Black Mold Symptoms

Welcome to my blog, dear future mold exterminator. Before I begin writing this not very long post based on my own struggle with mold, let me ask you this:

• Are you afraid of health problems mold might cause?

• Would you like to know what are the best ways to deal with mold?

• Should you be doing it yourself … or hire a professional?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, stay tuned because we’ll reveal all the answers briefly (and possibly save you a ton of money in the process). You’ll learn what is mold, how hazardous is it for your health, assessing what kind of mold it is (toxic or not), mold remediation and cleanup and finally, the cost. It shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes to read through all this, and by the time you’re done, I promise you’ll know exactly what you need to do next.

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Mold Damaged Room

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What is Mold & What Causes It To Appear

Molds are fungi. In case you didn’t know (I didn’t!), fungi have their own kingdom so to speak. They are nor animal, nor plants. Not all fungi are bad, and not all molds are evil (as recent press coverage would have us believe). Belonging to fungi kingdom are the delicious, mouth watering mushrooms of all shapes and sizes for instance. A fungi is responsible for making wine, another for baking bread, and even saving hundreds of thousands of lives  (like the one that is responsible for one of the most common drugs nowadays: penicillin).

Why does mold appear (uninvited) in my home?

Molds make tiny spores (by tiny meaning 3-40 microns / just to realize the size of that, human hair is 100 – 150 microns). If molds were a plant, spores would be seeds. These spores are everywhere (I can feel you panicking as I say this, and I know I am jumping ahead a little but they are not dangerous to your health. I will explain why in the health issues paragraph). Eliminating the mold by eliminating the spores is not effective. You can control the mold and eliminate it, but not by getting rid of the spores.

These spores move trough air (remember, they’re tiny) and settle down on different surfaces. If there are proper conditions for it to grow and multiply, then you’ll see start seeing the appearance of mold.

Molds can grow on anything, but most important factor that influences their evolution is moisture. On a surface that hasn’t dried properly, mold can show up in 24 to 48 hours later.

Now that you know what is mold, how it spreads and why it shows up, let’s see how dangerous mold really is for your health…

Health Issues Related To Mold

In any human inhabited place, there will be spores and dust. We all exposed to mold spores every day without realizing it. People with normal, functional immune systems have nothing to worry about, especially if the spores are not present in large quantities.

The most vulnerable are children (particularly under a year, when the immune system didn’t have a chance to grow), elderly and people with compromised immune systems.

Prolonged exposure to a mold rich environment though, can cause allergic reactions and respiratory issues like:

• Coughing

• Sneezing

• Watery eyes

• Dizziness

• Headaches

• Cold and Flu like symptoms

• Nose bleeds

• Throat Irritation

• Rashes (in some cases)

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Some molds are more dangerous than others. Some molds can produce mycotoxins as a byproduct of their life cycle. Exposure to high levels of mycotoxins can lead to neurological problems and in some rare cases, cancer and death. These molds have a special name: toxic molds.

Toxic molds are known to appear in severely damaged area with very high moisture.

Assessing the Mold

The first step is determining if you have mold or not. This may sound like an easy step, but it’s very important. It will tell you if this is something you can do yourself, or you should call a professional to handle it.

Most common household molds have an “earthy” smell that’s quite hard to miss. If you ever smelled moldy bread, or mold growing on cheese or fruits, you know what I’m talking about. Most mold colonies will have a greenish – black color (like the type of mold growing in bathroom).

However if you spot pinkish or yellowish stains on your wall, that’s a solid indication that there’s a massive mold colony living right behind your vinyl wall. This is one of the cases when you need professional help, as dehumidification devices and air conditioner won’t help you much (the mold has found a serious moisture accumulation in the wallboard).

You can get a mold test kit online from shops like Amazon. It will tell you what kind of mold you have in your house and if you should worry about it (mycotoxins present) or not.

Sampling the mold is not usually required, unless the inhabitant(s) show symptoms of prolonged exposure to mold spores.

In this case, it can only be done by a specialist and will include air sample, surface sample and material sample of the contaminated area.

Mold Remediation – Do it yourself or call registered help?

