6 Essential Things to Know About Mold

Ohio’s weather tends to be moist, no matter what the season is. As a homeowner, you’ll need to take steps to ensure this moisture stays out of your home. If you don’t, you’ll find that you’re at a higher risk for mold infestations as well as foundation, basement, or crawl space damage.

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Dealing With Mold In Your Home

Mold clusters that settle in your home become dangerous for a number of reasons. First and foremost, you’ll want to consider their impact on the health of your loved ones or of any residents you may be renting to.

Mold, according to the CDC, sits at the root of a number of respiratory problems, including but not limited to:

• Coughing
• Congestion
• Difficulty breathing
• Wheezing
• Itching eyes and/or skin
• Asthma in younger children

The presence of mold in your home can also lower its overall value, should you try to sell it without removing the clusters. Not only does mold make your home less pleasant to live in, but it compromises the integrity of your structural supports. If you let these clusters grow unchecked, you may lose up to 30 percent of your home’s resale value.

Identifying Mold In Your Home

Unfortunately, there isn’t just one type of mold that likes to thrive in the dampest parts of your home. Multiple kinds of mold can sprout up at one time, making the process of identifying the mold in your home all the more difficult.

One fact remains true, regardless of what kind of mold you’re dealing with: Mold doesn’t rely on rainwater to travel. Rather, all manner of mold moves as spores on air currents that enter your home. Once it’s settled, it’s likely to sprout within 48 hours, as long as the conditions in your basement or crawl space are right.

Luckily, mold does give itself away after it’s taken root. As you’re making your way through your home searching for mold, you’ll want to keep an eye out for the following:

• Clusters and growths
• Moistness
• Unpleasant or otherwise musty smells
• Trouble breathing

You should try to listen to your nose as you’re hunting for mold in your home. Follow musty smells or unusual levels of moisture, and you’ll likely walk straight to a cluster.

Finding Mold

Mold is more likely to appear in some places than it is in others. If you’re following your nose or otherwise suspect that you may have clusters in your home, you’ll want to start your investigation in your:

• Basement
• Crawl space
• Attic
• Bathroom
• HVAC system
• Air ducts

Mold and Moisture

Mold is both a problem in its own right and a symptom of a larger one. If you’re noticing mold clusters taking root throughout your home, you may want to talk to a local professional about the possibility of a foundation crack or damage somewhere else in your home. Cracks and leaks both allow additional moisture into your home, which in turn can beget faster-spreading mold and larger, more resistant clusters.

Mold Removal

You should not try to remove mold from your property without professional guidance. While it may seem simple to remove mold clusters from their perches, you will need both guidance and the right equipment to do so safely. The help of mold removal specialists will also help ensure the removal of all of the mold from your home instead of just the mold clusters that may be visible to the naked eye.

Preventing Mold From Growing In Your Home

If you want to keep mold from taking root in your home, you’ll want to talk with a basement waterproofing and crawl space repair professional about the waterproofing methods that may best suit your home. When you waterproof your home before damage can develop, you’ll limit the amount of moisture that can reach your home. As such, it will be more difficult for mold to take root in your home.

That said, if you believe damage has already compromised your home’s structural integrity, you can also discuss your available foundation repair solutions, including piering. The contractors working in Cleveland, OH, like Ohio Basement Systems can inspect your home to help you determine what specifics you’re working with while also providing you with a free quote on any services or products you may need.