Common Household Mold And The Remediation Process

Mold is common in many households. It can often be found in moist, humid areas of the house or office. Mold develops quickly and can spread across large surfaces with ease. When mold is only a few square feet in size it may not seem like much of an issue, but when mold starts to cover several square feet, especially if it’s on porous surfaces such as drywall, insulation, carpeting or wood products; then you have a problem! That’s why we are going to talk about common household mold and the remediation process for eliminating any and all damage caused by mold at your home.

First – How Does Mold Start Growing?

Mold starts from moisture in the air. Mold spores are common everywhere, so all it takes is a little bit of water to get the mold to start growing. In fact, mold travels through the air as a microscopic particle that is only activated by when humidity levels exceed a certain threshold for a prolonged period of time. When there is significant water damage, such as a flood, mold will easily grow and spread fast. So why is mold so dangerous then? Not only is mold dangerous to your health, but it is also damaging to the structure of your home. Mold will begin to break down the walls and boards in your home, which is very dangerous to the structural integrity of your home if you do not catch it in time. You could have floorboards and ceilings collapse if you are not careful in inspecting mold around your home properly. Luckily, we are going to discuss some ways to identify some of the types of mold in your home and how a restoration company can help eliminate it for you.

learning how common household mold grows is the first step to understanding how to remove it
There are many ways mold can grow, however, in order to prevent mold in the future, its important to understand how it got there in the first place.

The Three Main Categories Of Mold

When trying to identify mold, it’s important that we first discuss the three main categories of mold that are common in most households. Each category signifies which type of mold you are dealing with, so here they are:

Allergenic

If you notice you are having a constant allergic reaction to something in your home but you don’t know what it is, it may be an allergenic type of mold. You may be experiencing allergies, allergic reactions, flu-like symptoms if it proceeds. It may be hard to spot this type of mold, however, making sure it is removed as fast as possible will save you from any more allergic reactions to the mold.

Toxigenic

These common types of mold are very similar to pathogenic which we describe next, however, this type of mold is very dangerous to your health. As the name suggests, this type of mold creates toxic chemicals that are extremely dangerous. For any member with weakened or compromised immune systems then it poses a serious risk for those who came in contact with toxigenic mold.

Pathogenic

A pathogenic mold is nothing to mess around with. Unlike allergenic mold, you may not experience symptoms such as rashes, until it’s too late. Pathogenic mold may cause severe illness to you and cause you to receive an infection if not caught in time. Even if you are in good health, you may be surprised to find out one day that a pathogenic mold has entered your body and began to cause serious illness.

Identifying The Exact Mold In Your Home

Now that you know the different categories of different types of mold, now we can discuss the exact mold that you may find on your property. It is important to mention however that a professional restoration company, one that specializes in mold remediation will be able to identify the mold properly and quickly for you, so they can then remove any mold damage.

now that you know the common household mold categories, its time to identify the exact mold you are dealing with
A professional restoration company will be able to come in, identify and remove all mold damage in your home. It is the best and fastest way to ensure your mold is taken care of quickly.

Stachybotrys

Falling under the toxigenic category, this type of mold is commonly known as black mold. We have discussed black mold and its various health effects on our blogs before and how dangerous to your health this mold can be. If you notice any signs of sudden difficulty of breathing, fatigue, nausea, you may have black mold growing in your home. With time, the mold will continue to grow at a rapid pace, and so will the health effects. Furthermore, black mold gets its name from the blackish-greenish tint when it grows. It is common to see black mold on floorboards, ceilings, walls, etc. anywhere that is especially damp or moist.

black mold a common household mold, will commonly grow behind walls
Black mold is one of the most dangerous types of mold because of the various health effects it has on the body.

Alternaria

You may have seen this type of mold before but never knew its true name, Alternaria, is one of the most common types of allergenic molds that you will find in any household. When you have water damage in your home, you may find that this dark green spotted mold, maybe growing by the source of water damage. Another way to tell if you have this type of mold in your home is if you notice any sudden asthma attacks. Allergenic molds are known to cause asthma-like symptoms, and they will persist until the mold is fully remediated.

Alternaria dark green spotted mold, another common household mold
If you see dark green spotted mold in your home, it is commonly associated with Alternaria, a common household mold.

Trichoderma

Trichoderma is a pathogenic mold that has noticeable white and green spots growing around the area of moistness. Surprisingly, there are many subspecies of this type of mold, making it difficult to identify at first. Once again, if you have water damage, you may be dealing with this type of mold especially if the water damage around your home is extensive. Not to mention that if your HVAC system has caused water damage, your air ducts may be contaminated with this mold, making it easier to spread around and infect people in your home.

Acremonium

The last most common type of mold on our list is identified as Acremonium, a toxigenic mold. In the beginning stages of growth, it may look like a regular white tinted mold, eventually taking on several different colors anywhere from orange, pink, greyish, and then eventually turning into a white and powdery texture. You may not even need water damage to see this type of mold in your home, as it comes from condensation around various different pipes, coils, drains, etc. in your home. Needless to say, it is a very dangerous mold, especially to your health. It has been linked to some immune systems and organ diseases.

What We Have To Say

At the end of the day, knowing all the names of these different types of mold is not the point we are trying to get across. It is always better to know what to look for such as the signs of symptoms as to what mold you might be dealing with. We also want to mention that we barely scratched the surface as to all the different species of mold out there, in fact, there are over 100,000 different types of mold. All in all, we want you to be informed, so you can get the proper services you need to remediate any mold damage in your home!

Need A Mold Damage Restoration Company?

Contact Rhode Island Restoration!

Hopefully, as we stated previously, we were able to inform you about the mold you may be dealing with, or if you do not currently have mold damage, what you should be looking for in the future. That’s where we come in! We are a mold damage restoration company that has been servicing Rhode Island for over 18+ years. Contact us today for a free consultation and allow us to tell you more about our process and how we can help you when mold impacts you and your home. We are here to help you. For any other type of service, you may need help with be sure to check out our services page.

Call us today at 401-414-1111 for a free quote and any questions you may have.

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