5 Things to Know about Mold Do you suspect that you have mold in your home? You are not alone. You may see dark spots on the floor or spores on the ceiling. You may notice a musty smell or damp carpet. Here is what you need to know about MOLD. 1) It's natural. Mold has the sole purpose in life to eat what is dead and assist in its decomposing. Outside mold is more helpful than harmful. Indoors, however, where it is confined making its prescense more noticable, that mold becomes toxic to our lungs.
2) Never say 'mold-free'. It is impossible to have a 100% mold-free home. Mold id a natural occurring presence in the environment. The goal is to keep mold from reaching levels that are toxic to your health or destructive to your home. Generally the rule is, if your family is usually healthy, there is good ventilation in your home, and there isn't any water seepage in the house, then you are probably safe.
3) Become the Human Detector. Use your senses of smell, sight and well-being to tell if mold is in your home. Look for dark marks on the ceiling. Does it smell musty or damp in the house? Do you experience frequent wheezing, unusual headaches, fatigue, ringing of the ears or swelling of the tongue? If some of these symptoms exist but you don't have visual clues of mold, you may need to check less visible spots like carwl spaces, attics and around the sump pump. If you still see nothing you may need a professional as mold can accumulate behind walls or under carpet pads.
4) Use Prevention Power. People can stop 80-90% of mold from growing by ending its source...which is mostly water. Make sure your gutters are pitched away from the house. Clean out and cover window wells. Pitch downspouts 4-6 ft. away from the house.
5) Let the pros handle mold. Once you know you have a mold issue it'll need to be handled powerfully. Cleaning with bleach is not a good idea. Bleach does not get down to the root of the spores and is a toxic cleaner to be breathing. Tearing off a moldy spot of dry wall or wood, or even scrubbing a spot could make the mold spread throughout the home. The mold needs to be 'locked down and confined' before cleaning it. If in doubt, let the professionals deal with it.
