Prevent, Identify, and Treat Mold with Steamatic Services
Steamatic has been helping Canadians breathe easy with mold-free households for over 40 years, and our team has put together the following primer to help readers prevent, identify, and response to mold in the home.
What are the potential risks of mold growth in the household?
We spend the majority of our time these days indoors. Though we may divide our days between consuming careers and vibrant social lives, we still spend a significant amount of our indoor time at home. When mold is present in the home, you are constantly breathing in bacterial threats and airborne irritants. Indoor mold has been associated witH:
- Irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat.
- Coughing, sinus irritation, and the build-up of phlegm
- Wheezing, shortness of breath, and sleep disturbances
- Symptoms of asthma and other respiratory problems
- Allergic reactions
With our unique biological make-up, people respond to the presence of mold in the home in many different ways. The amount of exposure, the severity of the mold, the unique classification of mold spore, and the health status of the resident all affect a person’s individual reaction to mold in the household. Some populations are much more vulnerable to mold in the household, namely, children, the elderly, and those suffering from a weakened immune system as a result of asthma, allergies, or other medical conditions.
What is mold?
Mold is the common name for any fungi that happens to be growing on food or damp surfaces. Mold can come in many different colours, and often looks like a stain or smudge. Mold usually has a musty odor.
Like you, mold needs food and water in order to grow. Mold can subsist off of all manner of residual grime. Once it begins to grow, mold releases spores into the air. These spores are often dangerous when breathed in. The threat of mold is exacerbated by amateur cleaning efforts, as heavy scrubbing only unsettles spores, mobilizing them in the air to be breathed in.
Common areas for mold to grow indoors include window sills, fabrics, carpets, and wall surfaces found in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry areas. All of these areas are exposed to higher levels of moisture and humidity than other parts of the home.
Common causes of mold-friendly moisture.
- Condensation commonly gathers on surfaces when your household climate is excessively humid or lacks ventilation. This is why under-the-counter plumbing pipe spots commonly deal with condensation.
- Steam and excess moisture in the air caused by cooking, bathing, and showering.
- Water leaking from porous roofs, malfunctioning plumbing, cracked basement foundations, or flooding from clogged gutters.
Common causes of mold-friendly meals.
Mold can live on all manner of things. Common mold meal-time choices include any kind of organic matters. Basically, if the substance you are wondering about is carbon-based, it will sustain mold growth.
Common hosts for mold around the home
- Drywall
- Wood used to construct window sills, wall framing, or gathered to be used as firewood
- Paper products such as recyclable cardboard boxes
- Damp furnishings like carpet, furniture, and upholstery
What do I do to get rid of mold?
The most valuable piece of advice you can get about mold removal is to hire on professional assistance. Trying to take care of the problem on your own may seem like a cost-effective option, but you really only risk making things worse. Most homeowners do not have the proper respirators and removal equipment lying around the house. Trying to scrap the mold off without the proper tools will only kick allergens up into the air, putting your lungs at risk and spreading spores around to perpetuate the growth cycle.
Steamatic has been ridding Canadian households of mold for over 40 years. We use an innovative, effective, and environmentally-friendly method of mold removal. To learn more about our mould and mildew removal and remediation process, visit our website or call 1-888-767-7616 today!
