How To Reduce Black Mold Health Risks

It’s not always easy to detect black mold and your family’s health could be at serious risk before you know it.  If it seems that everyone in your household seems to be sick lately, it may be that you have a serious case of black mold somewhere in your home.  Here are some steps you can take to reduce black mold health risks and protect your family.

Black Mold Health Risks

Black mold grows best in damp, moist conditions and a basement provides a perfect breeding environment for mold spores.  Especially if you have standing water or leaky windows, or cracks in the foundation.  Look along the base of your basement walls, look around windows and look into dark corners and behind appliances.

You may also find black mold growing along baseboards inside your home, especially along the exterior walls where the ground outside comes into contact with the home’s foundation.

And mold can also show up in closets and under stairwells.  And of course, bathrooms and laundry rooms are also prime breeding areas because of the humidity in these rooms.  And don’t forget to check the attic.

It’s possible to remove small patches of mold yourself by scraping it off the floor or wall and then liberally flushing the area with bleach.  However, you should never scrape of mold that is dry.  What appears to be dust will go drifting off into the air but it’s really mold spores you’ve released.  And not they’re going to take up residence somewhere else in your home and start breeding again.

For larger patches you may have to cut out the offending spot and, again, if you’re handy with a saw, you can do this yourself.  If not, there are services which specialize in mold removal and cleanup.

Black Mold Health Risks – Beyond Mold Removal

However, removing the mold doesn’t always solve the problem.  You’ll still experience black mold health risks until you find the cause of the problem and fix it.  For example, if you find mold growing under the kitchen sink, it’s not enough to just clean it up.  Mold prefers a damp, dark environment – so why is it damp under the sink?  Why has a big patch of black mold decided to latch on to the baseboard in your child’s bedroom?  Is there some moisture there?  And if so, where is it coming from?

If you find a patch of mold and don’t track it to it’s cause it’s just going to return – again, and again, and your family’s health will constantly be at risk.  And the risks aren’t minor by any means.  Upper respiratory problems, asthma, sinusitis, pneumonia and skin infections – these can all sound quite harmless but any of these conditions, left untreated, can lead to severe medical problems, or even death.