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The Dangers of Mold in Your Home

The words “you have mold” are enough to send shivers down the spines of most homeowners. This fast-spreading fungus can cause all sorts of problems for your health and your home. Plus it’s hard to get rid of, and it often grows in places that are hard to see. It’s most often found in walls, floors, ceilings, wet carpet, and fabrics that have repeated or prolonged exposure to moisture, through flooding or high humidity, but it can be found in other places as well.

Health Dangers

Not everyone will have an adverse reaction to mold, but most people who have significant mold growth will experience cold-like symptoms, such as nasal congestion, itchy throat, coughing, and respiratory illness. People who are more sensitive to mold or have other issues such as asthma or allergies often have a more severe reaction to mold, which could develop into life-threatening infections or diseases.

There is also evidence that otherwise-healthy people who have prolonged exposure to mold can develop chronic respiratory infections, such as asthma or pneumonitis. This is especially true in children, whose respiratory systems are still developing and who could suffer significant problems if exposed to mold for an extended time.

Home Dangers

Mold can enter your house from a variety of different sources, some as simple as blowing in with the wind when you open the door or a window. It can also be tracked in on shoes, clothing, bags, or pets. All it needs to grow once inside your house is a food source (which it can find in dust), a little bit of moisture, and a surface where it can make a home. Even in low-humidity environments like Utah, mold can grow in the bathrooms, kitchen, laundry rooms, or even in the ducts of air conditioning where condensation provides enough moisture. It is also common in ceiling tiles, wood products, under wallpaper, inside insulation, and in the drywall of your home.

A Spreading Concern

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about mold is its ability to grow and spread in a very short amount of time. Even if you attempt to clean up the mold, allowing just a single mold spore to survive could lead to a new colony of growth in the future. It can also spread from one room (like a bathroom or kitchen, with high humidity levels) to other areas of the house through ducts for heating and air conditioning.

The good news is you can minimize these dangers by identifying and removing mold. If you do find mold in your home, it’s important to get it cleaned up right away. Even what seems like a small amount of mold today could quickly become unmanageable and hazardous to your health if left untreated. Call the professionals at AAA Restoration today to get your mold taken care of once and for all.