How to Identify Black Mold
Black mold can create a hazardous situation. It's been linked to asthma and other respiratory conditions. Black mold spreads quickly and is most prominent in damp, dark areas. If you inspect your bathrooms and basements regularly you can spot a problem and stop it before it gets out of hand.
Learning how to identify black mold can help you prevent serious issues down the road. Black mold presents health concerns, and can actually eat away at the structural integrity of your home. Finding it and stopping it is important.
- Look in areas that have succumbed to water damage. Basements, laundry rooms and underneath sinks are usually the first places to end up with damage. If you've recently had to repair a pipe, toilet or water heater you want to look in these areas as well.
- Find black patches on the walls and floor. Black mold creeps and spreads up. So if you find a moldy area on the floor you want to inspect the wall around this area too.
- Look at the growth patterns. When black mold starts to grow and spread it usually have a pattern. In most cases you'll see circular patterns of mold. In areas that are dry you may not see the pattern, but the mold will look almost like soot. This still needs to be cleaned. Even dry mold can cause problems.
- Keep an eye out for signs of health problems with household residents. Colds that don't go away, unexplained chest congestion, constant headaches and lethargy can all become an issue as a result of mold.
- Hire a professional. If you think you've found large areas of mold that may have penetrated the walls or floor boards it's best to let a professional deal with this. They can do a thorough inspection and determine what should be done to alleviate the problem.