What is Black Mold?

No homeowner wants black mold, but what is it? Also called Stachybotrys, black mold likes to grow in wet spots and is often found in areas where condensation has collected or anywhere near untreated water damage. Spores enter the home by doors, small entrances and can also be tracked on shoes and clothing. While most fungus around your home aren’t dangerous, black mold causes health issues if left untreated.

Risks Behind Black Mold Exposure

The spores black mold produces are the major cause behind black mold poisoning. Typically symptoms include chronic coughing, eye, nose and throat irritation as well as skin rashes. Other symptoms include chronic fatigue and persistent headaches. Particularly severe cases of prolonged exposure to black mold are more dangerous. Often compounded by allergic reaction to the black mold spores, these symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, and bleeding in the lungs and nose.

Information about Mold

Mold doesn’t take long to permeate walls, floors and ceilings. Whenever your home experiences water damage, you should have a professional check the walls for mold infestations. They can go unseen for weeks, and then appear essentially overnight.

Once mold creates colonies in your property, it quickly grows and discharges toxins that make life difficult for occcupants:

  • Mold emits a pungent, musty smell that prevents rooms from smelling clean.
  • Mold causes serious problems for allergy-sensitive people, as well as those with asthma, causing a physical reaction.
  • Mold can cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing.
  • Mold toxins can activate chronic inflammation and constant cold-like symptoms.
  • People with compromised immune systems can get systemic infections of the lungs, skin, or digestive tract.
  • In rare cases, mold toxins can cause neurological concerns or even death.
  • The more prolonged the exposure, the more severe the danger.

Exceptionally humid homes and offices can be subject to mold invasions even if no water damage has occurred. If you see or smell something that could be mold, get a skillful opinion immediately.

To get rid of mold, the environment where it thrives must first be eliminated. Water sources have to be handled, and any remaining moisture must be carefully dried out. Only then can mold elimination and remediation start.

Whether a leaky roof, burst pipe, or other entry point, it isn’t enough to close the tide. Moisture can saturate out-of-sight sections of your home. Without proper cleanup procedures, mold will keep returning to these areas.

If you think your home may have black mold, reach out to Paul Davis today. We safely test and confirm the existence of black mold before remediation. Depend on our specialists to remove black mold effectively. Don’t risk your health, request a black mold inspection today.