Dealing With Dangerous Mold In Your Home
Molds are part and parcel of the ecosystem you live in today. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to let mold take root in your home.
If your home is unusually damp, or you’ve recently had to deal with a leak, mold particles may migrate into your home via that damage and settle down. If they have ready access to high levels of moisture and an undisturbed place to grow, they can rapidly develop into clusters that can not only lower your quality of life but compromise your health.
Share this Image on Your Site!
Simply copy and paste the code below and you can share this infographic on your site:
What Does It Mean If You Have Mold In Your Home?
Mold is a problem on its own, but it can also be indicative of larger structural problems throughout your home. Mold prefers to grow in places that are damp more often than they are dry. As such, if you’re finding mold in your basement or crawl space, it’s more than likely that you have a leak on your hands.
While you can remove mold on your own or with the help of the professionals in your area, you’ll want to work with a foundation, basement, or crawl space repair expert to determine what kind of problem allowed that mold to fester in the first place. Luckily, the contractors in Indianapolis, IN, can inspect your home and provide you with a quote on potential repair services free of charge.
What Mold Can You Find Indoors?
What kinds of mold do you have to be on the lookout for? There are many branches on mold’s family tree. Some of the most common molds to make their way indoors are:
- Cladosporium
- Penicillium
- Alternaria
- Stachybotrys chartarum
Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Alternaria all impact your health, but to a lesser degree than some of their more aggressive cousins. These molds can tamper with the quality of the air in your home and make you more prone to respiratory diseases.
Comparatively, Stachybotrys chartarum, or black mold, is a big problem. Black mold can not only cause severe health problems in residents of all ages, but it can compromise the structural integrity of your home. If a professional discovers black mold in your home, you’ll want to visit your local doctor as soon as you can while letting experts clear your home out for you.
How To Get Mold Out Of Your Home
As mentioned, you can remove mold from your home on your own time. It’s simple enough to scrape a growing mold cluster off of one of your walls. That said, you’ll also need to scrub said wall and the surrounding area to remove mold particles from any porous materials. You may also want to look over any carpeting, furniture, or exposed wood in the area to make sure that the mold spores haven’t migrated. It’s possible that you may need to remove these items from your home entirely if you want to prevent the development of future mold clusters.
Do note, though, that it’s often best to let mold removal professionals deal with black mold. This type of mold can be dangerous to work with if you don’t have the proper tools on hand. If you do want to try and remove the bulk of it on your own, you’ll need a mask and gloves at a minimum.
How To Prevent Mold From Appearing In Your Home
Whether you’ve just cleared out your home or you want to take steps to keep clusters from developing in the first place, you’re in luck. There are several steps you can take to limit the chances of mold developing in your home. These include:
- Move air through your home
- Keep the air vents in your home clean
- Get rid of excess moisture with a dehumidifier
- Don’t let leaks go untreated
- Invest in waterproofing measures for your home
Note that home waterproofing with rigid insulation panels like ExTremeBloc™ or a CrawlSeal™ vapor barrier will significantly lower the moisture levels in your home, allowing you to prevent future basement, crawl space, or foundation damage while also starving mold spores of their needed nutrients.
Mold may make its way into your home, but you don’t have to let it stay there. For help clearing moisture and mold out of your home, you can reach out to the experts working in the Indianapolis, IN, area like Indiana Foundation Service. After a thorough inspection, you’ll have a better idea of what’s going on in your home and how you can take steps to improve the health and safety of your living environment with solutions tailored to your specific repair needs.
Holly Richards-Purpura
Publish Date:
Last Modified Date:
Our Locations
624 North Front Street
Whiteland, IN 46184
2731 Albright Rd
Kokomo, 46902
8 N 3rd St
Lafayette, IN 47901