As an adult, you have most likely seen your share of mold. You may have found mold on bread or cheese that is past its expiration date or mold on the food you left in the refrigerator for too long. But when mold is growing in your home, there is no such thing as a little mold when it comes to you and your health. Daily exposure to mold can have harmful implications for you and your family.
How Can Mold Be Dangerous?
There are many kinds of mold that can grow in damp spaces in your home. All mold are fungi, living organisms that cannot make their own food; instead, they break down things in the environment to stay alive. There are thousands of different kinds of mold. Some molds are beneficial to the environment, such as the antibiotic penicillin.
All molds have spores. In order to grow and thrive, molds release spores into the environment to start new mold colonies. In many cases, it is these mold spores that are the problem. Mold spores are in the air all the time, and if you have mold growing in your house, mold spores are present.
For people with allergies and asthma, mold can cause real problems. More than 50 million people in the United States have allergies, and more than 24 million people have asthma. People with allergies or asthma have overactive immune systems that treat mold spores, plant cells, and even fabric particles as a threat. Allergy sufferers can have headaches, runny noses, bouts of sneezing or coughing, and itchy eyes from daily mold exposure. Asthma sufferers can have difficulty breathing and may suffer asthma attacks in homes where mold is present. People who have allergies or asthma that are exposed to mold daily may have more illnesses, such as bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections, and pneumonia.
If there is a lot of mold in a building, allergy and asthma sufferers can have an immediate severe reaction. They can have difficulty breathing, run a fever, and need emergency treatment.
What About Black Mold?
There are different types of black mold, but only one type of black mold can be serious and even deadly. It is called Stachybotryschartarum, or S. chartarum. In a home, this type of black mold may look black or green. S. chartarum loves to digest products that contain cellulose or plant fibers. You have many objects in your home that contain cellulose, such as paper, wood, and even the drywall used in construction.
Black mold is toxic to humans, especially those with allergies or asthma. Block mold produces spores that can make people with allergies or asthma sick, but it also produces other particles that are in the air called microbial volatile organic compounds or mVOCs. Because mVOCs and spores are constantly in the air, people in your home that are allergic to black mold can become very ill very quickly.
What Can I Do?
If you suspect mold in your home, especially if you had a flooded basement, you will need to have a mold expert come and inspect your home for mold. Top to Bottom Renovation has a team of mold experts that can inspect your home, work to eliminate mold growing in your home, work on water removal, repair the damage, and then test your home to make sure all of the mold is gone. Why not give us a call today and let us give you peace of mind?
Mold Remediation by Top To Bottom Renovation
The discovery of mold in your home often indicates that more may be hidden elsewhere. Mold can cause damage to surfaces and materials as well as pose health risks to occupants. Top To Bottom Renovation provides professional mold removal and remediation services. Our technicians are certified and proficient in removing mold, treating affected areas, and restoring damage to prevent future growth.