In the previous paragraph, I mentioned one of the cases when you should call a professional. The other one is when you can visually notice extensive damage.

The first step in mold remediation is minimizing the humidity, as this is a major factor in mold growth. Some people will say temperature control will affect the mold also, but that’s not true. Mold has adapted to grow at the same temperatures we prefer.

Identify the source of moisture.

You can’t remove the mold until you fix any water leaks that caused the moisture. If you jump ahead to removing the mold, it will just grow back maybe in days.

Sunlight

Sunlight (and other UV artificial sources) will kill the mold. However, this does not mean problem’s over, I’m afraid. Mold (and its hazardous byproducts) will still affect your health. It will not be able to reproduce and grow any further, but it won’t just disappear. You have to physically remove it. We’ll talk about this further when we get to household cleaners.

Professional companies use a new secret weapon: an artificial, chemical fog that kills the mold but it’s not harmful to persons (or pets). It’s EPA approved.

Wall insulation

If you have no wall insulation, maybe you should look into professional help. Cellulose insulation can prevent mold spreading in your walls and it’s a long term solution and prevention method. Getting rid of mold can be easy in some cases, but you also don’t want it to reappear, don’t you?

Dehumidifiers

Reducing humidity is crucial to the mold remediation process. In some cases, you don’t have proper ventilation in place, so you may be forced to look into “artificial” devices that will regulate the humidity. In order for mold to grow, the humidity level must be at least 50%-65%. You can measure the level of humidity in your home (basement, bathroom, whichever area may be affected) with a special device called hygrometer.

Household cleaners & “special gear”

There are ways to kill the mold, but that’s not enough. You have to remove it from the surface also. Luckily, you can do that by scrubbing the contaminated surface (after you’ve killed the mold first with UV light, fungicide products available in stores) with warm water and non-ammonia soap or detergent. Afterwards, you have to thoroughly rinse and dry the area to prevent mold from showing up again.

Some people use bleach to disinfect the area. Must be careful, not to combine an ammonia based soap with bleach (a toxic gas may form).

To avoid inhaling the spores while cleaning up the mold, you need a respirator. Make sure to read the instructions on how to use it properly or you risk exposure. Wear goggles and long gloves to protect your eyes and hands from direct contact with the mold.

Other special recommendations

If you have A/C, you have to remove the HVAC filter. It may be already contaminated and the moment you turn it back on, it may bring in contaminated air. You have to clean all the components of the HVAC system.

Use a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) vacuum to clean the debris. This is the final step, after the surfaces have dried and all the other contaminated materials have been disposed of. The collected debris should be stored in safe bags, that will prevent their release and then be disposed of as regular construction waste.

Total Cost

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Mold remediation cost

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If you do it yourself, the cost shouldn’t be higher than a couple of hundred of dollars (if you want to be extra safe and purchase all the recommended products). However, if you want to (or really have to) use a professional company, the price can be anywhere from $400 to $10000.

Typical crawlplaces and ductwork jobs will cost you typically between $1000 to $5000.

If there’s extensive flood damage, the job is quite extensive and you can expect a five figures quote from any mold remediation companies.

Molds belong to the class of fungi meaning that they are neither animals nor plants.They are all characterized by distinct cell walls, lack of chlorophyll and reproduce by means of spores.

Molds can be black, yellow, orange, green or grey and have a velvet or wool like texture. Because they belong to a distinct class, it is important that we understand how does mold grow and their optimum conditions for growth.

Molds require food, moisture and optimum temperature as well as mold spores to be able to grow. Many molds reproduce through spores which disperse to search for more moisture and food in the air. Water is crucial to any life form and for molds the amount of water required varies and is usually influenced by environmental conditions like temperature and nutrient availability. Some mould species grow in low moisture areas while others require adequate moisture to achieve optimum growth.
Molds food is anything that has carbon atoms to provide sufficient nutrients for their growth and most of them obtain food from dead organic matter, other living things and from the environment.

Temperatures for their growth usually varies as most of them thrive well at over 70°F temperatures and 70% relative humidity while others are able to survive at lower temperatures of 50°F and 45% relative humidity.
Molds can be found growing almost everywhere provided the condition are optimum to facilitate their growth.

