Are you looking the other way when you see a moldy substance growing in the dark and damp areas of your home? You shouldn’t be if that substance is greenish-black. It’s known as Strachybotrys atra and it’s very toxic and very deadly. That’s why when you’re dealing with molds; you need to know all of the facts. And when you’re dealing with black mold removal you need to be very aware of this dangerous fungus and you need to know how to stop it dead in its tracks, now.

To understand what Strachybotrys atra can do to someone, you need to be aware of the symptoms it can cause. A person who has been exposed may have difficulty breathing; they may experience headaches, coughing, nausea, memory loss, dizziness, asthma, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, and even infertility.

It is responsible for more than 100 types of lung conditions. But worst of all, Strachybotrys atra can cause respiratory bleeding, which is fatal in infants.

And while that’s pretty darn scary, many people refuse to believe that they even have this nasty substance in their home. They believe that if they keep their house spic and span clean, they will never encounter this dangerous fungus. Unfortunately that just isn’t true! Even the cleanest home can create the perfect place for fungus to grow.

For instance, when you live in an area that has a lot of humidity, you’re definitely prone to toxic fungi. Since moisture causes molds to become more susceptible to the area, the risk of having Strachybotrys atra in your home is even greater to homes that are not in a high humidity area.

However, humidity in the environment isn’t the only factor that can create a breeding ground for Strachybotrys atra. Leaky pipes can also become a potential toxic hazard for the fungus. And often, those leaky pipes go unnoticed because the leak is so small. To make matters worse, the fungus isn’t always visible since it can attach itself to the insides of the pipes, which makes it virtually impossible for removing black mold.

Another common breeding ground for Strachybotrys atra is anywhere a flood has occurred. It makes no difference if it’s a major flood that happened during a rainstorm or a minor flood that occurred when the toilet overflowed, it’s all breeding ground for fungi. Yet the worse part is it can take several days to dry that area out which gives the dangerous fungi an even better chance to grow.

Some other good indications that you have a problem with fungus growth are stains on the walls or ceilings of the home. These stains are usually yellowish in color, but signs of black, green or brown can indicate a fungi problem.

Another sign that could mean your home has the deadly fungus is, odor. If the smell of mildew or must is present, it could mean that there are molds growing where the odors are lingering. Common areas may include closets and heating and air conditioning units.

Finding out where the problem lies is only the tip of the iceberg. The next step is to remove the dangerous fungi. While this may seem like an easy task, it actually requires careful handling when coming in contact with the substance.

First and foremost, a respiratory mask, eye protection and gloves should be used when attempting to remove the problem. There are many products than can be used to remove the substance. The most common of them is bleach. There are also many paints that are specifically design to help reduce the growth of fungi.

In addition to products, using a dehumidifier can control the humidity that attracts the dangerous fungus known as Strachybotrys atra, in the first place. However, if the problem is severe enough that products or a dehumidifier is simply not enough, a professional may be needed rather than trying to learn how to remove black mold yourself. Be safe, be smart. You and your family’s life depends on it.

None of us are ever really prepared for the force of Mother Nature even when a home or business is lucky enough to be saved. In fact, many homeowners may find themselves left with mold and wondering where to go next. Do you flip through the yellowpages in search of mold inspectors and hire someone or do you go straight to the mold remediation process.

If it’s obvious that you have mold growing in your home, you can more than likely skip hiring an inspector and go straight to getting rid of the mold. However, if the fungus is hidden (you can only smell it), you should hire someone to inspect your home. You may also want to consider hiring a professional mold inspector if you believe there are both hidden and visible molds in your home or business.

Once you have an expert in mind, you need to find out if they can do the inspection within a 24-hour time frame. If not, you’re better off hiring someone else since mold can spread very quickly. Also, make sure that the mold inspector you’re intending to hire is both licensed and certified. While some states already have those requirements before they can practice, there are many states that still do not.

In addition to being certified and licensed, you should ask the company inspecting your home for references from other clients. You may also want to see if they’re listed with the better business bureau, however you should keep in mind that just because they’re not listed doesn’t mean they’re not trustworthy.

