Mold: A Monster Problem for Your Home and Health

Mold, a fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae, is made of simple microscopic cells organisms and can grow virtually anywhere — especially in warm, damp areas.

While it’s fine for a fungus to grow on the floors of a forest, it can be a major problem when it starts growing in your home because it can cause serious damage and affect your health.

Learn how to spot the fungus, its symptoms, and how to prevent it from occurring and spreading in this guide on mold.

How to Spot Mold

The key to stopping mold is spotting it. The tricky part is that mold comes in various colours, shapes, and sizes. Whether it’s black, white, orange, green, or purple, you need to be careful and know what it is you’re dealing with. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious in order to repair it before it spreads further and causes costly damages.

Mold thrives in wet or damp areas, making bathrooms and kitchens a popular spot for it. Take a look at these 100 Pictures of Mold to get a good idea of what mold can look like to ensure you don’t miss any signs. If you suspect mold, get your home checked by a trained mold tester. The longer you wait to handle the problem, the bigger and more expensive it will be.

Where to Find Mold:

• Carpets
• Wood products
• Fabric products
• Ceiling tiles
• Drywall
• Wall paper
• Insulation
• Cardboard
• Food and plants

Quick Examples of Mold:

• Slimy black spots on your shower curtain
• Fuzzy white patches (sometimes found on basement floors)
• Slick orange film on a kitchen sink

What to do If You Suspect Mold

You should always be on the lookout for mold and know what to steps to take if you suspect it. Start off by doing a visual inspection of your home and looking for signs of mould or excessive moisture, such as stains or discolouration on floors, walls, window panes, ceiling tiles, fabrics and carpets. Obvious signs like leaks, condensation, flooding, or a musty odour will be an easy giveaway. If you find mould, it’s important to contact professional assistance right away as it will grow within 48 hours.

Mold Symptoms

Contact with mold causes people to become sick, and  For some, symptoms can occur almost immediately, especially if someone has a sensitivity or allergy. For others, it can take time for a reaction to occur.

Symptoms include:

• Headaches
• Sneezing and coughing
• Wheezing and trouble breathing
• Rashes
• Itchy eyes
• Runny/stuffy nose
• Nausea
• Joint pain
• Asthma attacks

Keep a close eye on infants, elders, people whose immune systems are compromised due to HIV infection, cancer, liver disease or chemotherapy, and people with chronic lung disease. They are typically more sensitive to mold and may react faster and severely.

How to Prevent Mold

Since mold grows in wet areas, you need to take control in monitoring the moisture in your home.

You can do this by:

• Installing proper ventilation throughout your home
• Drying wet areas as soon as possible
• Using mold-resistant products
• Keeping an eye on your home’s humidity levels
• Directing water away from your home

Mold Could Be Lurking In Your Flooring

Just because you can’t see mold doesn’t mean it’s not there. Mould can grow anywhere as long as there is a food source, moisture, warmth and time. It can breed under your floor or between floorboards, and it reproduces quickly. In fact, once mold starts to grow, it can multiply a million times in half a day.

Since you are in constant contact with your floor, walking on it, lying on it, sitting on it, mold in flooring is especially concerning. Keeping your home clean, dry and at a lower humidity level will help stop mold and mildew from growing. However, the best way you can prevent fungus from breeding is to choose a floor that inhibits its growth.

TORLYS floors are one of the only floors on the market with Microban antimicrobial product protection. With built-in protection from microbes, TORLYS flooring is designed to defend against the spread of mold and mildew. Microban product protection is embedded into the CorkPlus™ BLUE underlay of several TORLYS floors—when bacteria make contact with the Microban surface, it is neutralized. Plus, cork is naturally hypoallergenic.

If you want to protect your home and your health from mold, think prevention—think TORLYS with Microban® antimicrobial product protection.