Mold Inspection – What Does Toxic Mold Look Like?

A big problem that most beginners who are starting to learn “the art” of mold inspection (joking) are experiencing is determining if the smell less stain that they found in their bathroom is mold or not. In other words, people are having trouble when trying to figure out what does toxic mold look like!? This can be quite a challenge, especially if you plant to do all the inspection and remediation work on your own, without the help of any professionals. That’s why you need to know that the lack of experience in getting rid of mold on your own can play a crucial role in this kind of stuff and you will be required to take a cup of coffee and do a little reading before starting to apply most widely spread DIY mold inspection methods out there. If you have some time I suggest that you attentively investigate this problem on your own before you decide to do it yourself – just for time saving and security reasons. In this post I decided to explain how toxic mold usually appears and maybe to even post a few pictures (If I manage to find some). Before I start I would like you to understand that mold is present almost everywhere.

Mold is fungus, simple and microscopic organisms that can be found both indoors and outdoors. All yeasts and mushroom that you know are basically mold, since it belongs to the fungi family. Nature needs this tiny organism is order to complete its recycling circle and to be able to recreate again from dead materials that are no longer needed. Even if mold is very harmful to buildings, this doesn’t mean it is not necessary at all in the world that we are living in. Always pay attention to a simple yet necessary to be aware of fact: the more a mold growths and makes its presence known in a building, the more mold damage to that construction. This is the most important reason why no matter how toxic any mold seems to be or how ugly it looks, solutions for immediate removal are necessary to be found, thus contributing to a safer medium both for you and your family. Mold inspection is crucial because a wrong determination of the type of mold that you will be dealing with is going to make the whole removal and remediation process several times harder.

One should understand that most types of mold are absolutely harmless to human bodies, directly. However, several experiments have been done and serious respiratory problems have been reported at those people who spent approximately two hours in rooms infected by mold due to a high degree of moisture. Even if our skin and internal organs can tolerate this type of fungus, our lungs are having a difficult time trying to refresh the air that we breathe in and to use it for the oxygenation of our blood. However, sometimes even the harmless mold can be crucial for our health when dealing with large quantities. When talking about toxic black mold and how does it look like it is necessary to mention that stachybotrys chartarum is one of the most dangerous types, in relation with our human bodies and it can produce irreparable damages in a very short period of time. One should realize that even if its name is quite strange it is not rare at all. It can be harmful to us humans due to the toxins that it produces, depending on the surface on which it is growing, the temperature, humidity and pH of course. Toxic black mold can produce these toxins (also called mycotoxins) both in dead and living spores.

Several special mold tests are used for discovering if the black stain on the bathroom walls is a really dangerous type of black mold or it is just something that can be washed away easily and doesn’t represent any health threat at all. When certain immediate actions are required, mold inspection is done, usually by running various tests in special labs (you can do it on your own by the way) or by hiring professionals to take care of the whole process. In both cases a little investment is going to be necessary. However, in case number two it often doesn’t require a lot time and you can easily continue doing what you have to do. If not detected in time, toxic black mold will cause different skin irritations, cognitive issues, headaches, breathing problems, symptoms similar to the flu, etc immediately after being in direct contact with any human being.  However, one thing is clear, no matter which the results of the mold inspection are going to be. Mold (also called mildew) growths mostly in that typical indoor environment that is supplied by a constant water moisture problem. So if you get rid of the mold and not of the humidity in your house, chances are that mold will return in no time. Eliminate the moisture and the mold will disappear!

If you are not sure how does toxic mold look like and you don’t want to expose yourself to any possible health threats when doing it on your own, you can always hire a certified mold inspector that has a plenty of experience and all the necessary safety and security equipment that might be necessary when running any mold detection procedure. Be aware, because mold can take various forms and appear in many different shapes and colors, besides the black and white one that we all got used to. It can be gray, brown, orange, pink, purple, etc. If you are not attentive it can easily spread even in those less accessible zones of the house like behind walls and become a serious threat to the health of your family. Always make sure that when running an inspection you check those places as well and ask the mold inspector that you decided to hire to do the same.

This is what you basically need to know about mold inspection when it comes to toxic black mildew and its appearance.