So, if you read my first post, you already understand that mold and mold spores (the reproductive structures of mold) are everywhere. If you stepped outside today, you were most likely exposed to mold. Now, with that understanding, let's talk about what can lead to elevated levels of mold in your household, there are really only two in opinion.
Now, I am not one to judge, I mainly rely upon my four children to keep my house vacuumed, dusted, etc., so you can imagine the results or lack thereof. Oh, I also have two dogs inside, a few cats, and a parrot, all of which contribute to the lack of cleanliness. But the most common cause of elevated mold spores in homes is related to the accumulation of mold spores related to just living life. Every time you open the door, let your kids or dogs out to play (and they presumably come back), you are letting mold spores, pollen, and anything else floating around in the air into your home. Those mold spores and pollen granules eventually settle somewhere and become part of the dust in your home. They will get stirred up from time to time and become airborne only to settle somewhere else in your home, get trapped in your HVAC filter, or get respired into your respiratory tract. So, what I am saying is, there is definitely a relationship between the cleanliness of your home and the levels of mold, pollen, etc. This does not mean you have a mold growth problem; you simply have a lot of mold spores waiting for the opportunity to grow. This scenario is pretty common, and fortunately pretty easy to solve, remove the dust from your home and you will remove everything in it.
2. You have active mold growth
The second scenario is the mold spores that come into you house as part of everyday life, find enough moisture to begin to grow. That moisture could be in your bathroom because you like to turn it into a rainforest, it could be in your HVAC (air conditioner) because you are not changing the filter frequently or you use a low filter efficiency filter that doesn't capture mold spores, it could be from a roof leak, plumbing leak, or from elevated humidity throughout the home from a number of different causes. When you have active mold growth, these are the scenarios that are more likely to cause health issues and as you might have guessed are more expensive to fix. How do you avoid this scenario, it is simple too, control the moisture, control the mold. Promptly fix leaks, monitor the humidity levels in your home (The EPA recommends 60% or below, I recommend 55% to my clients), run the bathroom exhaust fan during and after showering, all of these things can keep you from having a significant mold problem and spending thousands of dollars to correct it.
So, to summarize in one sentence, keep a clean home and control the moisture. These two things will keep most mold issues in check.
Your mold friend, Jeffrey
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