It’s every homeowner’s nightmare to suddenly find out that they have to shell out hundreds of dollars to fix a mold problem they had no idea they had.
In some cases, the costs can run into the tens of thousands if the colony has gone unchecked for long enough, so the fear of an undetected mold problem is far from irrational.
The best thing that you can do to make sure you don’t end up surprised by this invasive fungus, is to become familiar with the warning signs of mold in your home.
If you can identify the signs early, not only will your savings be safer, but you and your family will too.
This guide is meant to help you become more aware of a mold colony in your home. Remember, not all of the signs have to be present for you to have a problem.
If just one of these symptoms start to appear, it’s time to bring in an expert to help reveal the existence and extent of a mold colony in your home.
1. The Visible Signs
The most obvious warning sign that you have a mold problem in your home is through the visible manifestation. Most commonly, colonies present as dark, circular blotches on walls and ceilings that are usually a few inches in diameter.
They also tend to be clustered together. Serious mold problems spread outward on the surface as the colony searches for more organic material to feed on.
Yet, although this is the image that most people think of when hearing the phrase mold problem, not all colonies actually look like this.
Mold can sometimes appear as slight discoloration on a flat surface like plywood, giving off the appearance of a layer of dust or dirt. Because these changes are often gradual and not very obvious, it can be easy to overlook or dismiss them.
It’s not until we see the more striking circular formations that we start to become worried about a mold problem. Of course, because mold is best eradicated in the early stages of growth, ignoring these signs can make removal more difficult later on.
There are other areas of your home that you should pay special attention to, as well, even if that just means occasional visual checks.
Mold colonies can show up visibly on the walls directly behind the toilet, for instance, or in the cabinets under the kitchen sink. Other susceptible areas include surfaces around HVAC vents or in laundry rooms.
Generally, any area in your home that has an increased level of humidity is a prime location for mold to grow, which means that it will be easier to spot.
Of course, there are a couple of places in your home that may hide mold that would otherwise be perfectly visible.
Wallpaper, for instance, can sometimes be pulled back to reveal a wall covered in the black blotches, while insulation can show very obvious signs of mold because the color has turned completely black.
However, until you decide to switch up the wallpaper in a room or start a renovation project, these infestations of mold will likely go undetected.
Clearly, going on sight alone is not always the best way to identify a mold problem in the house. The next sections will cover some of the more subtle signs you should learn to identify as well.
2. The Smell
Chances are, you’re already familiar with the smell of mold. Even when it’s faint, we tend to be sensitive to the musty odor. Sometimes, we don’t immediately identify the smell as belonging to mold, but there’s something in our olfactory sense that triggers a warning.
Even if you get just a vague smell of something moldy or mildew-like, it’s important to take that sign seriously. As soon as you smell mold, you should try to look for any visible manifestations, but even if you don’t, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem.
After all, if you can smell it and can’t see it, there’s a possibility that there’s a colony hiding somewhere.
Another unusual olfactory sign will show up in your laundry. If you notice when transferring your clothes from the washer to the drier that they tend to go bad by sitting for just a few hours, it might be a sign of a high number of spores in the air.
Same goes for dirty laundry like gym clothes that seem to catch a moldy smell in a short amount of time.
3. Your food is going bad quickly
Although all climates are a bit different, in general, produce, bread, and other products that you keep on the counter should have a predictable shelf-life of five to ten days.
However, mold popping up on your loaves of bread or bananas within a couple of days, regardless of where you bought them, may indicate that there is an unusually high number of mold spores floating around in the air. What may seem like a frustrating inconvenience, might be another sign that there is a mold problem in the home.
4. Water Leakages
Mold grows in humid conditions, so if you’ve identified any area where water has started to leak, or if you’ve experienced a major leak as the result of a burst pipe or natural disaster, you can take it as a sign that you’re at high risk for a mold outbreak.
Really, anything from a slow, steady dripping faucet to an all-out flood can lead to mold growth, so it’s important to prevent all water leaks and take any steps necessary to dehumidify a room that has been exposed to water damage.
5. Health symptoms
The last warning sign of a mold problem, but undeniably the most serious is the existence of mold-related health symptoms. The issue here is that mold-induced symptoms are often attributable to other common illnesses, so it’s usually the least obvious sign of a mold problem.
A few of the possible symptoms include:
- Cough
- Sore throat
- fatigue
- irritability
- headaches
- labored breathing or asthma
- rashes or skin irritability
- red, itchy eyes
As you can see, these symptoms are not unique to mold exposure, making it less likely for doctors to assume automatically that there is a mold problem.
In fact, you may wait to see a healthcare professional under the presumption that you’re suffering from the common cold or the flu. It’s not until the symptoms have persisted for longer than a normal time period that a doctor will start to consider environmental factors.
Unfortunately, that makes this sign less reliable as indicator of a mold problem because the uncertainty gives the mold a longer time to take root and spread.
What to do if one of the signs pop up in your house
Now that you’re familiar with some of the common warning signs of a mold problem in your home, you’ll be more prepared to take action if you have concerns.
Many homeowners make a conscious effort on a regular basis to make sure that none of the signs exist, either by checking for visible manifestations in not-so-obvious places or being more conscious about food freshness and air quality.
Overall, it’s better not to wait until all of the signs start to appear before taking action, but instead take even subtle signs serious.
The best thing you do is reach out to a professional for help. Conducting these small check-ins periodically can ensure that you’re finding mold outbreaks early.