You should also make sure that there is a contract provided to insure that both you and the inspection company are in agreement with the work that is to be done. The contract should include an agreement, which requires the company to take a swab or lift tape sample of any mold found in the home and an air sampling for potential airborne mold.

The contract should also include an agreement to provide a lab analysis report of any mold found in the home, answers to any questions you may have whether it be on the report or from the company and an agreement of a thorough inspection for mold in the home.

In addition, you home inspection may also consist of a moisture and leak test, an air quality test, humidity test and drainage test which can take anywhere from a few hours to a half a day to complete, while the cost of the inspection may run anywhere from $300 to $900 depending on the size of your home or business.

And finally, if the business you’ve chosen to inspect your home offers black mold removal services as well, you should be aware that mold inspectors and mold remediation are two separate businesses and any good inspector can tell you that.

There are many funguses that aren’t as dangerous to your health like pink mold. And while they do need to be removed from your home, you don’t need to arm yourself with eye goggles, or a respiratory mask, or block off park of a room just to remove them.

As a matter of fact, some may be as easy as tossing food out of the refrigerator. Of course getting rid of mold isn’t always that easy, but it isn’t really that difficult either.

For example, most shower mold can be removed by spraying the affected area with a product that’s designed for bathroom mold. Then all you need to do is allow it to set for the time indicated on the bottle and wipe it clean.

However, there may be instances where you’ll need a little more power behind that cleaning product to remove more stubborn molds. You may also find yourself needing to actually use protective gear like rubber gloves, goggles and a respiratory mask.

These items will be necessary when you have to work around toxic black mold. And if that’s the case there will be a little more work involved than just spraying and wiping away the problem.

You’ll need to seal off the affected area using plastic sheeting and tape and you should make sure that you turn off any ceiling fans, air conditioners or central heat and air systems in that room to prevent fungus spores from becoming airborne and infecting other areas of your home.

Next you need to find the source of the fungus growth and make any repairs necessary. Then you should remove or cover any items in the affected room to prevent mold from contaminating them.

You’ll then want to apply a mold spray that’s specifically formulated for toxic mold. Then, let the cleaner set for the time specified by the manufacturer’s directions and wipe the area using a clean wet rag.

Once the mold has been removed, you may want to consider investing in a dehumidifier if you haven’t already done so. In the meantime, if there’s still any moisture in the affected area, you can speed up the drying process by placing several fans in the room near the affected area.

If moisture is a common problem in your region, in addition to the dehumidifier, you may want to consider installing an exhaust fan in the room and open windows whenever possible to reduce the humidity in the room. Otherwise, you may find yourself constantly needing to cleanup mold in your home.

However, when you take the time needed for household black mold removal, you may never have to worry about another fungus invasion again and that’s certainly a breath of fresh air.

However, if the mold that has invaded your home are less than 10 square feet, you may be able to do the work yourself. But, unlike common mold removal, there are a few extra steps involved in order to successfully remove the mold. Here’s how:

Step 1: Asses any damages that may have caused the fungus growth and repair them.

Step 2: Remove any objects near our around the growth and cover the rest of the room with sheets of plastic to prevent fungal spores from spreading.

Step 3: Remove any moldy materials that cannot be saved such as drywall mold, then seal it in a plastic bag and remove it from your home.

Step 4: Remove and discard any business related items that have been contaminated with mold. If any items were near the moldy growth, but show no sign of it, set the items aside and keep a close eye out for mold. Do not ship any of the items to your customers until you’re absolutely certain that they are safe to send. Otherwise, you could find yourself in hot water with your customer if they discover a mold problem with their product and decide to take action.
 
Step 5: Use a stiff brush to loosen and remove as much of the mold growth as possible.

Step 6: Use a mold spray to clean the affected area taking care to follow the manufacturer’s directions listed on the bottle.

Step 7: Rinse the affected area if necessary and repeat if stains are stubborn.

