You could probably be thinking to yourself, “What's wrong with a little mold in the house? As long as it stays out of sight where nobody can see it, you know, such as behind the bathtub or underneath the carpet, it's not going to be a nuisance, so who cares, right?”
Wrong!
It's usually that kind of mold that can cause long-term damage not only to your home, but also your health. Confused? An explanation is probably needed, then...
Mold actually does have a role to play in nature. Since mold is technically not a member of the animal or plant kingdom, it dwells in the fungi kingdom, along with mushrooms, yeast, and other seemingly unsavory characters. But the truth is, these decay organisms aren't unsavory at all. Without them, toppled trees, dead animals and fallen vegetables wouldn't decompose. Utah would get piled higher and higher with dead stuff. We wouldn't have foods and medicines like cheese and penicillin.
Truth of the matter is mold digests organic materials much like we digest food. Mold needs just one thing to go through with the digestive process: moisture. Literally, you just add water. This, combined with the fact that mold can exist in the most extreme of temperatures, is how leaves that fell during the autumn seem to for the most part disappear once spring arrives; the mold eats the leaves while under the comfort of the moist winter snow.
There's just one problem with this entire digestive process: as you are reading this, there could very well be mold in your house right now, looking for moisture to help it begin the digestive process.
Chances are most likely that the mold that lives outdoors is perfectly harmless and happy with just eating dead trees and dead leaves. However, when mold enters the home, that's when it becomes not only a problem with appearance of the home, but also the structural integrity of the home. It can also become a very serious health problem, as well.
Houses that are built most likely have organic materials on the components of the house. Everything in your house - from the glass windows to the wood support beams, the drywall to the carpets, the granite countertops to the brass doorknobs, the dust in your air duct to the load of bread that you haven't eaten in three weeks - has organic materials on it. Mold digests organic materials when moisture is in the house. Combine the two factors and it can not only become a serious threat to make your house look bad, but when you consider mold can hide very well, it can also become a dangerous threat to the structural integrity of your house.
When mold digests organic material, it does two things: one, it releases seeds, or “spores”, into the air, thus reproducing the mold, and two, it releases a gaseous odor into the air as well. This is what causes the distinctive smell that usually accompanies mold. This can also cause allergic reactions for those with mold allergies. However, if exposed to certain molds for too long, you can experience long-term - possibly permanent - health implications.
Mold can be broken down into three major categories: allergenic, pathogenic, and toxigenic.
Allergenic mold is your standard, eat away at leaves and cause mild allergic reactions kind of mold. Most allergenic molds are perfectly harmless to your health, but if exposed to the organic materials inside your home can still cause major damage to your home. However, should you experience headaches, migraines, multiple ear infections, frequently irritated throat, runny nose, sinus infections, or health problems that doctors cannot identify where they came from, then it's probably time to look into scheduling a mold inspection.
Pathogenic mold is a little more serious when it comes to your health. If you or someone in your household has a suppressed, underdeveloped or compromised immune system, then pathogenic mold exposure can be a very serious deal. This would include infants, small children, elderly people, pregnant women, and anyone afflicted with HIV/AIDS, chemotherapy, pneumonia, bronchitis, and other respiratory infections. Healthy individuals can usually resist infection but not always. Some documented cases of pathogenic mold exposure have led to hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which is described as “inflammation of the lungs caused by bacteria, mold, fungi, or inorganic matter.”
Toxigenic, or toxic, mold is very - in some cases, even deadly - serious to your health. Toxigenic mold contains and releases mycotoxins, which are then inhaled; this process is called “mycotoxicosis.” Many toxigenic molds even contain T-2 mycotoxins similar to the T-2 mycotoxins that are found in Yellow Rain, which is a biological warfare agent responsible for the widespread death of innocent people. In fact, according to Mold-Help.org, the T-2 mycotoxin found in molds is the only known mycotoxin to have been used as a biological weapon. Toxic mold has toxic effects ranging from short-term irritation to immunosuppression and possibly cancer. Therefore, when toxigenic molds are found, immediate action must be taken by professional mold removers with proper removal equipment.
The most notorious toxigenic mold out there is what's commonly referred to as “black mold”; however, it should be noted that not all black mold is toxic, just like not all toxic mold is black.
Mold can be especially devastating. It can be removed, though. However, unless the source of the moisture (water leak, flood, or water damage) is eliminated, it will just keep coming back. After all, mold feeds on organic matter, but it also feeds on moisture. Bleaching the mold by itself will probably not get the job done, and may cause even more substantial health damage to you, which is something you really don't want. It's quite obvious that the best time to eliminate the problem is early on, but it's also possible to clean even the nastiest mold infections.
It is recommended that you not attempt to clean mold by yourself without first getting advice. Cleaning it up requires taking proper precautions and using the right method for removal.
This is what Utah Mold Removal specializes in. Our team of trained experts will come to your home, analyze the situation, use state-of-the-art technology to test the area to see if they can find mold, remove the mold before it does any more damage, and then analyze just how much it will take to remediate the structural damage that's already been done. Contact Utah Mold Removal for your mold removal and damage remediation needs today!
Mold spores may contain “mycotoxins”, which are extremely harmful to humans when inhaled. This exposure is called “mycotoxicosis”.
There are literally thousands of species of mold, each with its own distinct effects on humans.
The T-2 mycotoxins found in many toxic molds are the same T-2 mycotoxins found in Yellow Rain, a biological warfare agent responsible for the widespread death of groups of innocent people.
The T-2 mycotoxin found in molds has been used as a biological weapon.
Mold exposure has been linked to numerous health problems, including lung and brain damage, cancer, and even death.
Those who are exposed to toxic mold may suffer a number of side effects, including dizziness, nose bleeds, memory loss, respiratory distress, vision problems, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, among countless other possible effects.
Prolonged exposure to toxic mold can lead to permanent hearing and visual problems, as well as chemical imbalance in the brain and short-term memory issues.
Recent studies have linked mold to the rapid rise of the national asthma rate over the past 20 years.
There are four kinds of health problems that come from exposure to mold: allergic reactions, irritation of tissues, infections, and toxic effects due to mycotoxins.
According to documented studies, about 25 million Americans are allergic to mold. Those that are allergic will suffer the usual allergic reactions, but if not immediately controlled, this can lead to more severe reactions.
The molds you can see (i.e. on nonporous cleanable surfaces such as glass, tile, grout, and caulking) are usually not as potentially destructive to your home as the ones you cannot see (i.e. behind walls and between roofs and ceilings).
Mold problems will not go away on their own; even after it is dry/dorment the health risk continues.
Health compromises and implications will often not be identified with mold exposure until it's too late.
Mold can exist in the most extreme of conditions: from the freezing bitter cold to the blistering hot.
Mold must have the following ingredients to thrive and spread: moisture, oxygen, and organic material to feed off of. Many things in your house can act as the organic material, even wood and drywall.
Don't believe any of the “experts” who say toxic black mold cannot cause damage to humans; they are wrong. Many toxic black molds have been known to cause irreversable damage to humans.
The three major mold species categories: allergenic (nuisances that cause allergies), pathogenic (can cause health problems for those with weak immune systems) and toxigenic (or toxic mold, a.k.a. the nasty ones).
Children exposed to toxic mold for extended periods of time may suffer permanent lung damage, much worse than if they were exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke.
Contact Utah Mold Removal today for all your mold testing, damage remediation, and removal needs.
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