6 Essential Things to Know About Mold

Mold can be just as sneaky as it is dangerous. It often hides in plain sight or lurks in forgotten areas (like your crawl space), ready to threaten the health of your home and family.

As a homeowner, you may have to address mold at one point or another. It’s important to know how mold starts and spreads, causes problems, and what you can do to protect what matters most.

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Your Comprehensive Mold Guide: 6 Essential Things to Know

Here’s our complete list of everything you need to know about mold:

1. Mold’s Impact On Your Home

You want to keep mold out of your home for many reasons. Not only can it have a detrimental impact on your home’s structural supports, but if it goes unchecked, it can begin to impact your health.

Determining whether or not a cough or early-onset asthma is caused by mold isn’t always easy. However, if you find mold in your home, it often contributes to respiratory problems. Mold exposure can compromise your health, leading to problems such as:

Coughing or wheezing
Congestion

Difficulty breathing
Itching eyes and/or skin

Examples of Mold’s Impact Throughout Ohio

A moldy home also serves as an incubator for early asthma in children. Unfortunately, it will take time for the appropriate professionals to identify mold as a potential source of health problems. In 1999, Ohio played host to one of the most medically significant outbreaks of black mold in history, revealing that its presence in homes could result in infant pulmonary hemosiderosis as well as other respiratory conditions. Since then, the CDC and other government institutions have acted to ensure the necessary coding is in place to prevent another outbreak. Even so, the jail in Columbus, OH, still sees mold outbreaks regularly that compromise both the health of present parties and the buildings therein.

With that in mind, you should schedule an annual home inspection to ensure that mold does not take root in your home.

Not only will the presence of mold in your home compromise your health, but it can severely damage the market value of your home. Mold loves porous materials. Once it takes root in your home, it will make its way into soft furniture, wood, and drywall. While it is possible to sell a home with mold in it, you should expect to lose up to 30 percent of your home’s market value when you do. Cities such as Cincinnati, OH, have regulatory codes that specify conditions that can prevent a home from being sold. Ensure your property complies with your city’s requirements.

2. Identifying Mold In Your Home

Mold comes in many forms and colors. Unfortunately, there is no one type of mold you’ll need to look for if you’re dealing with moisture in your home. That said, you can look for the symptoms of damage throughout your home. Some of the clearest signs of damage to pay attention to include:

Obvious growths or clusters

Unpleasant, musty smells

Difficulty breathing

Mold spreads through your home via airborne spores. These spores take root in the moister parts of your basement, crawl space, or foundation, as that’s where they’ll best thrive. Listen to your nose and try to identify the parts of your home that smell off. While you may not be able to identify a mold cluster that’s taken root in your walls, you will still be able to help professionals identify your home’s most likely mold sites.

3. Finding Mold In Your Home

When exploring your home for mold, you can start looking in your:

Basement
Crawl space
Attic

Bathroom
HVAC system
Air ducts

Note that mold can also grow inside your walls. If you or a professional find signs of an infestation in your home, you may have to dig into your plaster to find and remove the mold that’s putting your health at risk.

4. Mold and Moisture

Moisture is your home’s No. 1 enemy. Mold loves it, and it can take root quickly once the indoor humidity rises. Most often, you’ll have between 24 and 48 hours after your home starts to leak before you’ll need to worry about mold.

Seepage and leaks can make your home the perfect breeding ground for mold. A leak in your pipes or HVAC system may also cause your home to start gathering water. Fortunately, a professional home inspection will let you know whether you have any weak spots to worry about. You can also invest in waterproofing solutions before these problems arise to keep the bulk of groundwater’s unwanted moisture out of your home.

5. Handling A Mold Problem

You should not try to handle mold growth on your own. It is dangerous, and DIY cleaning—even with bleach—is not a lasting solution.

If you suspect you have mold in your home, or if you’ve spotted clusters sprouting up, reach out to mold remediation professionals who specialize in mold cleaning and removal.

6. Taking Preventative Steps

Unfortunately, mold is stubborn. You’ll need to remove moisture from your home before you can be certain it’s gone for good.

Waterproofing your home with the help of a vapor barrier, crawl space encapsulation, or other moisture management measures can help you deal with seepage and minor leaks.

However, you may need to invest in more comprehensive foundation repair solutions, like piering, if your foundation has suffered damage.

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Ohio Basement Authority Can Help You Protect Your Home From Mold

Don’t think that you have to fight off mold on your own. Let the crawl space professionals in your area give you the tools you need. Our team at Ohio Basement Authority will evaluate your home and help control moisture issues so you don’t have to worry about mold again.

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Mold and Moisture FAQs

Are musty crawl space smells normal?

While musty smells from your crawl space are common, they are not normal or healthy. They indicate problems within your crawl space, including mold and moisture issues, that require immediate attention. Trust Ohio Basement Authority to rid your home of musty crawl space smells by addressing the source. Contact us for more information and to schedule a free crawl space inspection.

What is the ideal crawl space humidity level?

Maintaining humidity levels between 40 and 50 percent is crucial for a safe and healthy home. Lower levels create dry air and respiratory problems, and higher levels lead to mold growth and other moisture issues. A professional crawl space dehumidifier, coupled with additional waterproofing and encapsulation methods, is essential. Contact Ohio Basement Authority for a free inspection and estimate.

Is DIY mold removal effective?

DIY solutions often address only surface issues, neglecting underlying moisture problems. Enlist the help of a mold remediation specialist immediately. Contact Ohio Basement Authority for a free inspection and comprehensive moisture management fix.

Holly Richards-Purpura

Content Writer

Holly is a Content Writer for Groundworks who has written and edited web content for the foundation services industry for almost 10 years. With a background in journalism, her passion for the written word runs deep. Holly lives in Columbus, OH, with her husband. Along with educating homeowners, she also has a big heart for the Big Apple.

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