Mold can get into your home and spread everywhere without you even detecting it, which places you and anyone in your household at risk. Even though mold problems tend to develop in the attic or garage, mold spores can get into the air and move to the interior walls in your home. Over time, you may begin to experience adverse health effects. Before calling in professionals like ours at Pur360 to get rid of any mold in your home, you should know if air purifiers are able to eliminate the problem.
What Is Mold?
Mold is a fungus, microscopic organisms that are able to grow in areas of your home that are damp and warm. While mold is a useful decomposition agent that helps break down dead organic matter in nature, indoor mold is harmful to a home’s inhabitants. Mold requires food, oxygen, and water to grow and thrive, which is why areas that have been exposed to water or high humidity are ideal spots for mold growth.
Mold obtains the nutrients it requires by feeding off the surface that it grows on, which leads to widespread decay. Along with wood and paper, mold also grows on glass, fabric, and plastic surfaces. When mold grows, it sends reproductive spores into the surrounding air.
The microscopic size of these spores means that high amounts of magnification would be needed to see them. When spores travel into the air, they attach to various objects, which is how mold is able to enter the home in the first place. If you want to keep mold growth at bay, you should have any water leaks in your home repaired soon after detection. Mold can spread quickly, which is why immediate action is necessary.
How to Detect Mold
Even though mold is difficult to detect, it’s not impossible. Many homeowners make the mistake of believing that mold is actually dirt, which makes them less likely to clean it up immediately. If you need help detecting mold in your home, the first step you should take is to perform a bleach swab test on the affected areas.
Place a cotton swab in a diluted bleach solution, after which you should lightly place the swab on the area. If this area lightens after a couple of minutes, it’s likely mold. Dirt will remain dark. Keep in mind that the mold could be located in non-visible areas of your home, which means that the issue could only be detected by a professional.
If mold is found in your home, you can perform an additional test to determine how extensive the damage is. When the affected area has the same texture as the rest of the surface and remains sturdy, the damage is likely at a surface level, which means that cleaning it may only require a potent bleach solution. On the other hand, any softness or crumbling on the surface indicates that the area has become rotted.
You should also take some time to check for any water leaks in your home. Look at any pipes near the mold as well as ones in the rooms that surround the mold you’ve detected. Since water can travel in all directions once it’s absorbed into drywall or similar materials, the root cause of the mold growth isn’t always in the immediate vicinity.
If you don’t find any leaks, look for wet spots on the ceilings and walls of your home. Check outside and inside for areas that might be leaking. Any downspouts near a wall should be checked as well. It’s possible that the area surrounding one or more of your indoor vents could also be damaged by mold, which is typically caused by insulation issues in an air duct.
If you’ve detected mold in your home, call our team from Pur360 today to request our mold remediation services. Our service is available in portions of Illinois, Florida, Wisconsin, Texas, and Georgia. In Florida, for instance, we provide service to residents in Tampa, Orlando, and the surrounding areas.
Health Risks Associated With Mold
Sensitivity to mold can differ from person to person, which means that it could be present in your home even if you aren’t affected by it. The most prevalent symptoms caused by mold exposure are ones that occur because of an asthmatic or allergic reaction. These reactions can happen immediately or after lengthy exposure to the mold spores. Common allergy symptoms attributed to mold include:
- Sneezing
- A runny nose
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- A sore throat
- Watery or red eyes
- Sinusitis
- Skin irritation
People who are directly allergic to mold are more likely to develop these symptoms than anyone else. However, mold can also affect people without allergies. If you have asthma, you may find it more difficult to breathe if mold has spread into your home. The fungus could trigger an asthma attack as well.
Are Air Purifiers Able to Eliminate Mold?
Air purifiers can capture the mold spores that are currently in the air, which ensures that the spores won’t spread and reproduce in your home. Keep in mind, however, that air purifiers can’t be used as mold remediation tools. If mold has already become stuck on surfaces throughout your home, an air purifier won’t be enough.
If mold has yet to grow in your home, an air purifier may be exactly what you need to keep mold spores from getting inside. This system can help prevent future issues. If mold growth has already been detected, combine an air purifier with our mold remediation services for the best and most long-lasting results.
When you’re searching for the optimal air purifier for your needs, make sure that the one you select contains a true high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. These filters are the most effective at taking microscopic particles like mold spores out of the air. True filters are better than standard HEPA filters because of the stricter standards of efficiency that they are subjected to.
Mold spores typically range from 2–10 microns in size. A standard HEPA filter is rated to remove around 99.97% of all particles that are larger than 0.3 microns. In comparison, true HEPA filters remove more than 99.99% of particles that are around 0.1 microns or larger.
When selecting the ideal air purifier for mold control, you should also take the size of the area it’s being placed in into account. The air purifier should be able to circulate all of the air in the room without issue. Some air purifiers can clean areas as large as 1,500 square feet in just 30 minutes.
At Pur360, we can help you detect mold issues and eliminate any mold that we find. Our mold remediation services are designed to fix the damaged areas and make sure that the source of the mold has been identified and taken care of. We also offer ultraviolet sanitization and odor removal services to take all of your needs into account. The odor removal services available at Pur360 can get rid of odors caused by smoke, pets, or mildew. Call us at Pur360 today to request additional information or schedule a service.
