Black Mold in House

What causes black mold in homes. If you have been ignoring the leaky pipes in your bathroom or let the bathroom tiles get flooded with water all the time, without any cleaning whatsoever, then you might have a black mold infestation in your house. Warm, dark and damp environment is known to be the ideal ground for this toxic mold to survive, thrive and spread to other places in the house. Apart from bathrooms, other places which can have this mold growth include basements, attics, ceilings, and sometimes even clothes. In case you were not aware, black mold is more severe than other household mold due to its production of mycotoxins. Their tiny size allows them to get airborne and invade the human body system or that of the animals. Due to this toxic mold in homes, people have to suffer from many symptoms, which mainly affect the respiratory system, among others.

Signs of Black Mold

The first obvious sign of a black mold invasion in your house is the growth of the colonies over the places, which I have cited above. This mold grows as greenish-black, slimy substance. Its growth is more prominent over white bathroom tiles, especially at the corners. Apart from this, other symptoms of this house mold are seen in the residents. As mentioned, once the mycotoxins begin to get inside the body, they trigger symptoms of all kinds. The most common ones are as follows:

• Abdominal pain
• Acid reflux
• Coated tongues, metallic taste in the mouth, or dirt-like taste are some common symptoms
• Cough
• Dandruff, hair loss
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Hives, skin rashes, watery eyes, and sneezing are the common black mold allergy symptoms
• Hot flashes
• Increased irritability
• Infections
• Itching
• Low on concentration or absentmindedness
• Mood swings
• Puffy eyes, vomiting, poor appetite, sleepiness
• Runny nose, stuffy nose, burning eyes
• The person may have a constant feeling of being suffocated or choked
• Tired or lethargy even after a full night's sleep
• Worsened acne

Note that these are just the general symptoms that have been observed commonly. People who are already suffering from some kind of underlying medical condition may be affected more severely, and may show some other kinds of symptoms.

How to Get Rid of Black Mold

A few home remedies is usually good enough in removing a black mold infestation that has emerged newly in your house. However, if the problem is an old one and you have been ignoring it all this time, then calling for professional help would be a viable option. The tips are as follows:

• Look for the places which stay more vulnerable for mold growth. Some of these places have already been mentioned in the beginning of the article. Apart from these, shower curtains, soap cases, edges of the sink, etc., may also home mold growth. Start by squirting vinegar (without water) on all such surfaces. Let it do its work in killing the mold colonies, while you search for the rest of the places. After an hour or so, scrub the surface that you have sprayed the vinegar on, with a solution of detergent and water. New growth would be destroyed easily, but if it is old, then you might have to scrub for some time more. After you are done scrubbing, wipe off the surface and let it to dry, Open the windows and ventilators in your house. This would help in keeping the surfaces dry.
• A carpet is also one place that favors the growth of black mold. While it is a better idea to replace it with hardwood flooring, you can also sprinkle baking soda on it daily. Let the soda sit for sometime, before you do the vacuuming.
• Most people remain dubious about the prospect of black mold removal with bleach. According to latest findings, this substance comes of no help when it comes to toxic black mold removal in home. More important than this is to know that this substance is harmful for kids and pets, and for the environment as a whole. It has the tendency to react with acids and produce harmful products. So, if you are up to use bleach as a black mold remediation in homes, then better give some thoughts on it.
• A natural antifungal in nature, tea tree oil also works effectively. All you have to do is to spray the oil over the surface and let it do its work. This may need about 2-3 hours, after which you can rinse the surface with soapy water. Always ensure that you keep the surface dry after you have cleaned it.

Black mold, inarguably, is a serious threat to health. Unfortunately, most people ignore it and undermine the ill effects the substance can cause. And it is only when abnormal symptoms start occurring that people realize the potential of this toxic substance.