Step 8: Repair any areas affected by mold in necessary and dry out the area using several fans and/or a dehumidifier.

Step 9: Next, seal and discard any items used in the cleaning process such as brushes, rags and gloves in a plastic garbage bag to prevent further contamination from mold that may become airborne.

Step 10: Contact your business’s insurance company to file a claim for any losses that may have occurred due to the mold. However, depending on your insurance company’s procedures you may need to contact them before any mold remediation is done on your home business. You may also want to ask your insurance agent whether or not they will cover the work that is needed in order to remove the mold from your home.

And finally, please keep in mind that the above steps are only a guideline since every mold cleanup situation may be different and there may be additional requirements depending on where you live and the coverage you have for your business.

If you discover a small amount of fungus (generally less than 10 square feet) and you know that’s all there is, it’s probably safe enough for you to do the work yourself unless of course you’re highly sensitive to mold.

If the affected area is more than 10 square feet (say an entire wall), you should call a mold remediation expert. You should also hire a professional if the mold is hidden or you’re dealing with a toxic black mold.

However, before you hire just anyone out of the phonebook, you need to shop around. Not only will you be able to get the best deal this way, you’ll also get the best contractor out there or at least the very best available in your area.

Keep in mind however that your phonebook isn’t the only tool that can help you with your quest. You should also be ready and willing to ask your family, friends and even neighbors on who they’d recommend for this type of service.

You may also want to consider asking your city or even real estate office who they would recommend for the job. It also wouldn’t hurt to check with the better business bureau either.

Once you’ve decided on a mold removal company for the job, be sure to ask about any discount services they may have available. Most businesses won’t offer discounts or promotions unless a potential client asks first.

Even with a discount however, many homeowners may still find it difficult to swallow the price for a professional. So, if you’re a little worried about the mold remediation cost, there may be a few options available to help make that decision a little easier.

The first thing you may want to do is check with your insurance company to find out whether or not your homeowner’s policy will cover the costs. If they don’t, ask your insurance agent if the source of your mold problem (such as a flood) may be covered. You may also want to find out if your policy covers any structural damage as a result from the mold.

Another option that you may want to consider is your city. There are many homeowner programs that may allow you to recoup the cost of cleanup or at least part of it. If not, they may at least offer assistance in repairing any damages caused by flooding or a city issue such as a broken water line in which case you have every right to have those repairs taken care of.

And if you are living on a farm, you should contact your county and state about any programs they may have to help with loss of crops or income due to molds and the need to hire a professional mold removal service.

Sure, they agree that mold cleanup is necessary in order to maintain a clean home, but when it comes to toxic mold, they don’t think that being exposed to it will do any serious harm. And when someone comes forward to tell his or her story of mold sickness, they blow it off as other health problems that have nothing to do with toxic fungus exposure.

Yet for those of us who know better, it’s a frustration and a continuing battle that challenges us every step of the way. We know we’re sick from mold, yet many doctors are unable to pinpoint it as the problem, while the rest of the world thinks we’ve lost our minds. Still, checking for mold in and around the home is an absolute must no matter what other people think.

There are actually a couple of ways you can check for mold. One of the easiest ways is by hiring a mold inspector to inspect your home. A proper inspection will consist of detecting for mold thoroughly both in and around the home.

He or she should check in crawlspaces, the attic, behind walls, in air ducts and anywhere mold may be visible or hidden. They’ll then take samples of those mold and send them to a lab for testing. Once the test results come back, the inspector will go over the report and should answer any questions that you have. From there he or she will offer advice on what you should do next if there is a problem. However, they should not offer to do the work themselves.

Another option you may want to consider when it comes to inspecting for mold is to just do it yourself since it can often be cheaper than hiring a professional to inspect your home. However, there are also some downfalls when doing it yourself.

For example, if you have hidden mold in your home and don’t know where to look to find it, you could be putting your health at risk if it’s left undetected. Also, if you’re unfamiliar with how to read a lab analysis report, that could be a problem as well. And of course not every company out there who sells testing kits for mold is reliable. However, if you’re still considering doing the testing on your own, you’ll find the kits work in practically the very same way as a professional test.

