Mould: What You Should Be Looking For

Posted by Justin Havre on Monday, October 8th, 2018 at 8:34am.

How To Identify Mould In Your HomeOnce it’s taken root in a home, mould can be a destructive force that can slowly kill the people who live there. All homeowners should know the signs of mould growth and where to look for it in their home so they can catch it before it can become an infestation - or before they put their home on the market to sell. However, many people don’t notice the signs of mould until it’s too late. To prevent that, here are what all homeowner should be looking for and why finding mould before it can spread is so important.

How To Identify Mould

Identifying mould in a home can be tricky because it can take on so many different appearances that can often look like small, benign messes. For instance, here are some of the different shapes mould can have:

  • Dirt
  • Sugar
  • Salt 
  • Thread
  • Dust

And the colour it can take on can also vary widely. Black, grey, brown, green, and white are all common and can help mould disguise itself even better when paired with it appearing in one of the previously mentioned shapes.

Mould also has a distinctive musty smell due to the microbial compounds that it produces as it grows. Even if mould is growing inside a wall or another area that can’t be seen normally, it may still be possible to smell its presence. However, being able to smell mould means that any people in the home are exposed to the mould’s mycotoxins, which cause health hazards.

Where Mould Grows

Above all, mould loves moisture and will usually be found growing in an area that has access to it, such as around water pipes, on windowsills, and in basements and crawlspaces. Mould typically won’t grow in highly visible locations, instead preferring dark areas that are left alone. So if a homeowner does see mould growing out in the open, it’s a very bad sign. If mould has started growing in a visible spot, it can mean that there’s already a large infestation of the same mould in another location in the home, so the homeowner needs to try to find it or hire an inspector to find it.

The Affects Mould Can Have

Mould is dangerous because of the many negative affects it can have on human health. Some of the affects are similar to seasonal allergies, which can be written off as such if a Copperfield homeowner doesn’t suspect the presence of mould in their home. Here are some of the other common symptoms of mould exposure:

  • Headaches
  • Irritated skin
  • Dry or watery eyes
  • Sore throat
  • Coughing and sneezing
  • Congestion

Prolonged exposure to mould can lead to much worse disease including asthma, cancer, liver failure, neurotoxicity, and more. If anyone in a home seems to be experiencing allergies outside the normal season for it, it may be worth looking into a mould inspection to make sure it isn’t something worse. 

Mould Testing and Removal

Many hardware stores sell mould testing kits that homeowners can buy if they find mould in their home. Not all mould is malignant, so it can give homeowners some peace of mind to know if the mould they find in their home needs immediate removal or not. Homeowners can also hire someone to perform a mould inspection if they don’t want to do it themselves.

Mould can be very dangerous to the wellbeing of everyone living in a home, so it’s important to take care of it as soon as possible. By looking for these signs of mould growth, homeowners can help make sure everyone in their home is safe from its dangers.

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