Buyer Beware of these House Mold Dangers Think about mold when you buy your next house, especially if you’re going to live on the Gulf Coast, or any other hurricane-affected area.
Since most people don’t even realize they are living in a house with mold, you probably won’t find mold-related issues on sellers’ disclosures. This makes it very important to make sure your next home purchase doesn’t come with fungus on the side, especially since it can lead to health issues from simple headaches and allergies to conditions as serious as lung disease and other deadly ailments.
Looking for signs of mold can be easy; high humidity, musky smell, and leak stains are all simple things to look for as you walk through the house. If you’re still suspicious, a professional mold inspection may be necessary, and even then, you still should be prepared with solutions after you move in.
As a biological pollutant, mold has grown to be a serious health hazard that is researched extensively by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the American Lung Association, and The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; all three have contributed to addressing the specific dangers of mold on a new EPA website.
Mold might only seem harmless when we find it on cheese in the fridge, but the truth is, it can have dangerous effects. According to a 1999 Mayo Clinic Study, mold was the determined cause of nearly all documented chronic sinus infections, which afflicted 37 million Americans at the time. Furthermore, between 1979 and 1999, there was a staggering 300% increase in the number of asthma cases in America, an increase linked to mold.
Exposure to mold can also increase your chances of contracting lung disease, the third most common killers to Americans.
Direct contact with mold can result in skin infection and/or an allergic reaction. Even worse, some molds can cause food poisoning if ingested, a condition known as mycotoxicosis.
We come into contact with these harmful molds more often than we realize – almost half of all homes have damp conditions suitable for mold and bacterial growth.
Since you spend nearly ninety percent of your time in your home, you need to be careful when looking for your next house.
There are many homes on the market with house mold dangers; buyer beware, the house you are looking at may have been in a recent flood or hurricane.
“If most people don’t know if their own house has a mold problem, how can I figure out whether or not the house I’m looking at has one?” one may ask, but it’s not as hard as you would think.
Walking in and sensing a feeling of dampness, experiencing respiratory discomfort, and noticing several indoor leak stains would give it away, but mold problems that are not as obvious can be also detected without being a professional.
Outside, look at the landscaping close to the house for signs of mold, and pay attention the condition of the gutters. Are they in good condition? Do they carry water far enough from the house?
Don’t forget to ask about floods or any water damage the house may have experienced since the house was built, even if the house is nearly a century old. After all, once mold has occupied the home, it can never be killed – especially if the conditions promote the living of fungus with high humidity and poor maintenance habits. If you see other floorings covered with rugs inside, that may be a red flag as well.
Even if you can’t find any signs of mold in your desired house, you still might want to hire a professional mold inspector anyway, if you want to protect your health and investment.
If the house is located in an area such as New Orleans or southern Florida or any other area that gets a lot of hurricane attention, you might want to get expert advice anyway. Homes along frequently flooded rivers or built in areas with high water tables are also candidates for an automatic professional mold inspection.
If you do eventually find a house that seems to be safe from mold dangers, your fight against the fungi is far from over. Not only should you constantly maintain your gutters and plumbing systems, but you should be prepared to handle a problem when mold first starts to present itself.
Ventilation and stopping water leaks are usually the two fastest ways to eliminate mold risk, but other than opening windows and fixing bad pipes, be sure to keep your pets from soiling inside your home.
You may need to replace the floors if it gets bad enough, but for a very minor problem, a small dose of bleach may do the trick.
If you have already bought a home and are replacing every square inch of flooring and plumbing in your new house hasn’t worked yet, you can still call a professional to check for those pre-existing mold issues.
Unless your new house was a swamp to begin with, professional attention should take care of your mold problem.
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| Types of Mold and Their Effects People spend up to 90% of their lives indoors. They feel safe inside their homes and work places, but some places may not be as safe as they seem. Mold is seen as the green spots on the stale bread, or on the leftovers in the back of the fridge. However, mold can be a greater danger to our health than most people give it credit for. Inhaling different types of molds and fungi may create major health problems such as allergic reactions, poisoning, and infections. These health problems can occur in human beings as well as their pets.
Mold grows on moist organic matter, while mold that grows on fabric is classified as mildew. The different reactions that are associated with mold and mildew can vary from person to person, depending on the amount of mold that the person is subjected to and how their body reacts to it. It can produce reactions in people with no allergies to it at all, if subjected to enough of the mold. Mold can be inhaled, eaten in food, and can cause reactions just by touching it. It can also produce other toxic chemicals known as mycotoxins that are carried airborne on the mold spores themselves.
Once a type of mold has found a suitable niche, such as damp wood, carpet, or rubber, it will begin to eat the material it found and grow. Some types of mold can even live in below-freezing temperatures, while others can live in temperatures of up to 122 degrees F. They are most commonly found in habitats where the temperature is between 50 and 90 degrees F, and in badly ventilated areas where there is little disruption from air movement. Mold also likes to grow in pet areas, like underneath little-moved water bowls and litter boxes, as well as in bedding that is not changed frequently.
Certain type of mold have been connected to the rise of asthma cases over the last 20 years, and can weaken your immune system so that you are more susceptible to other diseases. There are four different kinds of health problems that are associated with mold: allergies, tissue irritation, infection, and toxic effects from mycotoxins. Some mycotoxins are very dangerous, such as Aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is most commonly found in cereals and milk, and is the carcinogen that caused the “Turkey X Disease” in England in 1960. Some, however, can help, such as penicillin, and have positive pharmacological uses. Many of the types found indoors, however, are not helpful at all, and can usually harm people and animals, sometimes permanently. Mold-related allergies and infections are on the rise for people and household pets, and can even be deadly.
The names of common household molds can seem very strange, such as Aflatoxin, Fumonisin, and Sterigmatocystin. Alternaria is a large spore that is breathed in, causing allergic reactions in the nose, mouth, or upper respiratory system. Inside, it can be found in fabrics such as curtains and carpets, the soil in indoor plants, and constantly damp areas like in the shower or underneath leaky sinks. Aspergillus grows in warm, damp places, but can also be found in dust. Cladosporium is usually identified as an outdoor mold, but can enter the house through airways such as the HVAC, and can cause hay fever and symptoms of asthma. Penicillum is very common, causing allergies, asthma, and hay fever. It can be found in carpets. Stachybotrys is a toxic black mold that grows only in excessively damp places. It produces airborne spores that are breathed in, causing such reactions as difficulty in breathing, loss of memory or hearing, dizziness, and bleeding lungs.
The most common type of reaction to mold is allergies. Allergies can be triggered from breathing or touching mold spores. The most common allergic reactions are not usually defined as serious; they are mainly symptoms associated with the flu. The more serious allergic reactions are associated with pneumonia, including lung infections. Symptoms of a mold allergy include coughing, wheezing, respiratory infections, irritation of the nose and throat, congestion, irritated eyes, sneezing, skin reactions like rashes, and headaches. Even in people or animals that are not allergic, exposure to mold can irritate the eyes, nose, throat, skin, or lungs.
Lung infections can occur when mold spores are breathed in by people who have weak immune systems, and the black mold can continue to grow in their lungs. Molds are also the cause of athlete’s foot and yeast infections. The skin infections are usually more easily treatable, though none are to be desired.
Mold is a constant both indoors and outdoors. Most molds that are inside your house are local, though some come from several states away. A few are even linked to other countries and continents. Molds can harm or help, and every day more molds and mycotoxins are being identified and studied.
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