Solving Mold Mysteries: Fact and Fiction

6/23/2016 (Permalink)

When mold begins to spread in your property you may have tons of questions.  How did it get there? Will it affect my health?  How should I go about removing it?

SERVPRO of Orange, Sullivan and South Ulster Counties is here to share some facts and fiction about mold.

Fiction: There are only a few types of mold.

Fact:  There are more than 100,000 types and species in mold in total.  Common types of home and office mold species are Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Alternaria.

Fiction: Mold will grow on surfaces directly affected

by water.

Fact:  Mold spores often occur with the HVAC systems of buildings and homes.  Molds have an ideal environment: moisture and humidity. When you see mold you have to stop the source of the water that is causing the moist and humid environment the mold is growing on.  Common moisture briefs include plumbing leaks, water loss and flooding into crawlspaces and basements.   

Fiction: Black mold is considered extremely

dangerous compared to other molds.

Fact: Black mold is not considered any more dangerous than any other molds.  In fact, black mold is often not even black at all.  Typically molds classified as black mold are dark green.

Fiction:  Exposure to mold can cause skin rashes.

Fact:  The CDC reported that exposure to molds do not contribute to rashes.

Fiction: Cleaning mold off the surface is enough.

Fact:  Mold can become latent and reactive at any given point.  Tiny mold spores typically replicate every 24 hours, thus often growing back.  For porous materials such as ceilings, tiles, carpeting, wood, paper and drywall, surface cleaning is often not enough.  

Fiction: Mold is always visible.

Fact: Mold can hide beneath surfaces.  The best way to detect mold is to rely on smell.  A musty odor indicates mold is present.

The best fact of them all is that SERVPRO of Orange, Sullivan and South Ulster counties is available 24/7 for all of your mold remediation needs.  From locating the source of the moisture leak, to cleaning above and below the surface, SERVPRO will make it “Like it never even happened.”  Visit us at www.SERVPROsullivanandsouthulster.com or call 845-342-3333.