Whichever route you decide to take whether it’s hiring a professional for mold detection or testing for mold on your own, it’s always important to do your research beforehand. Otherwise you could find yourself spending way more than you should have or wind up with more problems than you started with in the first place.

If you own your own home or even if you’re renting a home, apartment, mobile home, etc. and you even suspect you have water damage and mold in your home, you need to clean it up right now.

Often times people are unsure of how to determine if they have mold in their home. One of the sure signs of a fungus invasion is a musty smell. Where there is musty there is almost always some form of fungi. And if your home has a leaky basement, kitchen or bathroom, then it’s obvious there’s a moisture problem and chances are you also have mold growth.

Of course you may be shaking your heading and thinking that leak was only a small one, but what most people don’t realize is that fungi spores are very tiny and are able to survive in very minimal conditions. So it really doesn’t take much moisture for mold to grow.

In order to remove the problem, there are several steps that need to be taken.

The first step is to remove any contaminated items from the home for good, including damaged wood, carpet, wallpaper, or ceiling tiles. It’s pretty much impossible to repair damaged property that has already been infected by mold growth.

If it’s not black mold you can get away with cleaning up the problem using vinegar and baking soda or an environmentally safe product that is specifically made for fungal cleanup. But before cleanup can begin, you must repair any leaks. Otherwise the mold is not going to go away with cleanup.

If you find that the leaks are an extreme problem and will take time to repair, your best solution may be to find temporary housing to stay in until the job is done.

If you need to hire a professional to repair your home’s leaks, you must warn them about any mold that is in your home. After all, you certainly don’t want to endanger the health of others.

If you’re repairing the damage yourself and walls or floors are involved; you may want to consider using a waterproofing product on them to help minimize any future problems. There are also mold resistant paints available on the market that may also help.

Once you’ve repaired the damages and clean up has been done, you’ll need to lower the moisture in your home. There are many ways you can do this with some being more expensive than others. 

One of the most common tools that can reduce moisture in the home is a dehumidifier. There are many models on the market to choose from, so you’ll want to do your research before purchasing one.

Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to remove the water damage and mold from your home, you’ll find that you can breathe easier and you may even notice an improvement in your health.

In order to get started on this messy task, you’ll need a pair of rubber gloves, a paper mask if you’re allergic to mold and mildew, a scrub brush, clean dry rags and a good tough cleaner that won’t be harmful to your health. And yes that means skip the bleach and ammonia. You don’t want your family and friends passing out from chemical fumes, do you?

There are plenty of mildew and black mold removal home remedies that will work just find for simple jobs like this. Plus, they’re not only easy on our health; they’re easy on the pocketbook as well.

A mixture of vinegar and water in a spray bottle will get rid of the problem while leaving the bathroom fresh and clean. Simply spray on the affected areas, scrub with a brush if necessary, then rinse and wipe clean with a dry cloth. If you can’t stand the smell of vinegar you can always open the bathroom windows to help minimize the strong odor.

You can make a paste of baking soda and vinegar and scrub it into the affected areas. Then rinse with vinegar and water to really get the areas clean. Finally, rinse with water and wipe clean with a dry cloth.

Since bathmats are a wonderful place for mold to grow, be sure you wash your bathmat and dry it after every use. And if it’s possible, place your bathmat outside in the sun for several hours. It is said that sunlight may be able to help remove small amounts of mold.

You can also add a tablespoon of tea tree oil to a spray bottle of water and use that on your bathroom mold and mildew. Then simply rinse with water and wipe with a dry cloth. However, you need to keep in mind that tea tree oil does come at a hefty price, so if you’re on a budget, you’re better off sticking with vinegar, baking soda or sunlight.

After you’ve cleaned your bathroom to a nice healthy, sparkling shine again, you can make your life a whole lot easier if you consider investing in a dehumidifier or exhaust fan for your bathroom. Both will remove the moisture from the air, which in return will help minimize future problems. If you can’t afford either of them, you can open your bathroom windows and wipe off the walls after bathing or showering.

