Mold Inspection – Basement Mold Causes

Basement is one of the main places in your house where constant mold inspections need to be held in order to make sure that you and your family stay away from any possible mold infestations. Due to its underground location, basement is one of the places where mold tends to appear due to even the smallest water leakage. If you are really serious about living in a mold free house, it is necessary that you pay a special attention to the basement mold removal by performing regular detection campaigns from time to time and figuring out ways of drying the place, repairing all possible leaking pipes and hiring a water damage remediation company in case you have been recently exposed to a serious flood. Everyone is aware of the fact that mold loves moisture and water and because it belongs to a very resistant fungi family it can basically grow almost anywhere, on any surfaces on this Earth. That’s why it can appear even on the white concrete walls of your basement without any problems and spread wildly if you don’t take measures and don’t instantly remove it. You might have probably heard about toxic black mold which is quite dangerous for human health. Well, you should know that your basement is the perfect place for it to appear and grow because the lack of solar light is basically guaranteed here as long as you don’t let it in.

I decided to write this post in order to help people understand that main causes of basement mold and to be able to figure out how to inspect for it and how to remediate it the moment they either feel, smell or simply visually notice it. I don’t believe that there is someone in this world that might like having mold somewhere in his or her house, even when talking about basement mold. If there is something that you should immediately be attentive to after a serious flood or rainstorm than this is mold and mildew. I suggest running regular mold inspections even in those places that you never thought about before. Due to its nature, this type of fungus can appear, grow and survive anywhere. Constant moisture and just a little supply of humidity due to the smallest water leakage is enough for it to appear and to start spreading like crazy. As long as you don’t serious measures for getting rid of it, mold will become extremely dangerous for your health and might cause various respiratory issues. We’ve talked about this in other posts here on this mold inspection blog. However, it seems that most of my readers are having serious problems trying to understand it and I decided that I should mention it sometimes. Repetition is the key.

So, let’s face and try to understand this once and for all. The basic major causes of mold appearance in your basement are moisture and/or wetness. Scientists have proved that mold doesn’t need a lot of time to start developing. If the necessary conditions are met (humidity level + warm temperature + darkness) it can start breeding and growing in approximately less than 48 hours. However, in comparison with other hidden places around your house (like behind the walls and attic) where your access can and will be limited for various reasons, I don’t see why you shouldn’t periodically check your basement from time to time. Every responsible homeowner knows that this underground room of this house will serve him well no matter what happens. So that’s why you are going to be required to perform mold inspections in your basement on a regular basis (monthly is fine) and see if you are able to notice it on the ceiling, on the walls, in the corners. If the door to your basement is constantly kept close and you enter it just once in a while, you will certainly be able to smell mold if it lurks somewhere in the dark corners of this hidden underground room. However, even if some people tend to ignore and not pay attention to basement mold, it can easily spread to other areas of your house (bathroom, kitchen, even attic), if all the possible necessary measures of remediation aren’t taken. It is just a matter of time till your basement mold problems becomes a serious infestation. If you don’t care about your house, have mercy for your kids and family.

When you first run your mold inspection in your house’s basement you should be looking for tiny black spots. If the walls are white, noticing them won’t be a problem at all. However, it can start growing on almost everything (papers, clothes, documents, books, walls, carpets, wood, leather, concrete, etc) as long as it has anything organic in it, something that it can use to feed itself. I honestly believe that black mold in your basement is not something that you should be playing with. Properly run your basement mold inspection once in a while and use reliable methods to get rid of it as soon as possible, if you want to keep your house dry and intact and your family happy and healthy. Period!