Health Risks of Mold Remediation: What You Need to Know

Exposure to a large number of mold spores can cause allergic symptoms, such as watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, itching, coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. Some people are sensitive to mold and can experience more intense reactions. Serious reactions can occur among workers exposed to large amounts of mold in work environments. Molds produce allergens and irritants that can cause a variety of health effects.

Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores can cause allergic reactions in sensitive people. Allergic responses include symptoms similar to those of hay fever, such as sneezing, runny nose, eye redness, and skin rash. Mold is an unscientific term for many types of unwanted fungi found both indoors and outdoors. Actively growing mold damages the material in which it lives and, therefore, impairs structural integrity.

In addition, mold is associated with some adverse health effects for human beings, such as allergies and infections. In a review of studies with children from ten countries, ages six to twelve, Antova and her colleagues found that mold in the home correlated with a variety of respiratory disorders, such as wheezing, nighttime coughing and allergic symptoms, and hay fever. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also noted that a similar group of cases in Chicago were not associated with exposure to mold and that pulmonary hemorrhage did not match what is known about exposure to this fungus. Homeowners can clean up small amounts of mold.

Eliminating mold from large areas requires experience and protection for both removers and occupants of the affected space. If you have experienced any problems with water, such as floods, condensation, pipe drips, or roof leaks due to storms, it is highly recommended that you address these issues and that you perform a mold inspection. Mold remediation begins with a complete mold inspection and damage assessment to detect mold, both active and latent, and any hidden water sources. Because it's impossible to remove all mold spores from the air, exposure to mold is almost inevitable. So, whether the exact cause is mold or an accompanying indoor pollutant, spending time in places that are humid enough to encourage mold growth is a possible cause of health problems.