A toxic mold infestation is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to your home. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detail, toxic mold is responsible for 93% of all chronic sinus infections. Beyond sinus infections, mold in homes and mold in schools has been tied to sneezing, itchy eyes, upper respiratory infections, and sudden onset asthma. In particularly bad cases, exposure to black mold spores has been shown to cause death.
If you’re like most homeowners, you likely have no idea what to look for in a mold inspection to be sure you aren’t in need of a mold removal and mold damage repair service. Here are just three of the most important things you should be aware of when checking to make sure your home is safe.
How to Tell if Your Home is Overrun with Toxic Mold
- Look in the Most Likely Places
- Pay Attention to Your Health
- Discolored Walls and Bad Smells Are a Dead Giveaway
As any mold damage repair service worth its salt can tell you, mold tends to take hold in very specific areas of the home. MedicineNet.com points out that mold usually appears in dark, damp areas, like ducts, crawlspaces, and attics. If you suspect you’re having a problem with mold, these are the first places you should look. Just be sure to wear a respirator on your search to avoid breathing in spores.
As the popular home safety blog Mold Blogger suggests, one of the surest signs you have a mold problem is your health suddenly deteriorating. Keep in mind, you might not always feel bad in a home infected with mold, but if you find yourself inexplicably sneezing, coughing, or struggling for air in a certain room of your house, you know you’ve found a problem. Call your local mold damage repair service immediately.
One of the most common ways homeowners stumble upon a mold problem is when their senses start to alert them to small issues around the house. If you start to suspect you have a problem, pay special attention to the color of your paint, wallpaper, and ceiling boards. Remember that while toxic mold may be referred to as black mold, it can appear in colors ranging from green to brown to black.
Black mold often goes undetected when it infests the bathroom, as it puts out a stench that isn’t unlike the smell of old urine. If you’ve scrubbed your bathroom time and time again but the smell doesn’t go away, chances are mold is hiding in the washroom.
How did you find out that your home was in dire need of a mold removal expert? Share your story with us in the comments below. Read more about this topic at this link.
