Mold House Symptoms and How to Eliminate Them

Mold house symptoms are a growing concern throughout the world as more people realize a possible "mold connection" to their indoor health problems. Indoor air quality (IAQ) problems due to mold infestation have received more media attention over the past few years as more government agencies realize the need to educate people about it. This continues to be the case even though mold spores have been floating around in our home environments since we started building structures to live in.

Living structures used to have leaky windows and attic fans which would bring in a lot of outdoor air. The environmental catch phrase of, "the solution to pollution is dilution" certainly applied to the manner in which structures were built in the past. However, technological advances in energy efficiency have lead to houses, apartments and buildings becoming more air tight. This in return creates a tightly built structure that does not receive outdoor air except through the occasional window or door opening.

Indoor air pollutants per cubic foot of air can actually be higher than outdoor air and can also be smaller in size. Many of these small indoor air pollutants will remain stuck in the lung tissues once breathed in. This is the primary reason why many scientists and researchers have stated that indoor air pollution may be a greater problem than outdoor air pollution. This smaller particle principle also applies to a mold spore which can split apart into many small particles.

Mold Allergy Reactions

Human toxicology studies have shown that persons who have an allergic predisposition to a particular mold species can have a reaction to any particle size of that mold. An allergy sufferer can have an allergic reaction even to a small dead mold particle, and mold is a leading cause of allergies in the home and work environment. Non-viable or dead mold may be present within a house, apartment or building even though there is no apparent mildew-like odor. Most indoor home environments will have some presence of mold and it is not common to find multiple species. Mold allergy reactions are merely a combination of the type of mold species and the amount of that species one may breathe in during the day.

How to Eliminate Mold Particles

All mold starts as a growing (viable) organism but is rarely seen in that form unless found actively colonizing in a refrigerator pan, air-conditioning condensate pan or wet wall. There are many indoor sources from which a mold can originate, but most mold spores are sucked into the indoor environment each time we open doors or windows.

Mold-related allergies, asthma and upper respiratory conditions generally arise when too many of the dead (non-viable) mold spores are floating around in the indoor air. Using the proper technology combined with current knowledge can make a drastic reduction in mold and other indoor airborne pollutants. Regular vacuuming with a HEPA (High Efficient Particulate Air) unit is a very effective method to remove the small mold particles which cause many allergic responses. Thorough vacuuming should be performed during the first few weeks in home environments which have an allergy or asthma sufferer.

The Facts About Mold And Asthma

Fuzzy and nasty - that would be fungus, more commonly known as mold. It reproduces itself by releasing microscopic spores into the air, an occurrence that can cause significant health problems to people with mold sensitivities, respiratory conditions, or asthma. In order to ensure that your home is safe from mold and your body remains in good health, be knowledgeable about the facts regarding mold and asthma.

Mold is everywhere

You faithfully run the bathroom fan during and after every shower, and you clean the bathroom weekly. Nevertheless, mold exists regardless of your efforts. Both the harmless and toxic variety can be found virtually in any environment where moisture prevails - from the aftermath of running a bath or boiling water.

Because mold spores are microscopic, they can work their way into your comfortable home through air conditioning units, windows, doors, and heating and ventilation systems. mold spores thrive in damp basements, so they often set up shop there.

mold can worsen asthma and other respiratory conditions
Asthma is a common condition whereby the airways of the lungs tighten, making it difficult to breathe. While asthma is hard enough to live with, mold in your home could be aggravating the problem. In fact, mold is a well-known trigger for asthma. A study in the British Medical Journal found a significant connection between a person's sensitivity to mold and the severity of their asthma. Another study by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academies showed that indoor substances such as mold not only trigger asthma symptoms , but actually intensify them.

If you or a member of your household experiences a boost in the severity of wheezing and coughing, an amplified tightness during an asthma attack, or an increase in the frequency of attacks, it is recommended that you consider being tested by a physician in order to determine if mold allergy asthma is the culprit.

Mold allergy asthma symptoms

When it comes to mold and asthma, a diagnosis can be tricky. The challenge exists because mold allergy symptoms often mimic symptoms of other forms of illnesses, thereby causing occasional misdiagnosis. For example, respiratory problems including congestion, a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, or wheezing are also associated with the common cold. In addition to these symptoms, people living with mold allergies may suffer from low grade fever, watery or red eyes, and/or a scratchy throat.

