Home & Garden

Mold allergies are one of the most widespread and misunderstood health problems in the country. Since mold allergies have symptoms that are practically identical to those of other more seasonal allergies, it often takes a home inspection before those living with mold infestations understand the source of their misery. Unfortunately, mold, which grows in remote areas behind walls, under tiles and floorboards, and through crawl spaces, is notoriously difficult to spot. So what are homeowners to do?

The biggest tipoff to possible mold problems is an abundance of moisture in or around walls, caulking, fixtures, and pipes. A lot of times, a continuous drip can lead to pools of standing water, which is one of molds most favored environments. These breeding grounds produce mold infestations that reproduce via spores that not only travel by air, but enter our bodies through the nose and mouth, then take up residence in the lungs.

More on Mold Allergies
If this scenario sounds scary, rest assured that there are measures you and your family can take to keep a hold on mold instead of the other way around. The key is detection, so hiring a mold inspector to conduct a once-over of your home is a good place to start. It may be that you have a limited infestation thats causing your mold allergies, or you may have more extensive damage. Because different people show various levels of sensitivity to dangerous molds, its impossible to correlate the severity of your symptoms with the extent of the damage.

In the meantime, treating mold allergies as youd treat any seasonal allergy can be an effective course. If your problems persist, however, you may eventually need to evacuate your house and turn it over to mold abatement specialists who have the necessary gear to work in an infected climate. Its never advisable to undertake any extensive mold-fighting on your own without the help of a licensed pro whos trained to target, destroy, and remove deposits.

Mold allergy symptoms resemble those of the common cold, sinus infection, hay fever, and a legion of other ailments, which is both good news and bad news. The good news is that watery eyes, an itchy throat, sneezing, and coughing are all treatable with over-the-counter allergy remedies. The bad news is that treating the symptoms fails to uncover and destroy the distal causes of your suffering.

One of the reasons mold infestations go untreated for so long is that homeowners and office workers never suspect these silent stalkers. While youre loading up on antihistamines, decongestants, and a whole pharmacy full of other medical provisions, the mold in your walls continues to spread, eventually leading to progressively worse mold allergy symptoms. Its not unheard of for some mold victims to suffer laryngitis, chronic migraine headaches, upper respiratory infections, and even pneumonia.

The Progression of Mold Allergy Symptoms
In the early going, mold allergy symptoms may be relegated to an annoying cough or itchy throat. Over time, as the spores propagate, the symptoms can worsen to include ocular pain, skin irritation, and shortness of breath. Many people begin treatments for every possible affliction under the sun without ever stopping to think that dangerous molds are quietly spreading through the damp, dark corners of their home.

The best way to clear up mold allergy symptoms is to remediate sick houses. Sometimes this requires nothing more than a lone mold cleaner to come in with removal tools, locate the mold, seal it up, and cart it off. In other cases, major home renovations are necessary. More and more insurance companies are receiving claims each year that force them to provide temporary housing for their policy holders while homes are gutted, sterilized, and rebuilt.

In recent years, theres been some hysteria surrounding the mold and mildew removal industry. As with asbestos removal in the 80s and 90s, mold and mildew removal today has become big business, especially for health lawyers, mold consultants, and environmental professionals. The truth about mold and mildew should be presented plainly so that a realistic threat assessment can be made. At the same time, fearful prognostications and other scare tactics serve no one but mold remediation companies who stand to profit from frightened homeowners.

The fact is, mold and mildew infestations can pose serious health hazards if left unaddressed. Chronic allergy symptoms such as hacking coughs, itchy throats, and scratchy skin are all signs of a possible mold case, but theyre also symptomatic of the garden variety cold as well, so an accurate determination can be difficult to make. Once mold and mildew have been detected, a removal expert is needed to cure the sick home or office and return it to a habitable state.

Tips on Mold and Mildew Removal
Because theres such skepticism surrounding the mold removal business, one good idea is to hire a consultant who performs no remediation whatsoever nor has ties to any cleanup company. Once its clear that youre paying only for the inspection, theres less likelihood that youll be scammed or strung along. Similarly, be sure that your removal company has no ties to inspectors, insurance companies, or any other corporate entity to ensure you get a fair diagnostic.

Second, look for a mold and mildew removal company that makes communication its watchword. While the organization shouldnt be in cahoots with any insurance company or environmental agency, it is important that it communicate clearly with both entities as well as you the homeowner. Dont let any mold abatement company proceed with cleanup until you know the extent of your damage and the estimated time it will take for full remediation. That way you can plan whatever temporary housing accommodations youll need to keep your family safe while your house is treated.

Good mold cleaners receive extensive training in order to understand how mold is generated and propagated, how it affects the human respiratory system, and how its spores can be halted before their march overruns your entire home. Mold cleaners are also trained in the proper protocols for contacting insurance companies and environmental agencies as well as dealing with homeowners and advising them on proper courses of action. When you pay for a mold cleaning company to visit, diagnose, and treat your house, youre in fact paying for all of these services.

Before a mold abatement company can choose the appropriate path for its clients, it must determine the extent of the damage. In many instances, especially those in which the infestation affects less than 10 square feet of surface, the problem can be remedied without any involved procedures. More widespread contamination, however, may call for an environmental worker or team of workers to visit the house. All of this will be outlined in your mold cleaners initial report.

Hiring Mold Cleaners
As awareness of dangerous molds continues to spread, the treatment industry finds itself at a crossroads, which makes hiring mold cleaners difficult. Fear and hysteria, along with public misconceptions about mold and mildew, mean that some companies can get away with bilking their customers out of thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. At the same time, mold remediation is a legitimate business and calls for highly sophisticated measures to combat bad infestations.

When youre shopping around for a mold specialist to clean house, look for an independent company that specializes in one area of the trade. Consultants are consultants and cleaners are cleaners, and never the twain shall meet. If you see that theres overlap in these areas, immediately terminate your relationship with your company and seek out a better one.

Against most experts better judgment, many homeowners decide to undertake mold cleaning on their own. While this is an ill-advised move, theres simply no dissuading some do-it-yourself types who insist on saving money. Ironically, their efforts to do so usually result in even higher costs since professionals must often redo the job that homeowners improperly performed.

If you are planning on conducting your own mold cleaning, there are a few precautions that can help you. The first thing to do is remove any standing water as this is a breeding ground for more spores. Mold can generate in as little as 24 to 48 hours, so youre fighting an uphill battle if you clean the extant mold but neglect the biggest source of it. Once this water is gone, invest in a hygrometer to measure the relative humidity of your rooms.

Continuing Your Mold Cleaning
A high relative humidity means that more mold is waiting in the wings. To defeat it, install a dehumidifier in the room youre cleaning. If there are multiple rooms on your list, tackle each one separately by sealing them off with plastic and duct tape. Failing to do this will only allow germs and spores to circulate to other areas of your home. Effective mold cleaning depends critically on a discrete approach, not a systemic one.

Once youve contained your mold, youll want to invest in an air filtration system to help suck up airborne particulate triggered by your cleaning. Every time you scrub, you disrupt dormant spores that then spread to other regions of the room. Air filter systems maintain a relatively static environment for you during soap and water treatment, which is the next step in the process before sealing off your spores and carting them away.