Toxic black mold can cost you plenty, affecting both your health and your wallet. Removing mold can be time consuming, but living with mold can be deadly.
Toxic Mold Health Problems
Toxic mold can be deadly. While you wait to have mold eradicated from your home, your health and that of your family members is at risk. Some people have mold allergies, a strong physical reaction to mold spores and the toxins that some species of mold produce. It’s worst for children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems from chemotherapy or diseases like HIV. Some individuals have potentially life-threatening reactions to mold in their environment. Some health professionals believe toxic mold is linked to cases of unexplained infant death (SIDS).
Even if you don’t have an extreme reaction to toxic black mold, exposure to the mold spores will eventually affect your health. Mold health effects are cumulative and might not show themselves for some time. You might notice:
- A stuffy nose upon awakening
- More frequent head colds
- Sneezing
- Sinus problems that grow worse over time
- Sore throat
- Asthma attacks
- Coughing
- Wheezing
Exposure to mold can also cause:
- Fuzzy thinking
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Feelings of depression
Many people suffering from the effects of toxic mold exposure do not link these symptoms with the mold in their homes. Some victims of mold poisoning are unaware of the cause because they don’t see toxic black mold growing in their homes. In poorly ventilated buildings, buildings with structural damage, or those that have been subjected to flooding, hidden mold in the walls can be triggering symptoms.
“I found mold in my home. What should I do?”
According to the U.S. government’s Center for Disease Control, if there is mold growing in your house, your first step should be to remove it. If mold is present, the potential for a health risk is present. No one can determine who will have a bad physical reaction to mold, or how much mold it will take to trigger that reaction. The only way to safeguard your family, or those living in your home, is to get rid of the mold.
The Cost of Toxic Mold Damage
A mold infestation can be costly and time consuming to clean up. You might need to purchase special cleaning products, including protective gear, to do the cleaning. You might need to tear out parts of the structure of your home — or pay someone to do that — to find and eradicate the sources of mold, and then replace those parts of the structure with mold-resistant building materials. You might need to live somewhere else while the work is being done.
Mold in any area of your home is actually eating the surface upon which it’s growing; so if you have a mold covered wall, some of the material of that wall is being eroded every minute the mold is present. Because of the damage it does, as well as the health hazard it presents, mold can drastically reduce the value of your home. If you own a house that is heavily contaminated with toxic mold, you might be unable to sell it for what you owe. If there is a great deal of mold, it might not even be inhabitable.
If you do the cleanup work yourself, you will need to take precautions, because “stirring up” the mold can cause it to release more spores, which will allow the mold to spread. Breathing in the spores can cause serious health problems. While you do the cleaning, you are being exposed to potentially dangerous mold spores.
Toxic mold of any variety, in any amount, is a serious situation that requires your immediate attention and action. Don’t look for easy solutions to mold problems; there is too much at stake.
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