How to Determine If Your Home has a Mold Problem: The Air is the Concern

2/14/2020 (Permalink)

It's Not the Mold You See, It's the Mold You Don't

It’s widely known that mold can have health effects when in the home. Surprisingly it’s not the mold itself that is potentially dangerous, instead it’s the spores that fly in the air.

Mold is often present in homes in the Mid-Ohio Valley area. We often get calls regarding this in areas such as Parkersburg, WV, Harrisville, WV and other surrounding areas. Basically wherever there is water and moisture, there’s a strong chance of mold growth in the home.

Why is Mold Something to Be Aware Of?

Mold gives off microscopic spores that travel through the air. When inhaled it may cause some health effects and for this reason it is something we should all be aware of in our homes. The place where our families spend a lot of their time.

“Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.”

The spores travel through the air and can impact the air in your home even if the mold is not visible to you. Have you ever smelt a slightly musty smell? That’s mold. That’s the spores in the air. Don’t be too concerned just yet though; there are levels to this and some amounts are safe (our team can help answer that question in further).

Things to Know About Mold

• Mold is present everywhere. Whether it’s indoors or outdoors it will be present where there is moisture.
• Mold spores are pushed through the air from any air flow, whether it’s from natural wind, AC, doorways or anything like that.
• Mold spores thrive in moisture. The spores are the mold’s method of expanding the organism. When the spores land in moisture it allows them to grow into more mold. Keeping your home dry is very important to minimise mold growth.
• Mold spores create a musty smell in the air. This is the easiest method to detect mold in your home.
• High humidity helps grow mold. Humidity promotes moisture and this is ideal for mold growth.

How to Determine If Mold Is a Problem

Determining mold issues in your home is quite often simple but overlooked by homeowners. You just need to try these simple things:

• Is your home very musty? If it is very musty or “damp” in the air smell, then there is most likely a mold issue occurring.
• Can you see it? Sounds obvious and it is! If you can see mold growing, then there is a good chance that there is more mold growing underneath surfaces such as your dry wall. If you can see it, call someone immediately to have your questions and concerns answered. Do not ignore it.
• Are there damp areas in your home? Like we mentioned before, mold loves moisture. Therefore it’s important to check areas that are more prone to mold - examples include the shower, laundry and the basement.

Mold Removal Vs Mold Remediation: Which is Your Best Bet?

Most businesses advertise themselves as “mold removal” companies and often make claims of full mold removal. This is an utter lie that customers should be aware of. It’s not possible to remove mold 100% as we mentioned before. Mold is everywhere. It’s the level of mold that is important to track.

Mold remediation is what we always suggest. Mold remediation reduces the mold spore count in the air, taking it back to the natural (or baseline) level. This is in addition to the removal of mold that is present in the home.

Please remember though; our team at SERVPRO cannot guarantee 100% mold removal as that will be lying to our customers and to you. We will remove as much as possible, remediate the air to it’s natural and safe levels and make your home air quality safe again. We cannot promise it will not grow back because this is dependant on moisture levels in your home and in certain areas, some of which can be unavoidable.

We hope this has helped

The Team at SERVPRO of Wood, Ritchie & Pleasants Counties

If You Suspect Signs of Mold, Call Us Today – (304) 428 7378