Even cleaning your bathroom on a regular basis can help minimize moisture and control fungus. And who wouldn’t want a clean bathroom anyway? And it’s especially nice to hear your friends and family whispering to everyone about how great your bathroom looks. And you won’t have to worry about scaring them away with your shower mold and mildew!

One of the allergy issues that many people have from mold in the home is hay fever. You may experience nasal stuffiness and irritated eyes as a result of the hay fever. Some people may even experience skin rashes from the allergies.

There are some people who can become highly sensitive to mold and it can become very harmful if they’re exposed to it. Serious allergies include a fever and even shortness of breath.

Those same molds can also lead to death for people who have weak immune systems (specifically infants and elderly) or chronic lung problems. And for those who already have lung illnesses, they may develop an infection in their lungs.

If you know you have mold in your home, you should find temporary housing until your entire house is free from mold. However, not everyone can tell that they have mold in their home and generally don’t find out until they begin to show signs or symptoms of a problem. But it’s very important that you never take the chance and try to live with the mold.

And if you’re thinking about just moving out of your home and putting it up for sale, your problem isn’t just simply going to go away to another buyer looking for a home. I mean think about it. How would you feel if you found the home you’ve always wanted only to realize it’s been overrun by mold? And would you really want to pay the price that you’re asking for when you know it has a dangerous fungus problem?

Even if you’re still struggling with those answers it should be quite obvious that molds can lower the value of your home. Can you manage to move out on far less than what you’d anticipated for the price of your home? I doubt it, so it’s better to fix the damages than try to avoid them.

So if you need to hire a mold removal company, then go ahead and do it. If you can remove the mold damages yourself, then do it. Take the steps necessary to clean up the problem.

One final note however. Not everyone is a homeowner and when you’re renting a home, removing the mold in your home caused by flooding or leaking faucets that were in very bad shape before you moved in requires your landlord or landlady to handle the mess. If they refuse you can do one of two things. Find another home to rent or contact the city to let them know of the situation.

One way or another, mold from water damage is not something you can just live with.

One of the most common places where mold can be found is under the kitchen cabinet, in the bathroom shower, in the basement and anywhere water damage has occurred. Try looking for the toxic fungus where areas are dark and where there is a source of water nearby. Because mold needs moisture, you should look for any leaks such as piping and have it repaired immediately.

Often times a musty earthy type smell can indicate that you have mold in your home. A really good example of this would be mold in a basement. And in some cases, the odor is only noticeable when a central air and heating system unit is turned on. Discolored walls and ceilings that are brownish or yellowish could be another indication that you have mold in your home. If you ceilings or walls are cracked or the paint is peeling, it could also mean that you have fungus growing in your home.

Once you’ve discovered where the toxic fungus is growing, you’ll need to clean it up. Before you can do that however, you must find the source of the water accumulation and take the steps necessary in drying it up.

Then you’ll need to seal off the area that’s affected by the mold to prevent the spores from becoming airborne and affecting other areas of the home. You can seal off the area using a sheet of plastic and tape. Don’t forget to cover any doorway vents and other areas that are open in the contaminated room.

Arm yourself with a pair of rubber gloves, goggles and a respiratory mask to keep from coming into physical contact with the toxic fungus.

Next, use a product that is designed specifically for black mold removal and follow the instructions listed on the bottle. If you believe bleach will do the job, don’t. Bleach won’t penetrate below the surface where molds tend to hide.

If you find that the molds are severe, you should call a professional mold removal company to handle the clean up properly. You can check your local yellow pages for a professional or contact your city or state to see if they have a contact list.

Once you know how to kill black mold, you’ll want to prevent future occurrences. A few suggestions that can help are keeping an eye out for water leaks, keeping the humidity under control, making sure there is plenty of ventilation in the home, vacuuming and dusting often to prevent dust accumulation, changing your ac filter as often as indicated by the manufacturer, using paints that are designed to prevent mold, and investing in an air purification system and a dehumidifier.