Mold is one of the most feared problems of modern houses. It poses significant health problems to humans and animals and endangers a property. Yet for something so harmful, mold is quite hard to detect. People may live in a home for years without even realizing it has mold. This is because mold often grows in the seldom-seen areas of a home. But even when mold is visible, it is still not easy to deal with. Removing mold takes time.
Mold describes forms of fungi that grow in warm, damp, and humid spaces. It shows up as green, black, brown, or grey fuzzy growths. But not all mold growth is visible to the eyes. Mold can be in a home without clear evidence of its presence. This is part of what makes mold such a difficult problem. Moreover, mold growth does not depend on whether a home is clean or dirty. As Paramount Management in Phoenix explains, it can be present in the neatest home because it is not removed by cleaning.
How to deal with mold and mold remediation
The typical approach of most people to mold removal is to scrub it away with a brush. But this only works to remove surface growth; it does not kill mold spores or mold that is rooted in the material. This is why mold keeps returning. Furthermore, mold often hides in completely unreachable places; places we don’t think of when cleaning a home. Favorite hiding places for mold include ducts of ventilation systems, the components of HVAC systems, and inside walls or ceiling tiles.
Mold can be present without being visible. Removing visible and invisible mold often requires mold remediation. Mold remediation stops and reverses the action of mold within a home by removing mold completely and permanently. It is different from mold removal because it not only removes visible mold but also deals with residual mold and microscopic mold spores that linger in the home.
Signs that your home needs mold remediation
How can you tell if there is mold in your house and whether your home needs mold remediation?
Allergies and other health problems
One of the surest signs of mold infestation is inexplicable health issues. Do family members experience asthma attacks, coughing, wheezing, rashes, watery eyes, runny nose, itchy eyes, and other allergy-like symptoms? Do the symptoms tend to go away when they are outside the home, only to return if they come back indoors? Do pets also have these health problems? Are children and elderly people most affected? If you answered yes to these questions, there is a chance you have a mold infestation in your home. Certain types of mold release toxins that cause respiratory illnesses and increase people’s risk of cancer or heart disease.
Recent water event
Mold infestation is often synonymous with water problems; mold only thrives if there are dampness and high humidity. A water intrusion event can catalyze mold growth. So if you have had a recent water issue, the possibility of a mold problem increases. Does water always enter a part of the home when it rains? Have you experienced leaks behind a wall or some other hidden surface (such as tiles) in the past months? Or was there recent flooding of the property? These are events that set the stage for possible mold infestation. One of these water events is enough reason to have a mold removal specialist inspect the home.
