Did you know that about four and a half million cases of asthma are suspected to be caused by dampness and mold in people's homes?
Mold is unsightly, but it can also seriously affect your quality of life!
Mold can be obvious or subtle, so learning the telltale signs of it in your home can help you find it. Read these techniques to learn how to detect mold.
Why Is It Important to Find Mold?
According to the National Capital Poison Center, "actively-growing mold damages the material it lives on, thereby impairing structural integrity." In other words, it's not just a nuisance or a danger to your health, it can damage your home or business!
Mold also triggers some people's allergies. Even if you're not allergic to mold, anyone can experience mold symptoms like headaches, difficulty breathing, and other effects.
How to Detect Mold
One of the easiest ways to find mold is just by giving your house a careful examination. You might find mold as black spots in corners.
If you find any mold, remember, there may be more than you can see at first, possibly much more. Any spots in the home with visible mold may hide more invisible mold nearby.
Smell
Finding mold by smell is another simple technique. Hopefully (or maybe hopefully not) you already know what mold smells like and can detect it from memory.
Otherwise, remember that mold has a moist, musty smell. Since it's dependent on water to grow, you might want to check the basement. The attic can also be a danger zone because any mold there is less likely to be detected and dealt with.
Water Leaks
If any areas of your house have water leaks, there is a very good chance that some mold has developed nearby. This can be true even if a leak has been repaired.
If water has flooded in the home at any point, there could be mold leftover from then. Any area that has been wet for long periods of time could have mold, and especially any area that has a current leak.
Health Symptoms
If you or past tenants have experienced any of the symptoms of mold, this might tip you off to its presence.
Remember that the signs of mold affecting health include any kind of breathing issue, as well as headaches. Toxic mold can cause rashes, red eyes, and sinusitis.
Air Ducts
If you're having trouble finding the source of mold, don't forget to check your ducts. Mold particles can easily end up in ducts, at which point your ventilation system will blow them throughout the house.
In these cases, you might experience mold symptoms in areas of the house that are far from the source of mold, making it more difficult to find. Remember to check the basement, attic, and any wet areas or places that used to be wet.
For small mold issues, you may be able to take care of themselves. For bigger problems or construction cleaning, you might want to call on some professionals.
Keeping Your Home Clean
We hope you've learned something about how to detect mold from this piece. To learn more about quality mold repair or pest control, check out our website.