While mold allergy asthmatic symptoms have a lot in common with other run-of-the-mill allergies, some particular clues can help determine whether mold is the cause. For instance, allergy-triggering pollens are at their highest level during the day. In contrast, mold spores are released at night, often hours after you have hit the sack.

Consequently, if you or family members are awakened during the night by respiratory problems such as congestion, a runny nose, coughing, or wheezing, mold spores may be responsible for the discomfort.

To confirm with 100% certainty that mold is the cause of your allergy, contact a medical professional to undergo a mold allergy test. Remember, asthma symptoms are serious and require prompt medical care.

Mold allergies can be prevented

Without question, the best way to alleviate mold allergy asthma is to initiate a good prevention plan. If you suspect the presence of fungus in your home, contact a professional mold testing service that can not only confirm and locate the mold, but should also be able to identify the species in order to determine its potential harmful effects.

In addition to professional mold testing, simple steps can be taken to make your home less hospitable to fungus spores.

Fix leaks, cracks, and areas of seepage.
Keep the shower curtain and bathroom tiles dry.
Do not allow water to build up anywhere in the house.
Always use exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom.
Monitor houseplants for mold growth in the soil.
Invest in a dehumidifier if your house indicates a high level of humidity.

If you are moving into a new home or apartment, it is recommended that qualified professionals be hired to test for the presence of potentially dangerous molds in your new living quarters. You owe it to yourself and your family to ensure that your home is a safe and healthy environment, free from mold and asthma attacks.

Mold & Mildew - A Guide For Allergy Sufferers

Mold: The Pervasive Fungus Among Us
As a relative of mushrooms and yeast, mold serves nature well by decomposing dead organic matter like leaves and wood. However, when mold grows in your home, its powerful enzymes eat through wallpaper, wood, and other materials. Scientists have identified over 200,000 species of mold, and they continue to find more.

Mold reproduces with mold spores, which are like microscopic seeds. At about three microns in size, mold spores are invisible to the human eye. For comparison, the period at the end of this sentence is roughly 300 microns in size - that's 100 times larger than the typical mold spore! Not only are they invisible, but mold spores are virtually indestructible, and many species release chemical toxins (mycotoxins) into the air as a self-defense mechanism. The more you learn about mold spores, the more they sound like extraterrestrial invaders in a sci-fi flick.

Mold & Your Health
In 2006, a University of Cincinnati study found that infants who were exposed to airborne mold spores were more likely to develop allergies to mold, pollen, dust mites, pet dander, and certain foods as they grew older. Tina Reponen, author of the study, says, "It turns out that the health effects of airborne fungal spores are more complicated than we thought."

Over 80% of allergy sufferers are sensitive to mold spores, and a 1999 Mayo Clinic study discovered allergenic fungal sinusitis among 93% of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Like other allergens, mold can cause sneezing, chronic cough, runny nose, congestion, itchy and watery eyes, skin rashes, sinus headaches, and respiratory problems.

But you don't have to be an allergic individual for mold to adversely affect your health. mold can also act as an infectious agent, like bacteria and viruses. Additionally, some species of mold produce chemical toxins called mycotoxins. Stachybotys (pronounced "stack-ee-BOT-ris"), also known as black mold, is the most common and dangerous species of toxic mold. Symptoms of toxic mold exposure may include memory loss and other cognitive disorders, nose bleeds, dizziness, nausea, anemia, difficulty breathing, and death.

How to Prevent Mold Growth
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that half of all U.S. buildings contain areas damp enough for mold growth.

Your Home + Moisture = Mold Growth

It's as simple as 1 + 1. If there's not enough moisture in the air, then mold cannot grow. Therefore, if you suffer from mold allergies (or if you don't want mold to decompose your home), you must monitor your relative humidity with a humidity gauge and use a dehumidifier to to remove excess moisture. Keep your relative humidity below 50 percent to prevent mold growth.

Mold flourishes on your bedding, feeding off moisture from your body. Sleep on allergy relief bedding that prevents the growth of mold and other microorganisms to avoid breathing in allergens while you're sleeping.

