Exposure to damp and moldy environments may cause a variety of health effects, or none at all. Some people are sensitive to molds. For these people, exposure to molds can lead to symptoms such as stuffy nose, wheezing, and red or itchy eyes, or skin.
It's dangerous to allow it to grow in your home. This kind of mold can cause more than 30 kinds of health problems. These problems can range anywhere from flu-like symptoms to skin infections.
“Mold and poor indoor air quality have been known to trigger allergies that cause coughs and headaches, as well as irritations to the nose, skin, and eyes. If you are working out in an environment that is full of dust and mold allergens, it can be particularly difficult to breathe.”
Mold and mildew can release mold spores into the air, which can cause allergic reactions and respiratory issues, especially for those with asthma or other respiratory conditions. Wood is mold's food source. With time, mold eats through important support beams responsible for holding the weight of your home.
More serious health issues from mold exposure include fever, coughing up blood, nose bleeds, vomiting, and even liver damage. If you spot mold spores, you need to act quickly while taking proper safety precautions. Here we'll cover 5 steps for removing black mold in your basement.
Each person's body is affected by mold toxicity in different ways. Some experience constant migraines and headaches, shortness of breath, brain fog, fatigue or even depression. Since symptoms differ from person to person, they may not be quickly associated with mold exposure.
Urine mycotoxin tests are ideal for testing yourself (and your family members) for mycotoxin exposure. They're absolutely painless, totally non-invasive, and incredibly easy to use.
These symptoms usually first appear 2 to 9 hours after exposure and last for 1 to 3 days. Other affected persons have progressive shortness of breath and cough, as well as weight loss. Work-relatedness may only become apparent over long holidays if symptoms resolve and then recur on return to work.
Mold stays “dormant” in the air or on surfaces even when there's no excess moisture to help it grow. If the humidity in a room increases, mold will start growing in patches on walls, clothes, and more. So, to answer your question, dehumidifiers do NOT kill mold, but they do prevent it by reducing humidity.
If you find mold in your basement it is important to take care of it right away by removing the infection and sanitizing the area. If you find mold on furniture or carpets it's safer to completely remove and replace these items instead of trying to save them.
The best thing for removing mildew and mold from walls is a bleach/water solution. Mix one part bleach to three parts water and apply it with a sponge or rag. There are also a number of commercial solutions available at your local True Value hardware store.
Do air purifiers help with mold? Air purifiers help capture mold spores from the air, preventing them from reproducing and spreading throughout your home. While air purifiers won't help treat active mold that's already present on surfaces, they are a great way to control the spread of airborne mold particles.
Perfectly healthy individuals with no history of respiratory issues have been reported to suffer prolonged coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing. This combined with a weakened immune system that long-term mould exposure can cause may lead to even worse conditions like bronchitis.
A blood test, sometimes called the radioallergosorbent test, can measure your immune system's response to mold by measuring the amount of certain antibodies in your bloodstream known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies.
See a doctor if you have a very high fever or if you have a rash or hives around your neck or face. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you are breaking out in a rash or hives and have any difficulty breathing, because that could mean your airway is starting to swell shut.
It's often described as musty and earthy, and may even smell like rotting vegetables or plants. You might notice a musty smell, but not be able to see any mold growing. In this case, you should look for areas that might be exposed to water. Mold needs moisture to grow.
Ozone therapy can help recover mitochondrial function and clear out mold from the body. While this option is a little less easy to do (as it has to be done with a doctor's supervision), it is a great option for people dealing with extreme mold toxicity in their bodies.
Exposure to a large number of mold spores may cause allergic symptoms such as watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, itching, coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, headache, and fatigue. Repeated exposure to mold can increase a person's sensitivity, causing more severe allergic reactions.
In some cases, mold in your home can make you sick, especially if you have allergies or asthma. Whether or not you're allergic to molds, mold exposure can irritate your eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs.
Pro Tip: If the walls of your basement are discolored, then you probably have mold. A dehumidifier will help cut out moisture the mold spores require, so they don't spread.
No, harsh black mold spores that have overtaken parts of your home cause some major health issues.
Mold in the basement is a common problem, but by understanding how to identify problem areas and prevent and control mold growth, you can avoid the potentially costly and unhealthy spread of basement mold.
Specifically, air purifiers with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters work great at removing mold spores. HEPA filters are considered to be rated MERV 17 or above, which means that the filters can trap more than 99.7% of air particles as small as 0.3-1.0 microns in size.
An air purifier with a HEPA filter is the traditional option for filtering particles from the air and can remove some mold spores. The HEPA standard is based on the ability to remove 99.97 percent of particles that are 0.3 microns in size or greater.