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How To Tell If Your Home or Business Has Mold

You take a lot of pride in your home or business space. After all, you spend the majority of your time within those four walls! As you navigate daily tasks, make sure everyone is keeping up with duties, and navigate workplace issues, it can be easy to overlook property maintenance needs. 

Unfortunately, hidden issues might be lurking just out of sight the longer these maintenance tasks are ignored. For example, what starts out as a small amount of mold growth could become a massive and impactful infestation if you aren’t careful. 

Knowing what to look for when it comes to a mold infestation is crucial in keeping your home or business safe and healthy for everyone under your roof. 

Let’s dive into some of the clear signs that you need to investigate a potential mold problem on your property. 

How To Tell if Your Home or Business Has Mold

Table of Contents

Visible Mold 

One of the most obvious signs of a mold problem is if you see mold spores in a specific area. Mold can be any color of the rainbow and can look fuzzy, slimy or even chalky. It can grow virtually anywhere, but the conditions have to be right for mold spores to settle in and grow into a colony. 

 

Mold thrives in dark, damp areas of your property. Basements, attics, and bathrooms are a few of the most common places where excess moisture is found. Be sure to check these areas often and take action as soon as you see even the smallest amount of mold growth. 

Visible Mold | What Is Mold and How It Impacts Your Home

Dark Spots or Discoloration on Walls 

Visible mold is easy to spot, but it can also appear as dark spots on your walls. It could look like staining or a shadow that doesn’t go away as the sun moves. The discoloration can be black or green and can even look wet or slimy. 

 

Just be sure not to touch it or disturb it in any way! Mold that is growing on walls may look harmless, but touching it can release dangerous mold spores into the air. Contact a professional mold contractor to evaluate the area for you. 

 

Stinky Smells 

Odors will come and go from your home or business as your family runs through their days, your pet comes in from outside, or your warehouse workers load up your delivery trucks. However, these daily odors should fade away with proper ventilation. 

 

If you have a stubborn odor that smells musty or earthy, you might be dealing with a mold infestation. Mold is a living thing, so this musty smell will only continue to get worse as the infestation grows. As it gets larger, it can even start to smell rotten.

Even if you can’t track down a visible infestation on your own, it is important to have a professional mold testing done to ensure there are no issues behind your walls or under your floors. 

Allergy Issues Are Common 

Seasonal and situational allergies are common when you spend time outside in the elements, but they shouldn’t be a constant problem in your home or business. If you have a family member or staff member struggling with allergy symptoms inside your property, it’s time to dig deeper. 

 

Common allergy symptoms include: 

  • Stuffy or runny nose
  • Itchy eyes or throat
  • Itchy skin or irritation 

Mold is an irritant, and will start to impact your property’s indoor air quality. As the mold spores infiltrate your circulating air, allergy symptoms are a common reaction. 

 

Without proper treatment, these mold spores can continue to cause respiratory issues. If the spores enter your lungs, you can expect worsening allergy symptoms and even respiratory infections. Don’t wait to call a mold professional if you are struggling with physical symptoms! 

Soft or Uneven Floors 

Mild mold infestations can be contained quickly to avoid causing serious damage. However, the longer a mold colony goes unnoticed, the higher the risk that structural damage occurs. 

 

Mold will eventually start to degrade your subfloors and floor joists, leading to rot. As your structural supports wear away, your floors will start to lose their strength and integrity. 

Soft or Uneven Floors

If your floors start to sag under your weight or you notice that part of your floor gives a little when you step on it, it’s time to call a professional immediately. Unsteady floors can be a huge safety hazard and should be evaluated as quickly as possible. 

You’ve Dealt With Past Flooding or Water Leaks 

Water is an essential part of human life, but it can be a menace if it gets where it shouldn’t in your home or business. Water will leak into virtually every crack and crevice on your property during an unexpected flood or water leak

Unfortunately, water can be really hard to dry up completely if it gets to those hard-to-reach areas like under floors or behind walls. Even if you think you mopped up all of the visible water, lingering moisture could lead to a mold infestation rather quickly. 

After a major water event, it is important that you have your property professionally inspected to ensure your entire space is clean and dry. 

What To Do if You Find Mold 

It is important to remember that just because you find mold, it doesn’t mean you don’t take care of your home or business space. Mold can be sneaky and can grow quickly in any property in the right circumstances. 

The best thing you can do is to leave the mold alone and call a mold remediation company! Mold can be dangerous if mold spores are disturbed and released into the air. Slowly back away and call the team at Exit Mold instead. 

During a professional mold remediation your property will undergo: 

  • An initial evaluation 
  • Space containment
  • Proper cleaning and sanitization 
  • Air filtration 
  • Preventive strategies to ward off future infestations

The team at Exit Mold will take care of your mold problem with ease no matter your situation. 

Suspect a mold problem? Call the team at Exit Mold today at (516) 512-7877 and we will take care of your infestation from start to finish. 

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