Specialized cleaning products can both clean and also prevent mold growth on surfaces like tile, shower doors, furniture, mattresses, wallpaper, ceilings, walls, and many more. Finally, if your home experiences water damage from a leak or flood, be sure to dry out all damp materials within 24 - 48 hours.

Modern houses and apartments are sealed up tightly for energy efficiency; however, those tight seals trap allergens and pollutants inside your home. Air out your home as much as possible and use air purifiers to remove mold spores and other allergens from the air. Hidden mold often grows inside HVAC systems. An allergy relief vent filter will trap mold spores before they have a chance to enter your lungs.

For allergy sufferers, frequent cleaning can transform misery into relief. While dead human skin makes up the majority of household dust, mold spores are present in dust as well. Vacuum thoroughly and regularly with a HEPA vacuum cleaner to remove mold spores from your carpet.

According to the EPA, if you find a mold colony that's 10 square feet or smaller, you should be able to handle the cleanup job yourself. Scrub the mold off hard surfaces with water and a specialized cleaning product. But be careful! Cleaning mold releases spores into the air, so if you are sensitive to mold, you'll need to wear goggles, gloves, and an allergy mask for protection. Make sure the area is well ventilated, and wash all supplies and clothing after cleaning.

If you suspect that the mold may be releasing toxic chemicals or if the mold colony is larger than 10 square feet, you should consider hiring a mold remediation professional.

Mold Allergy- Prevention Tips

A mold is a group of microscopic fungi found on vegetation or animals. The mold spores can be transmitted through air or water. Like pollen, the fragments of the spores created by the molds proliferate through the air causing nasty side effects such as wheezing, eye watering, coughing and asthma. In some instances the effect of mold spores can be life threatening, with toxic mold being on the top of the list.

So what can we do to prevent mold allergies? There are many ways to prevent mold allergies. Here are some helpful tips that could help save you and your family from household and workplace molds.

Humidity is the friend of mold. Without it, molds would not be able to propagate and produce spores. If you're in a damp environment such as the basement or garage, you might find yourself exposed to the allergic residue of molds. Most doctors would recommend that a low humidity, under 40%, would help lessen the effects. In fact dehumidifiers offer a good solution to combat the mold count. In bathrooms, turn on the exhaust fan or open the window. This will help dehumidify the bathroom. If there are water leaks, get them fixed. Doing so will prevent water seepage, which may help cultivate molds. For a damp basement, consider raising the heat and using a dehumidifier.

Another effective way to combat mold is to inhibit the airborne spores. HEPA filters can help lessen the spores in the air. In fact, there are dozens of products that aim to inhibit mold particles. For the rest of the house or building, there are electrostatic filters that reduce and remove airborne contaminants. Some are even 90% effective. A home air filter should have a HEPA label or some indicator that it filters allergens.

Another way to reduce the mold count is to go to the source - the mold. You can easily do so with cleaners that aim to eradicate it. There are plenty of chemical products that seek can destroy molds or even a simple cleaning product can erase the fungi mold that is commonly found in bathrooms. Since mold is easily detectable by the naked eye, you can sweep the area of mold. Sometimes it will smell like mildew. If you can detect the smell, you'll easily locate the source.

There are unconventional methods to treat molds today. Some have argued that massive ultraviolet is an effective means to remove spores. Others have argued that ozone generators are another method to eliminate spores. There may be compelling evidence that these products will work, but it remains to be seen if they will be safe and easy to use for the long run.

Mold allergies can be prevented by a number of weapons available to the common household member or building facilitator. Because of the dangers and allergic side effects of mold, more and more solutions are being created to stem the tide of mold. By knowing what can best prevent, destroy, and inhibit airborne spores, one can improve the quality of life by creating an allergen free environment.

Asthma and Allergies - Coping With Mold Allergies

Let's start out with the basics. Mold is an organism that is everywhere. There is no place there is no mold unless it is a "Clean Room." According to Wikipedia: the definition of a Clean Room is an environment, typically used in manufacturing or scientific research, that has a low level of environmental pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes, aerosol particles and chemical vapors. More accurately, a clean room has a controlled level of contamination that is specified by the number of particles per cubic meter at a specified particle size.

