Thursday, June 25, 2009

How to Treat Toxic Mold in Walls

If mold spores find their way there, either due to a flooding, after a storm, or simply due to a leak from one of the pipes in your home, the mold will thrive over the months and multiply so fast that you'll be surprised at the growth once you uncover it.

The problem is that toxic mold in walls is hidden. If you suspect a contamination but don't really know where the toxic mold may be, you may even be forced to tear off whole sections of your wall.

Before you do this, you might want to perform a systematic search for toxic mold in walls. First, conduct an ocular inspection. Even if the mold growth is on the inside, the wood may be affected up to the exterior part especially if the ply is thin.

You can search for signs of wood warping or paint peeling. This means that there's some trouble underneath - if it's not mold, then it might be moisture. Even if mold growth is still not apparent, eliminating moist wood is good enough reason to perform repairs, because it will soon develop mold, anyway.

Start your search by tracing the areas where water pipes run. These are the places that are most likely wet. Perform a sniff test, too - toxic mold in walls gives off an earthy, musty odor similar to what you would smell entering an abandoned waterlogged house or going through items on a fire sale.

Remember, though, that once the toxic mold is disturbed, its spores can fly around in the air and contaminate other areas in your home. You should be ready with plastic sheeting to cover the mold-infested panels to prevent its spores from flying all over the place. Keep the sheet one until you dispose of the rotting panels.

Once you find toxic mold in walls, it's highly likely that you also have a pipe leak, so you have to be ready for any eventuality. It would be difficult to remove your wall panels, discover a leak, and not have the budget to hire a plumber as well. Toxic mold grows in moist areas, and the only way the inside of walls can get wet is if there is a breach from the exterior of your home or if there are leaking pipes.

The advantage of hiring professionals to do large jobs such as this is that they are prepared for these things due to their extensive experience in dealing with toxic mold in walls. They can advise you about the possibilities before starting work, and may even recommend a good plumber.

If you still want it to be a DIY job and think that you've had enough experience yourself fixing things up at home, then by all means, take it on. Just make sure to wear protective gloves, a mask, and even protective eyewear while working on the contaminated wall panels. Toxic mold can give rise to a number of symptoms that have long-term effects on the body and should not be taken lightly.

You can also find more info on health problems. Blackmoldbliss.com is a comprehensive resource which provide information about Blackmold.

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