Signs of Mold in Your Home

<p class="has-drop-cap" value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">The existance of mold is unavoidable and is not a bad thing in and of itself. However, when mold blooms in your home, its mere existance can be life altering. Mold can grow anywhere there is enough moisture, like the obvious bathroom or kitchen, but also inside of walls and other dark places where unseen moisture can go undetected. Those dark crevices provide ample mosture and food to allow mold to grow and cause damage to your home and health before you even know you have a problem. There are signs to be aware of that can clue you in to microbial growth before it can have a catastrophic effect of the structural integrity of your homr or your family's health.The existance of mold is unavoidable and is not a bad thing in and of itself. However, when mold blooms in your home, its mere existance can be life altering. Mold can grow anywhere there is enough moisture, like the obvious bathroom or kitchen, but also inside of walls and other dark places where unseen moisture can go undetected. Those dark crevices provide ample mosture and food to allow mold to grow and cause damage to your home and health before you even know you have a problem. There are signs to be aware of that can clue you in to microbial growth before it can have a catastrophic effect of the structural integrity of your homr or your family’s health.

What are the signs?

• Be aware of visible changes in your home. At the first notice of mildew of mold, clean it. Small patches of growth can easily be cleaned and treated regularly to avoid regrowth. Make a habit of checking and cleaning the obvious spots, like the kitchen, bathroom, basement and even the attic. If you see it, clean it, don’t ignore it.
• Control the humidity inside your home. This plays a huge part in limiting mold growth in your home. When showering or cooking, run your exhaust fans (make sure they are vented to the outside, not the attic) or open windows to increase ventilation. Keep the termperature level throughout your home all year long to avoid causing excess condensation.
• Fix leaks as soon as you notice them and investigate for damage they may have caused before they were found. Any way you can control leaks or added moisture from hanging around in your home the better. Watch for stains on walls, ceilings, floors or anywhere new or unusual discoloration begins to form. These are visual cues that you may have a leak somewhere, so take action immediately.
• Pay attention to your allergies. If you suffer from seasonal allergies, but are noticing sympotoms out of season, this could be a sign of a mold problem. Listen to your body when it is experiencing unusual reactions, it could be a sign of mold in your home. Typical symptoms may include:
  • Itchy, watery eyes
  • Itchy skin or rashes
  • Congestion
  • Exisitng asthma may be aggravated
  • Fatigue
• The nose knows! If you begin to smell must odors, that is a sign that something may be amiss your home. Dont ignore it, investigate! Dampness has a scent as well, so pay attention to areas that give off that smell and make sure it is well ventilated.
• Rust is a sing of excess moisture, so make sure you get the rooms where you notice rust dried out and well ventilated. It’s not necessarily a sign of mold, but it does show that the room may need addtional help with drying out.
• Open your windows occasionally, just to air out your home. Run your AC, run your ceiling fan or stand alone fans. Whatever you can do to promote air circulation and venetilation in your home will help reduce moisture and mold growth.

Making these steps part of your routine home maintenance can go a long way to preventing microbila growth in your home. It doesn’t take huge, life altering steps to avoid mold growth, but mold growth can make life altering changes to your home and life. A little awareness and proactive steps can save your home and health down the line.