold can be done by brushing and vacuuming or you can also hire a pro for this purpose.  During brushing away mold, wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, rubber gloves and safety goggles.

Take prompt action and you can successfully kick the mold off your home to have a healthy mold-free living environment. For expert consultation and mold removal services, SERVPRO of East Meadow / Westbury's skilled technicians are just a call away.