This article contains some signs to look out for that could indicate mold is growing in your home.
Allergic Symptoms of Mold
If you have an allergy problem, there’s a good chance that mold is growing somewhere in your home. Common allergic reactions to mold include sneezing, sore eyes, and runny or stuffy nose.
Do you notice that your allergic reactions are worse when you are at home but feel better when you go out? If so, chances are you have mold. If you find that your allergies are worse in another building, such as your workplace, mold may be growing there.
Smell a musty smell
When you have mold hiding in your home, a musty or damp smell can often be the only clue that it’s there. Don’t ignore mold odors if you don’t see any mold. You need to inspect your home carefully before mold problems get worse.
How to inspect your house for mold?
Signs of Mold Growth
Visible black mold growth on a white ceiling may seem like an obvious sign that there is a problem. However, many people don’t notice small amounts of mold or think it’s just soot or dirt. Sometimes people simply ignore visible mold in their home.
If you can see mold growth by eye, even if it is only small, you need to act immediately. Small spots of mold can spread, and the fact that there is mold shows that damp conditions in your home are conducive to mold growth.
If you don’t take care of mold, it will soon become a bigger problem. Mold growth on surfaces could also be a sign of a much larger mold colony growing out of sight.
Sometimes you may not realize there is mold in your home, especially if it is unusual-looking mold. Some mold appears white and stringy. Other molds appear as clusters of small black spots. Mold can be black, gray-brown, gray-green or white in color. Mold growing behind vinyl wallpaper may even appear orange, pink, or purple. In the most serious cases it will absolutely be necessary to call on a company specializing in the treatment of mold problems such as Batiprosec.
Signs of water problems
If you’ve had moisture problems in your home for a long time, it’s inevitable that mold will start to grow. So if you know you’ve had water issues in your home, that’s a pretty good alarm that you might have mold.
Some signs that you have a moisture problem include water stains or discoloration on the walls, floors, or ceilings of your home. Seeing them could be a clue that there is mold inside or behind the material.
Another sign of a moisture problem is surface abnormalities such as peeling, bubbling, or cracking paint or wallpaper. If your walls are bowed, bulging, or warped, it likely means moisture has penetrated them. Another clue is if the surface of walls or other materials is damp to the touch.
Water leaks
The above signs of water problems in homes are usually created by leaks. However, if you already know that you have had a water leak (such as leaking pipes or a leaking ceiling), that knowledge in itself, even if you don’t see signs of water damage, is a good a sign that you may have mold. growing in your house around the area where the leak was.
Mold growth from leaks can often be masked. If the leak was behind a wall or other surface. Even if the leak wasn’t behind a wall, there could be mold hiding behind a wall because of water that has seeped in.
Past floods
If you live in a flood zone or if your home has flooded in the past, it’s likely that mold has started to grow. Any mold would likely grow in areas where floodwater has sat the longest, such as in the basement. Flooding can often create mold out of sight behind walls or under floors. To avoid being flooded again, there are flood protection solutions such as cofferdams and barriers.
Condensation
If you see a lot of condensation in your home, it is a sign that you have a high amount of humidity and therefore a sign that you may have a mold problem. Condensation will occur on surfaces such as glass windows or metal pipes. Mold could grow where condensation collects and builds up. Rusting interior pipes are a sign that you might have a lot of condensation in your home.
Besides the fact that condensation creates a buildup of moisture on which mold grows, condensation can also be a sign that you have a moisture problem in your home. High humidity can feed mold and is another sign that you may have a potential mold problem.
Toxic Symptoms of Mold
If you suffer from neurological symptoms such as headaches, trouble concentrating, short attention span, memory loss and dizziness, this could be a sign that there is toxic mold growing somewhere. leaves in your house and poisons you.
Mycotoxins from toxic molds such as Stachybotrys chartarum can have a much more severe adverse effect on people than allergic symptoms caused by other non-toxic molds.