For many homeowners, finding the time to clean the home and maintain all of the maintenance can be problematic. When you have a career and family to take care of, these chores become issues. Regardless of your time issues, you need to maintain various parts of your home so that it does not degrade and break down. Air quality is hugely important as you want to keep your health intact. Allowing mold and mildew to get into your home is not a good thing. Certain molds like black mold are very harmful to humans. What does black mold smell like? Black mold smells like a fresh pile of dirt. It has a musty and earthy smell.
Let’s take a look below at some more details regarding black mold.
What Is Black Mold?
Believe it or not, black mold or Stachybotrys chartarum is the most obvious and prevalent type of mold spore in the air. Black mold spores are known to settle in areas that are damp, dark, and cold. This provides the black mold spores with a moisture level high enough to breed. Keeping your air conditioner properly filtering the air in your home is key. Make sure to change your air filters on a regular basis so that the air quality can maintain itself. Also, consider getting an air quality test from your local home inspection team once a year.
How Do I Know It Is In My Home?
There are a few ways to determine if toxic black mold is present in your home. Some are very obvious reasons. The site of black mold can be obvious in your bathroom shower or other tile locations. The stale smell of black mold odor can also be prevalent for a homeowner. Additionally, toxic mold can cause a compromised immune system and the following health issues.
- Asthma or difficulty breathing
- Skin rash or irritation to the skin
- Runny nose or congestion in the head
- Sneezing
- Fatigue or weakness in the body similar to the flu
Other Recommended Maintenance
Now that you understand what black mold smells like, you can read up on other ways to protect your home. Getting a sewer scope inspection to determine if you have water damage or water leaks in your walls is a great way to ensure that mold growth issues are not arising.
Next, if you happen to find black mold in your home, you will want to know how long it takes for black mold to grow. This allows you to determine how long the toxic black mold might have been present in your home.
Lastly, if you ever have wet drywall, you will want to know if it needs to be replaced. In some cases, it might be recommended to just dry the drywall. However, there is no exact science that black mold won’t still grow on dried-out drywall.
When Do I Call A Professional?
The site of black mold spores in your home is one of the worst fears a homeowner could have. This harmful mold spore can be hidden deeper in your walls and you wouldn’t even realize it. Typically, a homeowner will not even notice black mold unless they develop some illness symptoms.
The moment black mold is suspected, call on your local home inspection team for a mold inspection. They can conduct infrared thermography to see if the black mold is inside of your walls or if there are leaks occurring. Additionally, they can recommend a reputable mold remediation team to conduct the mold removal.
Conclusion
Allowing your home to get black mold in it is a bad thing. Keeping up with preventative maintenance is so important for keeping your health and your family’s health intact. Utilizing your bathroom exhaust fans after a steamy shower is important. However, this is just one way to keep the moisture levels in your home at a minimum. Consequently, if you notice black mold in your home, you should immediately call your local home inspection team. They will conduct a full home inspection and recommend a professional mold remediation company. Call on House Inspection Associates to conduct a full home inspection in the Virginia, D.C., and Maryland areas.