They can be found in most surfaces of buildings which have been left wet. Indoors molds can be found growing in damp leather clothes in closets that are poorly ventilated, damp walls and basements, ceiling of bathrooms, tubs and showers, on dirty clothes and poorly ventilated dryers, food storage areas such as poorly kept refrigerators, dirty shoes, water traps, bird cages, kitty litter, windows and window sills, plumbing seals, open concrete slabs and tins left lying around with water can also support the growth of molds.

Outdoors molds can be found growing on fallen leaves, logs, flooding areas, soil, moist garden areas with grasses, trees, plants and these provide them with living nutrients. They can also be found on garbage disposal areas while some attach themselves to grains like wheat and barley.
Several building materials are also suitable for molds growth and include wood, cardboard, paper products and paper among others. Some types of molds can be found growing on food such as bread from which they are able to get the required nutrients.
Many molds reproduce through spores which disperse in to air and later lands and settle on a suitable area with adequate food and moisture. Their size ranges between 1-100 microns with majority ranging from 2-20 microns. A small number of molds can be seen but most filamentous spores are invisible by using the naked eye.
Because of their diversity in the human environment, the outside air usually contains considerable levels of their spores. Although not all of their spores are capable of forming a new colony, every person should know that irrespective of their potential to reproduce the spores can adversely affect one’s health and understanding how does mold grow provides vital information on how they can be prevented.

Many people are living in homes with a very unhealthy fungus growing yet they are unaware of this health issue. Specifically we are talking about mold. Mold can begin to grow for a variety of reasons including under sinks with leaking pipes, in an attic when the roof leaks, behind walls due to rain seepage, but is normally associated with a damp basement. So what does mold smell like how does one recognize the odor?

Small concentrations of mold can be hard to notice by their odor, but larger areas will be easily smelled as the mold will give off an odor very similar to damp ground or mud. A very musty type of smell. Once you have inhaled the distictive smell of mold you will be able to locate it easily because of the odor mold gives off.

Mold has this distictive smell due to the fact it is a fungi. It is related to the yeast and mushroom family but is a much smaller form of this family of fungi.

It is actually micro-scopic and will not only grow quickly thus covering a large area in a short time but the real issue with mold is the spores that the mold gives off easily become airborn, and are inhaled by people and pets living in this environment.

There are many different types of fungi and not all are unhealthy. For example the penicillin family of drugs have been produced from a variation of mold. But the household mold we are focused on is not healthy and can lead to several types of illness, most notably respiratory problems. Small children, the elderly, those with pre-existing respiratory conditions are the most at risk in a moldy environment. Thus it is vital to clean any areas of mold a soon as possible.

When looking for possible mold areas keep in mind the places to seek first are where there has been water damage, sitting water for a period of time, flooded basements resulting in wet carpets, rugs, and walls. If you see spots of color disfiguration including the gray or black variety this is most likely mold. But mold can also be a shade of pink, white, blue and orange.

One of the top ways to be certain you have located mold is with bleach. Mold hates bleach! Pour a mall amount of bleach on the area you think is mold covered and if the spot lose’s the color or diappears totally this is a very good hint you have a mold issue. If this spot is under carpet you will need to remove the carpet and treat the entire area with a good cleaning of bleach.

Keep the area well ventilated while doing this task. Unfortunately the carpet is basically ruined so throw it away and replace. Drying the carpet and putting it back will only bring back the mold spores.

Now that we know what does mold smell like and how to recognize this nasty little fungi, do a check of the home so you and your loved ones are living in a healthy environment.

What is mold? Mold can be defined as a microscopic fungi that is almost found everywhere especially in dump and warm environments. This fungi is of different colors including black, white, orange and green and where the mold is concentrated, an earthy smell is produced by the mold. Mold lives in colonies and they reproduce at a very high rate and that is why they spread very quickly. Mold can be harmful OR at times very important in that a type of mold is used to make important medication such as penicillin, and some make yeast that we use in baking.

Can mold make you sick?

