If you find something on one of your walls that's black and smells wet, musty and even a bit like dirty socks or urine, you may have a case of black mold. It's very common and grows just about anywhere indoors where there is moisture. This means you're most likely to find it in bathrooms where you create a lot of moisture and humidity when showering or bathing.
S. Chartarum is the villain
Stachybotrys is a genus of molds. Its most notorious species, S. chartarum, is what's commonly known as "black mold" or even "toxic black mold." So, if you suspect you have it in your home, you probably have been infested with S. chartarum.
What causes toxic invader?
As noted above, the biggest cause of is high humidity. A relative humidity higher than 55% promotes the growth of this mold. A second common cause is leaking water pipes.
Black mold cannot grow without moisture and many mold problems start because of some kind of water intrusion-especially if you don't get rid of it quickly. This can also be caused by a leaky roof or if you use humidifiers that don't have a relative humidity control. Black mold also loves damp basements and crawl spaces.
Believe it or not, if you have lots of house plants that require regular watering, this increases the moisture levels in your home and could invite black mold to move in and take up residence. It can also develop in your home due to blocked gutters, warped wood, cracked or peeling paint or black growth in bathroom tiles.
How to find out if you have black mold
If you suspect you have black mold in your home, there are a number of different ways to test for it. In fact, NAMP (the National Association of Mold Professionals) has approved four test kits for home mold. They are the Lift Tape Mold Analysis Kit, Viable Mold Testing Kit, Instant Mold Testing Kit, and the Air Check Mold Testing Kit.
Of these four, two require a laboratory analysis, which costs $30. Lab analysis is optional with both the Instant Mold Testing Kit and the Viable Mold Testing Kit but it is recommended and, again, costs $30. The Air Check Mold Testing Kit requires lab analysis but it is free.
You will need only one of these kits per substance that you want to test with the exception of the Air Check Mold Testing Kit where you need one kit per 1000 ft.簡 or one per level of air.
The Lift Tape Mold Analysis Kit is free but requires you to pay $4.95 for shipping and handling. The Instant Mold Testing Kit costs $14.95 and the Viable Testing Kit is from $7.95 to $9.95 depending on the quantity ordered. The most expensive of these by far is the Air Check Testing Kit, which costs $149 for two tests. However, it is the same method of testing used by the pros to test the quality of the air you have been breathing. If mold is identified, the test will be able to accurately identify they type of mold.
Black mold is dangerous
Black mold can cause serious health problems. This can include respiratory and allergy related symptoms such as coughing and wheezing in people who are otherwise healthy. It can also cause asthma symptoms in people who have asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis in people who are susceptible to that condition.
If you believe that your house has become infected, you should first do the appropriate testing; then, if you find you do have black mold, get to work and get rid of it.
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