Home and basement mold can be scary. It is a big problem. How can you head it off before it grows? How can you safely remove household mold? How do you make sure it doesn’t come back?
Mold can be one of the most serious issues facing property owners in Virginia, Maryland, and DC. Do not ignore it. So what are the most effective remedies for it? Can you use household chemicals and do it yourself? Do you need to evacuate and bulldoze your home?
What’s So Bad About Mold?
What is so bad about a little mold in your property? Especially if it is just hiding down there in the basement or behind the walls?
Mold can be a dangerous health issue. Even a few minutes of exposure to some types of dangerous mold can send you to the emergency room. Even though you might think your mold is fine, it can be extremely problematic for those with allergies and asthma, and of course, kids and older adults.
If this is an investment property, you can find yourself with some serious legal bills if you haven’t done everything possible to remove and prevent mold. It can have a lifelong impact on renters and guests, not to mention how bad you’ll feel.
When you have mold, you also have other problems happening in your home. You may not have connected the dots yet, but there is more you need to investigate.
Mold: Know The Signs
Maybe you’ve just spotted a little mildew and thought it was normal. Or maybe the home inspector said that moisture levels were a little high, but you didn’t get it checked out any further than that. By the time you see the mold, it has probably been growing for quite a while already. The longer before you discover it, the more work it is going to be to remove it. It is far better to head it off and keep it out of your home in advance.
If you notice any of these signs, check for mold and the things that cause it.
Musty Smells
If you are getting unpleasant odors in your home, there is something going on. Even if they just come back and are only noticeable occasionally, check them out. If could be a pipe, septic, or other issue. Musty smells in particular suggest there is dampness in your home somewhere. Sooner or later, this is going to turn into mold and eat away at your home.
High Moisture Levels
Dampness, leaking windows, wet basement floors, and humidity all mean high moisture levels in your home. With that moisture and mold’s favorite food (wood) in plentiful supply, it is going to start growing somewhere. Don’t wait until you see it or have breathing problems to take action.
Warping
Warped flooring, doors, and door frames are a huge giveaway that there is dampness, water problems, and more happening deep in your home. Get it looked into.
Cracks
If you have cracks in basement walls, crawl spaces, exterior brickwork, or your interior drywall, water is part of the culprit. You’re going to get mold unless it is corrected. You could have far bigger foundation and structural problems to deal with too.
Pest Infestations
Rodents and insects love the dampness. If you have them around your home and crawl space, there is a good chance you’ve got mold hiding somewhere too.
Safe Mold Removal
Home and basement mold removal is serious. This isn’t like just cleaning a little mildew off of your exterior windows and siding after not cleaning them for a couple of years.
You might have hopped on Google and saw vinegar and baking soda as a solution. It’s funny that those seem to be the suggested solution for just about any household and yard item today. Others say bleach.
Poisonous mold spores are not something you want to breathe in even for a moment. There’s a good reason mold removal experts wear full protective clothing and breathing gear.
Even if you could just scrub away some of the mold or cut out chunks of your drywall and replace them, that doesn’t mean it won’t be back in a couple of months. There is likely a lot more mold deep in the infrastructure of your home. There can be major foundation issues that could bring your whole home down.
You’ve got to stop the source, or you’ll be trying to remove this mold every few months while your home continues to degrade.
Professionals may recommend dehumidifiers, vapor barriers for your crawl space, better drainage, or repairs to cracks in foundation walls. Get a free inspection and estimate to find out what’s right for your home.
