Inspecting Your Home for Mold

If your allergies have been bothering you, something to consider is doing a home inspection for molds. It is relatively simple and will not take very long to finish at all. Here are a few easy guidelines to follow when inspecting your home for mold and mildews that can cause allergies.

First, paying attention to particular smells can be an obvious and quick way to identify if you have mold in your home. Mold tends to have a musty, damp smell that is quite unpleasant and reduces the quality of the air in a room. "Listening" to your nose is a very easy way to tell immediately if you have mold in a particular room. This is often the case after flooding in a home with carpets. It is possible though for mold to grow under wood floors and even tile if the area has received enough moisture and humidity.

Next, go into rooms of your home that are the dampest, like your bathroom, laundry room, and even kitchen area. In these areas you want to look for visible signs of mold and mildew growth displaying colors like black, gray, brown, dark green, orange, purple, and even pink. Likely places where mold can be found include the cracks and corners in your bathtub and shower. Mold also has a tendency to grow on shower curtains and places where there is caulking, for instance, around your sink and tub area. Black mold is usually a greenish-black color with a slimy appearance.

If you are unsuccessful at finding any obvious/visible mold spores or mildew growth, you should try paying closer attention to your allergy symptoms. There are a wide range of symptoms you could be experiencing that may be caused by mold growing in your home. According to the Mayo Clinic, mold allergy symptoms can include sneezing watering eyes, running or stuffy nose, itchy eyes, nose and throat, cough and postnasal drip, and even sinusitis. These symptoms will vary from person to person, and range from mild to severe. If you experience these symptoms when you are home, you should definitely consider inspecting your home for signs of mold. As a word of precaution, it is recommended that you see a doctor if you symptoms persist for more than two weeks.

Treating mold and mildew when found is very important. Mold grows very quickly under the right conditions. Its growth rate becomes more rapid when oils from the body and moisture are present. Acting quickly to eliminate mold is in the best interest of all occupants of the house.