Home Mold Ideas

Home Mold Symptoms

Human bodies can tolerate mycotoxins in small quantities. At what point they constitute a health hazard depends on each individual. Immune system reactions vary; the health effects of mycotoxin exposure include chronic fatigue and irritability, flu-like symptoms, respiratory problems, headaches, cognitive problems, and skin problems. A stressed immune system results in a weakened individual.

Another serious health threat from mold exposure is systemic fungal infection. Immunocompromised individuals exposed to high levels of mold, or individuals with chronic exposure paired with mycotoxin exposure may become infected. Sinuses and digestive tract infections are most common; lung and skin infections are also possible. Alcohol and mycotoxin production may result from the fungal growth, leading to myriad symptoms. Sudden food allergies and digestive problems can mislead diagnosis. Treatment can be long-term (many years). Systemic infection may be of the environmental mold itself, or by other common food-related molds consumed under a weakened immune system. A weakened immune system may also give rise to opportunistic infections, for example bacterial infection.

Environmental illnesses can be difficult for healthcare practitioners to diagnose. Those who are living in houses contaminated by the mold may not be able to smell any odor and may be unaware that the problem exists.

Home Mold Remedies

The first step in solving an indoor mold problem is stopping the source of moisture. Next is to remove the mold growth. Common remedies for small occurrences of mold include:

Sunlight

Ventilation

Non-porous Building Materials

Household Cleansers

Significant mold growth may require professional mold remediation and removal of affected building materials. A conservative strategy is to discard any building materials saturated by the water intrusion or having visible mold growth.

Home Mold Growing Conditions

For significant mold growth to occur, there must be a source of water , a source of food, and a substrate capable of sustaining growth. Common building materials, such as plywood, drywall, furring strips, carpets, and carpet padding are food for molds. In carpet, invisible dust is the food source .

After a single incident of water damage occurs in a building, molds grow inside walls and then become dormant until a subsequent incident of high humidity; this illustrates how mold can appear to be a sudden problem, long after a previous flood or water incident that did not produce a mold-related problem. The right conditions re-activate mold. Studies also show that mycotoxin levels are perceptibly higher in buildings that have once had a water incident

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