If you have a large black patch of moist, furry mold across your wall, then you will likely try to clean it off yourself or you will consider calling a professional mold remediation company to take care of it for you. In such cases, it is highly obvious that there is a mold problem and that you need professional aid in dealing with it.
Unfortunately, though it is not always so obvious that you have a mold problem. Sometimes, mold can ‘fester’ in your home for months or even years while being completely undetected and this, in turn, can have serious negative consequences on your home and/or your health. Read on and we’ll look at some of the different ways that you can detect mold on your premises and identify the need for a mold remediation company.
Signs That You Have a Mold Problem
Other than the obvious sign that you have visible mold on your walls or ceiling, one of the most obvious signs that you have a mold problem is that you can detect a musty smell in your home. This is actually worrying, as the musty smell, in particular, is associated with the toxic black mold that is most harmful to your health.
Another sign that you might have a mold problem, is that you notice effects on your health.
Mold can affect our health in a number of ways. For one, mold can cause an allergic reaction when we inhale it and this can have a similar effect as breathing in dander or pollen when you have an allergy. If you’ve been waking up in the mornings with a scratchy, dry throat and watering eyes then it may well be that you’re struggling with mold inhalation.
Mold can also cause more severe symptoms over time, particularly the toxic black mold as this produces a lot of poisonous ‘mycotoxins’. These can cause breathing problems as well as fatigue, headaches, and low mood. If you feel like you’ve got the flu all the time, then mold might once again be called into question. It might be time to start thinking about mold remediation companies.
Risk Factors for Mold
Of course, if you get a painful chest, you don’t immediately jump to the conclusion that it’s a heart attack. Normally you will also take into account the risk factors and whether or not you’re an ‘at at risk’ group.
So what are the ‘risk factors for mold that make you more likely to have it on your property? The biggest and most serious is by far the presence of moisture in your property and if your home is very damp or has recently suffered from water damage, then this puts you at risk.
Your risk increases even more if your home is also very cold. To understand this, it’s useful to understand that mold will only attach itself to surfaces that are damp. If you have a cold, wet wall in a basement, then this will be much more likely to attract mold because that’s where mold thrives.
What’s more, colder surfaces are the ones that tend to be moist in the first place. This is true because the moisture in the air will condense when it comes into contact with cold surfaces, creating droplets of water. A common mistake that leads to mold is to leave your heating off too late into the year.
Where to Look for Mold
Before you call a mold remediation service, you might choose to first try and locate the mold yourself on your property. Often this will be very easy – you should find that the mold tends to collect in a number of places:
- Anywhere that is constantly moist and/or constantly in contact with moisture
- Anywhere that is very cold
- Anywhere that doesn’t have access to circulating air and thus doesn’t get dried out as often or as thoroughly as it should
These factors together mean that often, mold will affect the ‘air pockets’ behind furniture. It’s common to find mold behind sofas, cupboards, and curtains for example. Likewise, you can also have a mold problem in the corners of your ceiling when you have a flat roof that collects rainwater and it can often be found alongside cracks and leaks.
The problem though is that sometimes the mold problem will be located in places where it can’t be seen – such as underneath floorboards or in wall cavities. This is why you should sometimes call mold remediation companies even if you can’t locate the presence of mold yourself.
What a Mold Remediation Service Does
If you suspect you have a mold problem, then you will need to call a mold remediation company to come and help you identify it and clean it. But what do these companies do?
Their first job will be to prevent any kind of water damage that might be causing the mold. If you have a leak, if you have a flood, or if you have standing water anywhere, then your mold remediation company will deal with these problems so that the mold won’t keep coming back – note that mold spores can settle and grow in as little as 24 hours!
Mold remediation companies also need to actually find the mold that is causing the mold problem. They will normally do this by using tools to identify the source of water damage – this means using infrared sensors and other detectors that they can use to find leaks and other moisture you might not normally find. They can also break through walls and rip up floorboards and carpet to find mold that you wouldn’t otherwise identify – don’t worry, they will restore your property afterward.
Finally, these companies will go about actually performing mold remediation and cleaning everything up. They will not only clean away the visible mold but will also sanitize the area, remove any lingering odors and generally ensure that your home is as healthy as it possibly can be once they’re finished and that you’re ready to go back to living there normally.
When you are in need of a mold damage repair company in Asheville, Fairview, or Montreat, NC contact Secure Restoration.
