Many of us barely have time to notice the big things that are happening to our homes. If you are one of the many people who recently suffered from flood damage, you know how long your list of “to do’s” became after the flood waters receded. Most of us will recognize the obvious things that need to be repaired, but what about the things that we can’t see? Molds may be microscopic, but if left to grow and multiply, the consequences can be detrimental to your health and the safety of your home.

What Is MOLD and Where Does It Come From?

A mold is a microscopic fungus that lives and grows in nature. Its purpose in our environment is to break down dead organic matter. Most are characterized by their ability to create and release spores into the air or water. That is what allows them to spread easily and contaminate other surfaces. When the surfaces they contaminate is a part of your home, you need to be informed of the risks associated with their growth, and be prepared for a safe and thorough removal of the problem.

To better understand how to fix the problem, it is important that you learn a little about how molds grow. Molds need at least three things to survive.

• Water or a source of moisture
• Food: paper, wood, dirt, leaves, or other animal or plant matter
• Area to grow

There are thousands of molds in the world, but there are a few specific types that are most commonly known to grow in homes.

• Penicillium- a mold commonly found in leaves or decaying food, but also found in the dust inside your air conditioning system.
• Stachybotrys- commonly known as black mold and is found in walls or ceilings
• Cladosporium- a powdery dark greenish black colored mold found in dead plants, food , paint, and fiberglass duct work
• Memnoniella- a mold found on cotton, wood, and paper
• Alternaria- a mold found in soil and plants
• Mucor- a mold found in soil, animal feces, and household dust
• Poria- a mold that destroys wood

You may not be able to control the amount of space they have to grow or their source of food, but you can defiantly control their source of moisture. This could be anything from a leak in the plumbing, an improperly set humidifier, a leaky roof, or a flood in the basement or crawl space. The clean-up process may be long and in some cases costly, but if the problem is ignored, you are putting your home and your health in jeopardy.

How Can MOLD Affect Me?

There are two major concerns that you should have as a homeowner when it comes to the presence of mold. The first is your health and the second is the structural integrity of your home.

The biggest problem associated with mold growth in the home is the adverse affects that it can have upon the health of you and your family. Whether you touch it, inhale it, or consume it, the most common health concern is allergies. Molds can have similar allergic qualities when compared to other allergens like pollen and pet dander. They can cause itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, nasal congestion, allergic reactions, asthma attacks, and other respiratory problems. Black mold is even known to be a cause of cancer! The affects of mold can vary from person to person based on their sensitivity to the spores that molds create. Those who are especially vulnerable are:

• The elderly
• Infants and children
• People who already have respiratory problems

However, if the number of spores becomes great enough, anyone can become ill in the presence of mold.

Mold is also known to cause structural damage to your home. Just pause for a moment and think about how much wood there is in your home: walls, paneling, furniture, window frames. Add a little water to any wood surface and you have just created a buffet for mold to feast upon. Poria is a type of mold that has special abilities to destroy wood. It is able to spread beyond the wet or damp area into the dry areas until it has consumed the entire surface. Imagine what Poria could do to the walls in a flooded basement. Even if you only have a few feet of water, it is possible for this mold to overtake the entire wall and possibly even spread to other floors. Black mold is known to eat away at ceilings and the backsides of walls. Before you know it, your home will begin to crumble from the inside out. This is why it is important to prevent or stop growth before it becomes a serious problem.

How Do I Get Rid of MOLD?

When it comes to mold, moisture is critical to survival. If you remove the source of the moisture, you have taken the most important step in combating mold growth in your home. If you simply clean and disinfect the area, there is the potential for mold to continue to grow or at the very least reappear the next time there is water present. For a basement that floods, this could become a problem every time it rains. So, you must take every measure possible to repair, remove, and disinfect.

REPAIR

If your problem is a flooded basement, you have many options to eliminate this issue. You may want to install or repair your sump pump. The sump pump should be able to keep water away from the foundation of your home, which would prevent future floods. You should also seal any leaks caused by cracks in the foundation or cement around the home. If this is still a problem, you may consider hiring a contractor to waterproof the basement or crawl space.

If your problem is moist air, you need to adjust the humidity in your home. This may involve adjusting the settings on your humidifier to keep the humidity between 30% and 60%. If the humidity is still too high you may need a de-humidifier to get the problem under control. You may also want to consider installing exhaust fans in rooms that experience a lot of exposure to water, like the bathroom. The important thing is to increase ventilation to the outdoors in some way so that the water is not trapped inside the home.

If you have other sources of leaks in your home, those must also be repaired. An old roof may need to be replaced, or dripping pipes may need to be tightened or insulated to prevent water from getting onto surfaces that promote the growth of mold.

REMOVE

Once mold has begun to grow in an area, it needs to be removed as quickly as possible. If gotten to early, mold effected areas may be able to be cleaned. But, chances are many materials will have to be removed and replaced. Such as:

• Drop ceiling tiles
• drywall
• carpets
• furniture
• insulated ducts
• Any other porous surface that cant be disinfected

DISINFECT

The final step is to disinfect the area where the mold was present. This can be done in a number of ways. If you are doing this yourself, it is important to be careful and take the necessary precautions to keep yourself healthy. By cleaning up the mold on your own, you are exposing yourself to a high number of spores that can cause illness. You should wear protective gloves, clothing, and eye-wear as well as a HEPA mask to prevent inhalation of the spores. You should create a solution of water and bleach (1/2 cup bleach/ gallon of water). Use this to scrub down walls or floors that were exposed to water or mold. Allow the area to dry naturally but remember to keep it well ventilated. Turn off the HVAC systems because they can circulate the spores to other parts of the home. By placing a fan in a window or turning on an exhaust fan, you will be forcing the air in the affected area to the outdoors rather than into other rooms of your home.

Mold is very hard to clean up and is impossible to extinguish completely. Because of this, you may wish to consider hiring outside help. There are contractors who can test your home for the presence of mold and therefore be able to remove it more effectively. You should have your HVAC systems cleaned also. The furnace and air conditioner can become plugged with dust that contains molds like Penicillium. A certified HVAC technician must be the one to perform the cleaning in order to ensure that it is done properly. You may also want to consider having the air ducts and dryer vent cleaned. The air ducts are the means of transport for air throughout the home. If that air contains a mold like Cladosporium, there is the possibility that your ducts will become infected with mold, and they may even help the spores spread throughout the home. The dryer vent is always exposed to moist air from your wet clothes, and is a likely place for mold to grow also. A NADCA, National Air Duct Cleaners Association, certified crew should have the proper equipment to clean up any mold present in the duct work or dryer vent.

You need to be an educated homeowner! Be on the lookout for the signs of growth and take any measure possible to prevent growth of mold in the first place. People who have ignored this problem have lost their homes and even worse their health to this microscopic enemy: MOLD.

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