fbpx
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The Money Pit house logo

Home Improvement Tips & Ideas

  • Start Here
  • Money Pit Podcast
  • Media Kit
  • Posts
  • Search
  • Start Here
  • Money Pit Podcast
  • Media Kit
  • Posts
  • Search
  • Spaces
    • Kitchens
    • Bathrooms
    • Home Exteriors
    • Garages & Sheds
    • Outdoor Living
    • Basements & Crawlspaces
  • Reno/Repair
    • Heating
    • Floors
    • Windows
    • Roofs & Gutters
    • Lighting & Wiring
  • Popular Topics
    • Storage & Organization
    • Painting & Decorating
    • Cleaning
    • Pests & Wildlife
    • Buying or Selling a Home
  • Features
    • DIY
    • Pet Friendly
    • Green Home
    • Quick Tips
  • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
    • The Money Pit Podcast
    • Your Calls, Our Answers Podcast
    • Money Pit Minute Podcast
    • Top Products Podcast
  • Spaces
    • Kitchens
    • Bathrooms
    • Home Exteriors
    • Garages & Sheds
    • Outdoor Living
    • Basements & Crawlspaces
  • Reno/Repair
    • Heating
    • Floors
    • Windows
    • Roofs & Gutters
    • Lighting & Wiring
  • Popular Topics
    • Storage & Organization
    • Painting & Decorating
    • Cleaning
    • Pests & Wildlife
    • Buying or Selling a Home
  • Features
    • DIY
    • Pet Friendly
    • Green Home
    • Quick Tips
  • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
    • The Money Pit Podcast
    • Your Calls, Our Answers Podcast
    • Money Pit Minute Podcast
    • Top Products Podcast
You are here: Home / Got Allergies? Mold in Your Home Could Be Making Them Worse
Air Quality

Got Allergies? Mold in Your Home Could Be Making Them Worse

Tom KraeutlerUntitled-2 Leave a Comment

Facebook0Tweet0Pin0LinkedIn0Email0

This year’s allergy season has been one of the worst in recent memory due to what some have called a pollen tsunami. Tree and grass pollen hit extremely high levels at the same time, which is unusual – and a recipe for misery for allergy sufferers. But outdoor conditions may not be the only reasons you’re sniffling and sneezing. In fact, you could be allergic to something in your own home: mold.

As homes have been tightened for improved energy efficiency, residential air quality has suffered. The EPA has named indoor air pollution as one of the top five environmental risks to public health, and also reports that indoor air can be up to 100 times more polluted than the air outside. Indoor air quality has a major impact on health, and in today’s tightly sealed homes, there’s a high risk of exposure to allergens, pollutants and harmful mold. 

Mold exposure does not always present a health problem indoors. However, some people are sensitive to molds and may experience symptoms such as nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, or skin irritation. Certain individuals with chronic respiratory disease (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, asthma) may have difficulty breathing. People with immune suppression may be at increased risk for infection from molds.

So, how can you tell if your home is harboring harmful molds? There’s a new home mold test that really impressed me. It’s fast, it’s accurate, and it’s easy to use. It’s called the 5-Minute Mold Test and it’s made by Healthful Home. It identifies the presence of bad molds in five minutes or less without waiting for lab results, and saves you hundreds of dollars on mold inspectors. This is a true DIY test for mold. Other tests on the market are either just sample collection kits for lab analysis, or they don’t tell you whether you actually have mold (like instant protein tests that turn blue in the presence of anything biological, such as food or flour).

Testing for mold is an easy, three-step process: swab the area, bend bulb to wet, and add the sample to your test, which uses the same proven lateral flow assay technology used in medical labs. You don’t need to actually see mold to test – the 5-Minute Mold Test can detect mold spores in household dust. And it only identifies molds known or suspected to cause health issues, not everyday background molds. It detects over 32 different unhealthful Asp/Pen and Stachybotrys mold types associated with illness by the EPA.

The extent and type of mold in your home will determine whether you can handle the mold cleanup yourself or need the assistance of a mold removal professional.  Small mold cleanup jobs – generally 10 square feet or less of mold growth – can be tackled by a homeowner, as long as there is no one present who is sensitive to mold. You can use a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, and wear a dust mask to avoid breathing in mold spores.

Larger cleanup jobs should be handled by professionals. To find a qualified mold removal professional, ask for references from your insurance company and a mold removal contractor’s past clients, and seek information from professional training and certification organizations such as the American Indoor Air Quality Council and the Indoor Air Quality Association.

Finally, mold cleanup and removal is something you might find yourself needing to do again and again unless you change the conditions that were conducive to mold growth in the first place. Preventing mold is really all about managing the moisture inside your house, so make sure you keep humidity below 50% in basements; improve outside grading and drainage by keeping gutters clean and soil always sloping away from your home; and cover dirt crawlspace floors with plastic to reduce moisture.

Related Posts

house, for sale, buying or selling homesHome Inspection Tips for Sellersprevent moldMold-Free Home: Top 10 Tips to Prevent MoldOld house needing repairHome Repair Tips by Age of HouseMold: Where It Hides in Pristine HomesNewly built home for saleHome Buying Tips: 5 Pitfalls to AvoidThe Money Pit Guide to Home Insulation

Related Podcasts

The Money Pit Top Products PodcastMoldex Brand Products Get Rid of Mold and Keep it from Coming BackThe Money Pit Top Products PodcastChargePoint Home is a Break-through in Electric Vehicle ChargingThe Money Pit Your Calls Our Answers Podcast LogoExcessive Mold in the HouseThe Money Pit Top Products PodcastNexia™ Home Intelligence Helps you Stay ConnectedThe Money Pit Top Products PodcastGenerac Belt Drive Pressure Washer is Powerful and CompactThe Money Pit Top Products PodcastNest Innovations Expand at 2015 Consumer Electronics Show
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0LinkedIn0Email0
Air Quality

About Tom Kraeutler

Tom is the Host, Founder and Chief Home Improvement Evangelist of The Money Pit. He is a hands-on home improvement broadcast journalist and the kind of guy homeowners want to call at midnight -- when their basement floods!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Footer

Favorite Posts

Best Heaters for a Garage: Forced Air, Infrared or Portable?

Basement Waterproofing Tips | How to Fix a Wet Basement

How to Make Natural Wood Stain Using Coffee, Berries & More!

How to Floor Your Attic Without Wrecking Your Roof

10 Easy Recipes for Natural Cleaning Products

Popular Podcasts

Episode # 2080: Stopping Noisy Plumbing | Fast Fix for Loose Wallpaper | Solutions for Smelly Water | Your Q & A

Episode #2079: Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting | Automatic Pet Doors | Kitchen Cabinet Organization | Your Q & A

Episode #2078: Quick Ideas for Curb Appeal | Top Home Repair Mistakes | Cleanups for Driveways & Walks | Your Q & A

Episode #2077: Paint Colors that say Wow | Top 5 Projects for ROI | Easy Fix for Noisy Radiators | Best Floors for Damp Places

Episode #2076: Kitchen Spruce Ups for Renters | Secret Code for Best Air Filters | Power Plan for Black Outs | Your Q & A

Newsletter

Get weekly updates with the latest tips and tricks to save money in your home.

No spam, ever.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Site Footer

  • Media Kit
  • Partners
  • Endorsement Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy and Cookie Solution
  • About
  • Affiliates
  • Cookie Policy (US)

Copyright © 1999–2021 The Money Pit · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!