The answer to this question is yes, in that molds have a number of disadvantages when you come into contact with them or you inhale the mold, they may cause allergic reactions with your body. The most common reaction that molds cause is irritation.

When you inhale mold, it gets into your nose and throat and it starts to release irritants and toxins which make you cough and sneeze all the time. This irritation also affects the eyes making them watery the entire time and you appear as though you want to cry all the time. Another sickness that is related to people who live where there are plenty of molds is asthma.

Fixing the house ... no more mold

When you are allergic to mold and you inhale it, it leads to constant sneezing and in most advance cases when too much mold gets into your respiratory system you may be unable to breathe which is very dangerous. Mold can also lead to a lot of itching on your skin if you come in contact with it, leading to rough patches on your skin. Mold is also dangerous in that it attacks people whose immune system has been affected by other diseases like diabetes, cancer or heart diseases. It gets into their respiratory system and makes their condition even worse as it affects their skin, lungs and other body parts.

There are a number of precautions that you should take when you find mold in your house so that you can prevent it from multiplying and causing diseases. The first thing you should do is to make sure that there are no dump areas in your house. This is because molds love dump areas and they multiply twice as fast in these areas. You should repair the broken water pipes because if you don’t the mold will still come back even after you clean up. Use the Mold Remediation techniques learned here..

You should also make sure that there is proper ventilation in your house so that there is fresh air and make sure you clean up the mold off your walls using vinegar or lemon juice as these products helps to clean them off completely. Before you paint the walls of your house you should make sure that the walls are properly dried up to avoid attracting the mold back.

It is nearly impossible to live without mold because it is found everywhere both indoors and outdoors, but you can greatly reduce mold concentration in your house by following a daily routine that will ensure you do not attract the mold in your house.

Black mold can be dangerous and even deadly to someone exposed to it. It is a living organism just like you and me. It’s probably something you never pay attention to, until it becomes a noticeable problem. By then it’s probably already affecting your health.

Why does it appear?

Black mold needs two sources in order to grow. These sources are food and an environment to spread in.

These organisms will grow on objects it can eat, such as wood, carpet and drywall.

Black mold also likes moist and humid conditions. It can quickly spread when in a warm environment.

This doesn’t mean it won’t grow in a cold environment. It will also grow in a humid and dry place as well.

Black mold spreads when it dries. During the drying process the organism grows legs sort of the way a flower grows petals.

These legs are called Haphea.

When these Hapheas break off, they float a few centimeters from the original organism and attach somewhere else. This is how the black mold spreads. Black mold does this very quickly when it has the food and environment sources it needs. If your house has already been affected by this, you should read the Mold Remediation post.

How Black Mold Affects Your Health

You may be wondering exactly how the Black mold can hurt you. By it being an organism, it has to relieve itself, just like humans do. The defecation produced when the organism relieves itself is what we breathe in and get sick from. It all depends on how much mold you have and how long you’ve been exposed to it. If you are breathing in the black mold spores, you can become seriously ill. The black mold attaches itself in your body and starts to grow. Every day this mold is left untreated it will continue to grow and make you sicker and sicker. The spores growing in your body will produce what is called Mycotoxins, which is a type of poison. This poison is constantly being leaked into your body. The larger the mold gets the more poison that is released. Black mold has been linked to brain damage, heart damage, cancer, and even death. It is important to be able to identify black mold symptoms as soon as possible.

Black Mold Symptoms

There are three different levels of Black Mold symptoms. They vary by the amount of time exposed to black mold. During a short term exposure to black mold, you may develop allergy type symptoms. These symptoms include sneezing, itchy and red skin, watery eyes and headache. The next level of symptoms are more than likely present in someone that has been exposed for a long period of time, at random times. These syptoms include nose bleeds, constant headaches, diarrhea, vomiting, coughing up blood and many more symptoms. The third level of exposure is for people that have been exposed to black mold for a very long time. These symptoms include blindness, brain damage, bleeding lungs, cancer and death.

Conclusion

There are many different breeds of black mold. They can affect us all in different ways. We can all have different side effects. If you feel like you have any symptoms of black mold, it would be a good idea to be seen by a physician. Black mold can be hazardous to your health and should definitely be taken serious.