Mold Warning Signs: How to Tell if You Have a Mold Problem

5/10/2017 (Permalink)

Mold visible on the walls of this bathroom that was a recent mold remediation job of SERVPRO of Oak Park/Ferndale.

Mold Warning Signs: How to Tell if You Have a Mold Problem

Find mold before it becomes a major problem

Discovering that you have mold within your home can cause you to feel many things. You might initially feel disgust, frustration or even a sense of being overwhelmed. Placing the home up for sale might be the first thing that pops into your mind, but that should be a last resort. Many people live in a home with mold and never realize it is there. They ignore the warning signs until the problem reaches a point where the mold is taking over and affecting their health.

Warning Signs of Mold:

Therefore, its important to be aware of what the signs are that you may be sharing your home with more than just your family. Signs that you may have mold include:

• A strange odor: Mold has a pungent smell. When it is confined to one area of your home, you may notice an unpleasant odor when you are in that area. Mold can sometimes live within the walls or behind wallpaper, and so you might not immediately associate the smell with mold. If you do notice an unusual persistent odor in your home, the culprit may be mold.

• The appearance of mold: In your shower stall or bathtub, its easy to distinguish normal soap scum from mold. However, in the basement or cellar you may have to investigate a little further to find the mold. Mold will take hold of damp areas, so if you have a wall or floor where dampness collects, mold could very well be there as well.

• Health symptoms: Because mold is not always visible, it can be difficult realizing that you do indeed have a mold problem. If you feel listless, congested and experience watering eyes while in your home, these can all be signs of the presence of mold. It is not uncommon for a person who lives in a home that has mold to feel better while at work or out shopping. Their health problems begin the moment they step through their front door. Mold can often be the cause of this.

Do You Have a Mold Problem?

If you do think that you may have a mold problem, you’ll need to put on your investigator hat and get to work. Check all moist areas of your home first. If that doesn’t turn up any mold, consider calling in a professional.

Contact the Professionals!!

An indoor air quality hygienist (IAQH) is a professional who has been specially trained to detect mold in your home and perform the tests needed to determine they type of mold that are present and where the mold is present. These test results are then used by the mold remediation company. These professionals are trained to properly clean up mold and remove all tracing of it from your home as well as the air and HVAC system, if needed. There are many types of mold, there are toxic and non-toxic, some can be airborne, some areas in the home may have the mold present while others do not. Without this testing performed, you cannot know the type of mold id present or the proper procedures and chemicals to use to clean the mold. The IAQH should perform a posttest after the mold remediation has been completed to confirm that the mold has been removed from your home properly and that the mold levels are back to normal. It is highly recommended that the IAQH and the mold remediation company not be the same company, therefore assuring that you are getting honest results.

It can be difficult to stay in a home where the mold is causing an odor or is visible. You may feel very uncomfortable; however, for most people a small amount of mold will not cause serious health problems.

If you do suffer from allergies and find it is causing breathing problems, it might be wise to find a temporary place to stay until the mold problem is addressed.

Ignoring the warning signs that you may have mold only prolongs the problems you will experience. Be aggressive in locating the source of the mold and addressing it. After all, nothing is more important than your health.

The best way to tackle a mold problem is to call us here at SERVPRO of Oak Park/Ferndale. We can point you in the right direction for testing, (or you can find your own and share the report that is no older than a week old). Once that has been done and report has been received, we will come out and complete a detailed estimate for you. After you approve the estimate or your insurance company does, we will take care of your mold problem in a quick but professional manner. With all the different types of mold, SERVPRO technicians are trained in mold remediation and have all the equipment and cleaning products needed to eliminate any form of mold found, including setting specialty equipment to remove mold from the air.

Call us today at 248-246-0790 to discuss your mold problem. We can recommend some reputable IAQH for testing that we require prior to quoting any mold remediation. We want to ensure that we can get your home back within a normal range, “Like it never even happened.”