Someone at home has been having a bout of respiratory ailments recently. No matter how much medicine ingested, the hacking cough remains. I think the culprit is household mold because his cough gets worse the minute he steps foot into the house. Recently, some Water Damage caused by cracks in the outer walls has created an environment for mold to grow freely and abundantly. Anyway, I decided to do some research on the dangers of mold and thought I should share my findings.
The first thing to note is this: Molds, mildew and fungi are present not just in the bathrooms and kitchens where there is usually water flow. Even the furniture, carpet, books, and the air we breathe can be full of spores that have circulated where the molds are growing. The worse is when they grow in between walls or in airconditioning ducts where you have no means of cleaning them without calling a professional.
Secondly, there are hundreds of indoor molds present in almost all homes. Of those, 50 molds are considered very problematic, including Stachybotrys or “dark green-black mold” which emits toxic gases that can be inhaled and is very common in Singapore. While Stachybotrys is growing, a wet slime layer overlays the spores, preventing them from becoming airborne. When the mold dies and dries, air currents or handling can cause spores to become airborne.
Lastly, if people who share the living space have continual complaints of flu-like symptoms, chronic fatigue, memory impairment, migraines, dizziness and nosebleeds, you might want to get a mold specialist to check out the types of spores present inside and outside of the house. (Outside reading is to determine if there is an inordinate amount inside since all homes have.)
PREVENTION & REMEDIES
- Clean airconditioning filters
- Clean regular fans of dust- usually a lot of spore carrying dust is accumulated there
- Dust off books, furniture regularly
- On days when it is excessively humid (which is almost everyday in Singapore unfortunately) you can use an air conditioner or a dehumidifier to keep the indoor relative humidity level below 50%.
- Use exhaust fans in kitchens, utility rooms and bathrooms to remove excess heat and humidity.
- To remove mold and mold food from non-porous surfaces, use soap.
- Use black mold remover detergent which you can buy from the grocery store
- Open the windows
January 7, 2009 at 12:23 am
That was very intersting to read. My wife suffors from most indoor allergies so we have to be extremely carefull in preventing molds and other air borne bacteria from forming. This something many people need to read about and then take action with.
January 13, 2009 at 3:22 am
My dad lived in a mobile home for a little over a year which had a huge black mold problem. He’s now been out of that mobile home for a bit over 4 months, and is just starting to regain his full health. Black mold is def. not something to mess with.
January 13, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Hi Kevin and Laura, hope your wife and dad (respectively) are much much better now. We’ve thrown out all our towels that show even the slightest sign of black mold and try to air the entire house during the weekends.
January 16, 2009 at 3:06 pm
How difficult is it to remove black mold on your own? Is it better to call someone in to do it or can I get it done myself?
January 18, 2009 at 11:43 am
There are some things that black mold is on that you can clean up yourself such as walls, doors, and the like. (Basically non-porous surfaces) But for clothing that has mold, it’s impossible to get rid of it so just chuck them.
Airing a room will also do wonders as well as simply dusting off books and furniture. But if you suspect that there is serious black mold INSIDE the walls, call someone!
March 15, 2009 at 4:58 pm
The common side effects of mold include coughing and sneezing and can easy be misdiagnosed as the common cold or allergy. Short term exposure to black mold can cause a large variety of flu like symptoms ranging from stuffy nose and itchy eyes to skin rashes and nausea. If long term exposure to mold occurs the side effects can become deadly. Serious side effects include cancer, miscarriages, still births and even bleeding in the lungs. This serious bacteria is also known to cause athletes foot and jock itch which can be difficult if not impossible to treat and can be easily spread from human to human.
June 2, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I cleaned foam cushions that had mold by running water through them and squeezing it out in my bathtub. I spent hours doing this and became sick with stomach ache and diarrhea by the end of the day. Could these symptoms be from exposure to the mold?
June 25, 2009 at 1:03 am
Yes, absolutely you could totally feel sick afterwards because what you’ve done is made all the mold airborne. Are you feeling lots better? If not, there may be other sources of mold in the house.
September 10, 2009 at 10:18 am
Hi All, my name is Terence, and we are Eco-Verde Pte Ltd,
and are in the business of disinfection, decontamination and mold removal / prevention.
DISINFECTION Services
We are currently on 24 hour stand-by, to in case of a viral attack (Example: H1N1, Sars, Bird Flu…among others)
(we have government level lab reports that our chemical completely inactivates the above viruses),
to disinfect our 48 post offices, HSA (health Science Authority) and very soon,
we will be doing a disinfection project for our NEA (National Environment Agency)
if you have a bacterial and mold problem.
Unlike other disinfection companies, we can take air and surface samples, send them to a laboratory,
To test for TBC (Total Bacterial Count) and TFC (Total Fungal Count) after or before we disinfect the area,
And the results will always show that is a very low level, compared with the NEA standards. We are also the principal disinfection company for this year’s NDP 09.
As for the mold removal / prevention service, we can remove the mold and give a no mold re-growth guarantee for up to 1 year. contact me and i will do a free demo on your worst mold surface.
Call me at +65 81867168 or send me an email to terence@eco-verde.asia and i will reply with more information on how to maintain a good hygine level.
Cheers
Terence Yap