Mold and mildew do NOT come from the same type of fungi, but they can sometimes be equally challenging to clean up. It can be difficult to tell mold and mildew apart, especially since they often grow together side by side. Mold grows on food, walls and other structures with organic properties. Mildew can be a fungal growth on plants. You can also sometimes find mildew on clothing you’ve accidentally left too long in your washing machine. Mildew can also discolor your bathroom tile grout.

Mold And Mildew Textures and Colors

Possibly the best way to tell the difference between mold and mildew is their colors and textures. Mold is often fuzzy and thick in texture. They vary in color from common black to green, brownish-red, and even blue. Mold can sometimes have a slimy texture, depending on how much moisture is in its growing environment.

Mold is allergy causing. While there are some people who are allergic to mildew, the percentage is much lower than those affected by mold allergies. Both mold and mildew have musty odours. The color of mildew tends to be less varied than mold. Mildew is more of a slight dark discoloration. When it grows on surfaces or plants ittends to appear gray and white and powdery. Often rewashing of a mildew infected area is enough to kill it. Mold is not as easily treated.

Typical Places Where Mold And Mildew Reside

It’s possible for mold and mildew to grow beside each other. But it’s more common to see them in separate areas. Like mold, mildew likes damp areas like the bathtub and bathroom. Mildew also grows on wet fabric, plants, shower curtains, tiles grout and even wet books.

Mold is found in places of high humidity like bathrooms. Anywhere where there’s leaky plumbing is a place where mold can grow.

Between mold and mildew, mold is more dangerous. It can cause an assortment of health problems because mold spores move in the air and can be inhaled. Toxic mold is fatally dangerous.

Sometimes mold and mildew can be treated with the same methods. Some cleaners advertise as being effective on both mold and mildew. Although the names are often interchanged, mold and mildew are not the same type of fungi and should not be considered as such.

Certain types of mold can be potentially dangerous, so it’s important to make sure you conduct a proper mold assessment. Many molds, according to experts, do not pose a health hazard and people should not fear most molds. But there are some strains of mold that are dangerous. Conducting a proper mold assessment is especially important if you have children or pets in your home. A mold assessment should be done as soon as you suspect there is mold in your house.

The First Step

Mold assessment requires the completion of several tasks. Moisture levels on the floors, walls and ceilings need to be surveyed. An examination of the area needs to be done in order to locate any visible mold growth. The air quality should also be tested for mold spores.

There are different types of mold and it’s important to know the differences before conducting any mold assessment. You should also take the time to understand about mold too. Mold is a fungus that can grow on any type of surface where enough moisture is present. As they grow, molds make spores. Spores are microscopic and can be carried by air currents to other surfaces. If the other surfaces are moist enough, the spores will grow to create more mold.

Problems With Mold

Health problems is likely the main reason for conducting a mold assessment. Often when residents start to experience unexplainable respiratory problems or allergy symptoms, the choice to analyze a home for mold is made. Mold is the cause of many allergies and other health problems like asthma.

More serious health effects caused by mold exposure include frequent and heavy nose bleeds, dizziness, headaches, fever, flu-like symptoms and even extensive liver damage.

For these reasons completing a mold assessment is crucial to your and your family’s health and well being. If you’re unable or unwilling to complete a home mold assessment on your own, there are always qualified professionals who can do the job for you. In fact, in many cases it’s better to hire a professional who will be able to tell you what type of mold you have, if it’s dangerous, and what you need to do to get rid of it.

It can cost quite a bit of money to get professional residential mold removal. If the infestation is especially bad and the damage extensive, the costs can be very high. Don’t let this deter you. When you consider the dangers mold can cause you and your family in regards to health, then the cost is definitely worth it. Some of the extreme health problems caused by mold include serious infections, memory loss, and respiratory infections. Milder symptoms are allergic reactions. The cost of residential mold removal is worth it once you take these into consideration.

The Process

Residential mold removal requires an extensive process. First the professionals enter your home and inspect it. The mold removal team will evaluate the extent of the mold damage and identify the different types of mold in your home.

After the cause of the problem has been determined to be mold, the team will analyze how much damage has been done. The next step is the residential mold removal process. It begins with a chemical treatment that will clean the air and remove mold odors. The mold is then removed with dry eye or other water-based chemical.

Once the mold has been removed, there are still stains to be dealt with. The residential mold removal team will use a mixture of specialized chemicals to get rid of the stains from all surfaces such as carpets and walls. These teams are often so skilled at what they do that you won’t need to replace carpets or plaster when they’ve completed the job.

Finally, preventative treatment is done. The residential mold team will use a mold preventing chemical on all areas that have been infected. This will help destroy any spores that are left over, and will also stop the growth of new spores.

The Dangers

Hiring professionals to complete a full residential mold removal is the best thing you can do for your family’s health. But during the process you’ll need to make sure all of you, including your pets, have somewhere else to stay. There’s no need to worry about the team. They’re equipped with hazmat suits that will protect them from the dangers of floating mold spores. The release of airborne particles is prevented through the uses of water based chemicals during the residential mold removal process.

Always be sure to have any mold damage done to your home immediately dealt with. You increase the dangers to you and your family’s health if you leave it.

Black mold can have a negative affect on your health. It is related to the same group of molds that are known as the toxic varieties. Symptoms of black mold can sometimes be hard to recognize because they often appear like symptoms of other illnesses.

