While doing a school science project on the typical mold that grows on food as it goes bad is relatively safe, having mold grow in your house due to dampness or water damage is far from safe for a homeowner to try to re-mediate themselves depending on the extent of the problem.
Scientists have named thousands of types of mold, but there are still thousands they haven’t even discovered yet. As most people are aware, “Black Mold” is considered the most dangerous and can be a real health hazard if your home becomes infested with it. For a healthy adult, black mold is dangerous, but the risk it poses are not nearly as hazardous as they are for small children, the elderly and people with suppressed immune systems, such as those who suffer from asthma or diabetes or various lung conditions.
Even healthy adults might not realize that symptoms they are having could be caused by black mold. It can cause flu like symptoms, headaches, allergic reactions, skin conditions, even depression. That’s in a healthy adult, so as you might imagine, in a small child, someone elderly or someone who already has other health problems, the health hazards can be much worse, even severe enough to cause hospitalization.
So what can a homeowner do to fix a mold problem in their house? As mentioned before, this is something typically best left to professionals like CAFB Services who have years of experience and the knowledge necessary to remediate the current problem and give you recommendations on how to prevent a re-occurrence.
Mold is a fungus, so it is actually part plant and part animal, and mold’s favorite thing to do is eat. Mold eats just about everything it touches, and as it eats, it grows. One of the only things it doesn’t eat is most types of hard plastic, although it can stain it so terribly, you will never be able to get it cleaned. When I say mold eats everything, I’m not joking. It eats carpet, furniture, drywall, wood, even concrete foundations if left unchecked long enough.
Mold thrives best in damp, dark places, which is why it is often found in basements. So one of the most important things is to keep things from getting damp whenever possible. Things like dehumidifiers pull moisture from the air and help to prevent mold growth.
But if you are already infested with a mold problem, call a professional. Sure, you can find lots of websites that will tell you that you can get rid of this problem yourself, using various chemicals like bleach, but the reality is, you are only going to solve the surface problem. If that mold has gotten past the drywall, it is already in the wood and getting rid of mold on wood surfaces doesn’t really work that well. That’s why using a professional such as CAFB Services is your best bet. They have been remediating mold issues in homes and businesses for years, so they know what they are looking for and how to make sure they get rid of all the mold, not just what you can see with the naked eye.