Why You Should Not Ignore A Mold Infestation

Sunday, July 21st, 2019

Most people will recoil and retreat at the first sight of mold within their dwelling spaces. However, there are those who take on a more resistant approach and remain unfazed even when they detect mold growth around their living areas. Perhaps the assumption is that it will go away by itself. This is incorrect and quite harmful in various ways. If you detect, or even suspect, that you may have mold in your home/place of work, this is why you should not ignore it.   The infestation will continue to spread if it’s not stopped If you think that that patch of mold you spotted will ‘go away’ on its own, you could be very wrong. Mold will continue to grow unless it’s remediated and its cause abated. Mold loves to grow in damp and humid areas. Such areas could be experiencing condensation, leaks, or rising damp. As long as these possible causes are not investigated and dealt with, the small mold patch you see will only get bigger with time. And the growth could spread to other areas as well, including to areas that may be out of sight.   Mold causes health issues Mold spores float around the air and spread wherever they can. Inevitably, you will breathe in these spores. And as you can imagine, being exposed to that for a continued period of time can bring about health complications. Naturally, mold will cause reactions such as sneezing, coughing, irritation of the eyes, difficulty breathing, etc. People with allergies experience even more severe reactions. And the longer you have mold within your space, the more you will continue to suffer from these types of reactions. If yours is a commercial space, e.g. a rented apartment or a café, not dealing with a mold problem is a public health matter and you could face prosecution from your local government, or penalties such as having your business licenses revoked.   Mold will damage the surfaces it grows on Mold is destructive wherever it grows. On some surfaces such as metal or cloth it may be possible to clean off the mold completely. However, on wood, drywall, cardboard or paper, mold leaves ugly cloudy stains that may be impossible to get rid of. In many cases, such surfaces are ripped out and destroyed as part of the mold remediation process. This means that you will be forced to replace the surfaces where the mold grew, and this will cost you some money. The longer you wait and the larger the infestation grows, the more the damage you’ll have to deal with.   The larger the infestation, the more costly the remediation The cost of remediating a mold infestation is heavily affected by the scale of the infestation itself. If you wait to seek professional help, the infestation will expand and you’ll end up having to pay a lot more to have it remediated. Remember, the infestation could be growing out of sight behind your walls, above the ceilings or beneath your floors. So you might think that the growth has fizzled out only to discover that that is not so.   Optimum Mold Inspection is your number one solutions provider of mold testing San Francisco. If you suspect that you have mold, call us and we’ll test it, find out how large the infestation is, which areas are affected, and how best to abate it.