Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Take Care of Your Mold
Do you have mold in your home? With all of the things that we have going on in our lives, it’s easy to forget to clean everything. You might see a little mold behind the sink or in the basement and think, “I can clean that up later!” Next thing you know, you’re procrastinating. You put it off for a few days and then a few weeks. Yet, what happens if you put it off for a few months or even a year? To put it simply, it can get messy.
To help you fully understand the consequences of mold, you need to understand the three different types of mold and what can happen if you’re exposed to them.
The Three Classifications of Mold & Their Risks
Allergenic
Do you ever feel like you’re having an allergic reaction to your house? Maybe you’ve been sneezing more or getting rashes. There are many different symptoms to look out for, but you could be having an allergic reaction to mold. Allergenic mold can cause and produce allergies, which can lead to allergic reactions and even asthma attacks.
Below are some of the different types of allergenic molds:
- Alternaria: It’s usually dark green or brown and has a velvet-like texture. It grows where in damp places, such as your bathtub or under the sink. Often, it can lead to asthma-like symptoms.
- Aspergillus: It can come in a variety of colors and typically has long flask-shaped spores. Although it is an allergenic mold, it does have the capability of becoming more toxic. After all, it can lead to asthma attacks, inflamed lungs, and respiratory inflammation.
- Aureobasidium: It is usually found in pink, brown or black colors and is often found behind wallpaper or on painted wooden surfaces (such as baseboards and furniture pieces). Touching it can lead to eye, skin, or nail infections.
- Cladosporium: This is an olive-green or brown colored mold that is often found on fabrics, upholsteries, and carpet. It can irritate your skin and lungs, leading to rashes and lesions, asthma, and sinusitis.
- Fusarium: You’ll often see it growing on food products and is pink, white, or reddish in color. It is both an allergenic and toxigenic mold. At its allergenic level, it can lead to allergic reactions such as a sore throat, sneezing, and rash.
- Mucor: You’ll usually find this white or greyish mold in thick patches near your HVAC system or ducting. Exposure primarily affects the respiratory system, causing individuals to develop or worsen asthma.
- Penicillin: This velvet-like mold is often blue or green in color. It is common in water-damaged houses, especially in the carpets, mattresses, wallpapers, and ducting. It can lead to pulmonary inflammation and asthma and be particularly harmful to children, pets, and people with immune disorders.
- Trichoderma: This type of mold is often found in green patches with specs of white and is often found on damp wallpaper, carpet, and fabrics. It can lead to structural rotting as it has the ability to destroy wood and textiles.
Pathogenic
Pathogenic mold types can lead to infections in humans. This is because they come from fungus that grows on or in human tissue. These infections can lead to health problems in everyone but especially individuals who are already immunocompromised.
Here are some of the different types of pathogenic mold:
- Chaetomium: This type of mold changes colors from white to grey to brown. Overtime, it may even become black. It’s very commonly found in water-damaged homes and can lead to skin and nail infections.
- Some Trichoderma: Although trichoderma is primarily an allergenic mold, some types be pathogenic and lead to pulmonary and liver infections
- Ulocladium: Because this type of mold is usually black, it is often confused for Stachybotrys or Black Mold. You are most likely to see it in places that have high condensation levels, such as your bathroom or around windows. Exposure can lead to hay fever, difficulty breathing, and even skin infections.
Toxigenic
Have you heard of the term “toxic mold”? When people use that phrase, they’re usually referring to toxigenic mold. This type of mold is extremely dangerous to be around. It can even lead to deadly health conditions.
Here are some examples of toxigenic mold:
- Acremonium: It’s pink, grey, orange or white in color and often grows in humidifiers, cooling coils, air conditioning units, and window sealants. Exposure can lead to bone marrow diseases, severely compromise the immune system, and impair brain function.
- Fusarium: As mentioned above in the Allergenic section, this type of mold is both an allergenic and a toxigenic type. The more it is allowed to grow on food the more toxic it can get. Overtime, exposure can lead to life-threatening conditions like bone infections or brain abscess.
- Stachybotrys or Black Mold: This slimy mold is usually dark greenish or black in color and thrives in damp places with high humidity levels. Exposure can lead to a wide variety of consequences, including difficulty breathing, sinusitis, depression, persistent coughing, migraines, and a burn-like feeling in your airways. Infants and children are especially at risk as black mold has been known to cause neurological problems in children and pulmonary bleeding in babies.
How to Clean Up Mold
As you can probably tell from reading through the different types of molds and their consequences, you need to be careful when it comes to cleaning it. After all, you don’t want to risk getting too up close and personal with it. Depending on the type of mold, the exposure could lead to serious health issues for you.
For mold that grows on food (like fusarium), we recommend throwing away the food in the trash, tying the bag, and removing it from your home. Make sure to thoroughly wash moldy food containers with dish soap and hot water. If the container is plastic, you may just want to throw it away entirely as some mold types can eat at plastic materials.
As for mold that you see in your bathroom or kitchen, consider how much there is. If there are only a few spots, you may be able to scrub it away with a simple mixture of one quart of water and half cup of bleach.
If you find mold in your carpets, behind wall paper, HVAC system, or ducting, or any mold that is orange or black, stop and call a mold remediation and removal expert.
Need Help with Your Mold Problem?
Our Rapid Restoration team is ready to help you as soon as you call us. We’ll inspect the situation and provide you with mold remediation and removal services. We’ll help you get your home back to its pre-mold exposure condition. Your future health will thank you for taking action now and getting rid of the mold in your house.
