Mold Spore Allergens and You

Despite best efforts to the contrary, all homes generally house a certain amount of mold. Mold is simply a necessary part of the ecosystem, unless mold spore allergens make you sick.

As a natural part of the environment, mold helps rid the world of decaying leaves, food, or rotting woods, among other purposes. Without mold, you and I would be virtually buried alive in refuse. Mold is a natural reaction to alleviate a natural problem.

However, if you suffer from mold spore allergens, the biological process of consuming decay is not a necessary element in your home. At first, mold can simply be an irritation, a cough, or an inconvenience of some sort. However, exposure to allergens over time often results in more disastrous, and often dangerous, symptoms. Your very survival may be a stake, so understanding mold spores, how to control mold spores, and what options are available if mold spores become a problem, is essential.

First, mold spores are a hardy organic organism surviving off of dead or decaying materials, and moisture is necessary for their ultimate survival. For example, one of the first places an individual may visually notice mold is in the bathroom. Why? The bathroom is usually the room with the highest humidity and moisture, because you and I take showers.

Even with a fan running to help control the humidity, oftentimes the mirror is foggy when first exiting from the shower. Condensation will frequently be on the surface of the sink, and moisture still clings to the walls of the bathtub or shower. Now, be realistic! Who takes a towel and makes sure every surface is totally dry before getting dressed?

Even the driest of homes may have a mold problem because there is an unseen source of moisture leaking into the home. Also, floods can be totally fatal to home, because mold growth will be rampant and likely toxic, for even the hardiest of souls.

So, how can mold spores be controlled? Since mold spores can enter the home on our clothes, grow on household surfaces, and is an unseen occupant of most homes, how will an individual with mold spore allergens survive?

If an individual is allergic to mold, self-cleaning a home may actually make the problem worse, so a professional cleaner, who deals with flood and fire damage should be called in, to professionally tackle the problem. If you cannot afford to hire help, make sure the area is properly ventilated, sealed off from the rest of the home, and make sure goggles, mask, gloves and other protective clothing is donned.

While taking these precautions may seem like overkill, it is totally necessary, especially if you already have a problem with mold spore allergies. See, the process of cleaning will actually stir up more allergens and cause them to become airborne. Thus, you might ingest them, or they may land on your clothes or skin.

Before it will even be worth the effort of cleaning up mold, you must stop the source of the difficulty. If caulking needs to be replaced, a leak needs to be repaired, or infested materials need to be replaced, you should do so immediately. Otherwise, after all the efforts to eradicate the problem, the infestation will soon be back to make life miserable.

Now, cleaning up still becomes a challenge. Anything infested with mold will generally need to be safely thrown away. If it is something you simply cannot replace, take the item outside, clean as thoroughly as possible, and let dry in the nice hot sun. However, keep tabs on the offender, just in case mold has survived and begins to grow again. If so, it must be properly discarded.

Next, clean suspect surfaces with a product capable of putting mold out of your misery. Simply wiping the surface with a clean, damp rag will not do the trick. However, a mixture of bleach and water may work. Make sure to clean, dry, clean and dry with the solution. One pass will likely leave some spores to grow another day.

Unfortunately, if mold is present in the drywall or the flooring, the offending material must be replaced, to solve the problem. In extreme cases, the structure may actually be condemned. For instance, many houses have to be rebuilt after a flood. If the building is not dried out within a day or two, at the most, mold will cause too much damage. Thus, it becomes more cost effective to start over.

In summary, mold spore allergens are potential present in any home. For most of us, the unseen offender is not a problem, and we rarely acknowledge molds existence. However, if you have mold allergies, it may make it almost impossible to live in a moldy dwelling. Then, the first step is to call disaster cleaning specialists, or follow strict guidelines if it is going to become a do-it-yourself project. Fix the source of the mold, before getting rid of the fungi, or it will eventually grow back. If mold comes between you and good health, the mold will have to go-permanently!