Individual responses to a mold infestation vary. Each person has different sensitivities with the elderly and babies having the highest susceptibility to experiencing symptoms of black mold. They will show illnesses first. But sometimes it’s very difficult to pinpoint the reason of the problem. It can take several visits to the doctor to get a proper diagnosis.

Could It Be the Common Cold or Something More Serious?

Symptoms of black mold are often similar to those you’d experience with the common cold. Coughing, sneezing, itchy or sore throat and a runny nose are some symptoms. A cold usually gets better on its own typically within a week or so. If the symptoms last longer, then you should consider mold as the problem.

Symptoms of black mold may start out mild but could easily change into something more serious. Possibilities include asthma, sinusitis and allergies. Treatment can take the form of antibiotics or other types of medications. These can provide some temporary relief. If, however, you notice that you still have the problems after treatment, you might be experiencing a symptom of black mold. A chronic sinus problem could also be an indicator.

Other telltale symptoms of black mold include seemingly permanently irritated mucosal linings in the nose and upper respiratory systems, headaches, a short attention span and dizziness. These symptoms of black mold often occur in pairs. For example, you may get itchy watery eyes and a headache along with a sore throat.

Resolving Symptoms of Black Mold

Symptoms of black mold are usually treated differently than a bacterial infection would be treated. This is because black mold is in the fungi family. In order to get effective treatment, you need to make sure your symptoms are caused by mold. To do this, mold needs to be found and identified.

Correctly diagnosing the symptoms of black mold can sometimes require being somewhat of a medical detective. Begin with hiring a professional mold inspector to come into your home and analyze it for the fungus. Once the problem is found, it can be corrected. This is extremely important if you want any treatments to work well. If you don’t destroy the mold problem, you’ll continue getting symptoms of black mold.

Effective mold prevention techniques require at least a basic understanding about mold and how it grows. Mold is a fungus and it thrives in humid places where they’re guaranteed to get enough moisture to grow. Molds can often be found growing on dead organic matter and sometimes living organic matter if there’s enough moisture on it.

This means that your first hint to mold prevention is that molds like moisture.

When molds grow they release spores into the air. Spores are the cause of numerous allergies in humans. There are also molds that are potentially toxic to people. The toxic molds are dangerous not so much because of their spores, but because of the gaseous secretions they produce. These gaseous secretions are called myotoxins.

Steps To Mold Prevention

Mold prevention can be very challenging. A house that has some current or past water leakage is especially at risk of experiencing a mold infestation. Mold thrives near water, and walls dampened by flood waters make ideal growing conditions. You need to figure out if your house has had any past water damage in order to achieve proper mold prevention. Then you need to fix the water damage.

Mold prevention is both proactive and reactive. It’s reactive in that you’ll need to act quickly if you discover any leaking problems or flooding. The area affected by water damage needs to be dried as soon as possible. This greatly reduces the chance of molds growing in the area. Proactive mold prevention steps include basic maintenance. Clean your roof gutters regularly so that debris doesn’t collect. Collected debris can become a storage for moisture and ultimately molds.

Be sure that the ground from your home’s foundation slopes away from the building. This mold prevention technique will reduce the chance of water seeping into the structure’s foundation and prevent a mold investation.

Also put effort into keeping drip lines and drain pans clean and obstruction-free. Maintain a low humidity inside your home because molds go very well in humid conditions. Condensation is a moisture source. Even a small amount can become the breeding ground for mold fungi. Do your best to reduce condensation due to leaks or even air conditioner condensation. An air conditioner that’s home to fungus growth will spread the spores throughout your home every time it’s used.

The most important thing to remember in mold prevention is to maintain your home and the land directly around your home. Controlling leaks and sources of moisture, carefully monitoring areas that could possibly be high in moisture, and being observant are all the most effective ways to mold prevention.

Mold grows everywhere on the planet. It is a multi-celled organism often referred to as a fungus. Molds are highly resilient and grow into what are called hyphae once conditions are right for their growth. They can remain dormant for a long time until the environment changes to ideal growing conditions where lots of moisture is present.

Molds have a bad reputation, but not all mold is bad. Mold is essential to the production of several foods and medicines. They need moisture and humidity to grow. They also have microscopic spores that can float in the air and cause the symptoms of a mold allergy. The traveling spores can also land on anything where they’ll grow if conditions are favorable.

Symptoms of a mold allergy

The average person reacts to exposed mold spores with hay fever like symptoms. Red, itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, nassal congestion and a runny nose are common. Other symptoms of a mold allergy include sinus headaches and chronic coughing.

Symptoms of a mold allergy can be controlled through prevention. Possible molds in the bathroom should be cleaned with a borate-based chemical solution. A dehumidifier and plenty of ventilation can reduce the humidity in a house. Do not store wet clothes or shoes in moist places. Make sure they’re dry before storage to help reduce the chance that you’ll experience symptoms of a mold allergy. Keep a watchful eye out for mold growth.

Anti-allergy drugs can be used to treat symptoms of a mold allergy, but it’s a better idea to remove the source of the problem. Constant exposure to molds can change the symptoms of a mold allergy from something mild to something more severe and life threatening.

Toxic Mold Symptoms

Severe symptoms of a mold allergy are often caused by toxic mold. Toxic mold can kill you and toxic mold symptoms include a regularly bleeding nose, blood when you cough, severe skin rashes, pulmonary hemmorrhage and difficulty breathing.

Don’t let this scare you. The symptoms of a mold allergy, even the toxic variety, can be controlled with preventative techniques. It may take some money and time to properly correct a mold problem, but that’s a much better alternative to having these symptoms so severe that you need to be hospitalized.