Mold is a type of fungus that has a job to break down dead material and return the nutrients to the environment. Microbes grow by digesting plant, organic or animal matter such as wood, leaves, paper, and food. It moves around the environment by releasing tiny, microscopic spores that travel through the air. Mold grows quickly in moist dark areas, such as basements, wet drywall and piles of rotting leaves. I have seen it under a Microscope and it is really small and interesting to see how it spreads across a surface like a weed.

We are all exposed to some mold every day with no bad effects. We can breathe in mold spores that are present in the air. Some of us eat foods in which mold has begun to grow such as cheese. People with mold allergies, will have a reaction when exposed to too much of the fungus. I have several clients who will end up in bed as a result of these reactions especially during the summer months when the humidity is high.

Symptoms of mold allergies can be itchy, watery eyes and wheezing like an Asthma Attack or rashes that look like the hives. Some individuals have neurological symptoms such as spaciness or lightheadedness with a tendency to forget things. These are only a few of the symptoms, I have some clients that end up in the Emergency Room or have to go to bed due to fatigue on exposure to high levels of mold spores.

It is not easy to cope with Mold Allergies. Several of my clients take shots to deal with it, while others are so allergic, they live in a "Clean Room" which they created to cope with the Mold allergies. Air Cleaners such as the Austin Air Cleaner is good for removing microbial spores and chemicals from the air or you can use Whole House Air Cleaners installed in your Central Air Conditioning System. Talking to your Doctor is important in dealing with microbial allergies so they can help you design a coping mechanism for your problem.

In conclusion, mold is everywhere except in Clean Rooms. Clean Rooms have a controlled environment used for specific purposes such as an operating room in a hospital. We are exposed daily and need to consult with a Doctor for a course of treatment. Air Cleaners can help you cope with your allergies in your home.

Mold Allergy - Symptoms of Mold Infection

It is easier to get affected by molds than avoiding them! As they are omnipresent, they can come to attack you any time. Top of that, they are so tiny that you cannot see them with unaided eyes. They won't give you any chance to prepare.

There are hundreds of thousands of mold types. Luckily, not all of them are allergens. Only a small percentage of total number of mold species creates allergic reactions in human beings. Still, it is difficult to avoid exposure to molds.

The main problem with mold allergy is that its symptoms are quite similar with flu. People often fail to identify the reason of the allergy and the condition goes worse. To get rid of mold allergy, one needs to kill molds apart from right medication.

How human beings can get exposed to mold?

Molds are everywhere in the environment starting from natural to built up places. Hyphal parts and mold spores get aerosolized when mold colonies are disturbed somehow. These airborne particles spread around with air current. Sometimes these tiny particles get stuck with physical matters and travel from one place to another.

Hence, it is not at all difficult for them to cross the doors of your home and nest inside. When molds attack homes, the extent of mold exposure goes higher worsening the condition of the allergic persons. Mold and mildew remover comes helpful when it comes to kill black molds.

Mold infestation in school, workplace and other places frequented by people can also lead to mold allergy. If you notice that your children are getting sick when they are back in home from school, chances are they are coming in contact with molds and mildews in school. When molds settle in offices, you might get sick while in office and get better as soon as you leave the place.

Such symptoms should never be neglected. Consult a physician whenever you notice allergic responses in you or any of the family members.

Immunocompromised people or those under immune-suppressing medication might suffer more than others. Children and aged persons are more susceptible to mold infection and allergy. Therefore then need more care and attention.

However, you need to diagnose the disease first, otherwise how can you start the right medication? Do not go with self-medication even when the symptoms appear to be less serious. Consult a doctor and let them recognize the disease.

Here is a list of common symptoms of mold allergy:

• Difficult breathing
• Asthma
• Wheezing or coughing
• Chest congestion
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Red, itchy or watery eyes
• Skin rashes
• Headache
• Sickness
• Fever

Along with medication, you need to think of some plans on how to remove molds from your surroundings. You can use kill mold spray to have a hassle free clean up.

Mold allergy might become life threatening if not addressed timely. Breathing trouble can lead to serious respiratory tract disease. Asthma patients and those under immune-suppressing drugs should take all preventive measures to avoid mold exposure.

Chemical based mold cleaning products sometimes exert adverse effects. It is suggested to use natural cleaning products. Green cleaning products are harsh on molds, but friendly for human beings and environment.