Mold Division License #: MA-2023-I-0205 and MR-2023-I-0229
Mold Division License #: MA-2023-I-0205 and MR-2023-I-0229
1. Stale and musty odors
Mold can and often emits unusual and unpleasant odors. This will occur even if you can’t see the mold. Most often mold is hidden, behind walls, flooring, insulation and other home areas. If an area in your home persistently smells musty, there is a good possibility there is mold in the room. You can follow the odor to where it is strongest, find the mold and often remove it. If the mold is in an hard to reach place, like inside walls, you need to call in a mold professional to help you remove the mold and it’s growth.
2. Condensation and persistent moisture
Excess moisture on your windows, a damp basement or condensation dripping from your pipes, a damp home is an ideal breeding ground for mold, and can be an indicator that mold is already present in your home. Dehumidifiers serve as a good solution to reduce excess moisture as they will set the humidity in your home to the level you indicate on the de- humidifier. They aren’t a permanent solution, however, and you should consider getting your windows swapped for double-glazed panes, or having them re-sealed by a professional.
Moisture can often be on plumbing pipes, a plumber can help diagnose the problem here. Often plumbers will put insula-
tion around pipes to prevent moisture build-up, and in others you can consider running warm-water pipes away from cold
ones, to avoid excess moisture build-up
3. Water build-up and wall stains
Has your home had prior moisture problems? Often it is a toilet that overflowed or a sewer backed up, this can be a risk for mold. If you’re looking for mold, start where water remained for a long time. If your basement or home has ever flooded, mold could grow underneath the flooring and behind walls. Mold signs are often discoloured walls, ceilings and floors; the discolouration indicates colonies of mold are growing behind it. Bubbles and cracks in your paint and wallpaper can also be a sign and look for warped and bulging walls. These also indicate that moisture has penetrated the surface and they could
be housing mold. In these instances, a mold professional should be hired to inspect your home. We can advise on how to get rid of mold and keep it from returning. If you live in a wet of high humidity climate you need to be diligent against moisture build-up.
4. Health symptoms
Your health can be a telling sign if there is mold in the home. Symptoms of a mold allergy include a consistently runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, dizziness, headaches and even memory loss. On their own, these symptoms could just be a sign of an oncoming cold, but if you are only symptomatic within your home, mold could be the culprit. Some varieties of mold are toxic and can cause more serious symptoms, which is why it is so important to remove mold from your home and prevent it from coming back. The most dangerous type is black mold, which can cause serious respiratory difficulties if left untreated. Most test kits will identify this kind of mold, so you should absolutely check if you suspect it’s in your home.
5. Spotting and fur on your walls
There are so many varieties of mold that you can’t really identify the type based on specific shape, size or color. It can appear as a furry, dark growth, as a black stain, or as black, white, orange, green or brown specks. Rather than look for out-of-the- ordinary, multicoloured flakes in every inch of your home, identify areas that are moist and then look for possible signs of mold. The fungus thrives in cool, damp areas, and it will be much easier to find it by limiting your search to areas that are affected by excess moisture. Yes, paint and wallpaper gets stained and marked from every day living, but if you see a pattern to the stains, or they appear in the corners of a room, this is usually a good indicator that mold is present.
