Did you know that your indoor air quality could sometimes be as bad or worse than outdoor air quality? That’s because pollutants aren’t limited to the outdoors. If you have mold in your home, this can create a number of problems for your family’s health and well-being. Mold grows in the presence of warmth and moisture.
If your home is at a fairly high temperature, moisture won’t evaporate in your ducts and rather the water will pool. Mold also needs a source of food to grow, so if you have debris in your ducts that will give the mold what it needs to proliferate. Here are some sure-fire ways that you can tell if you have mold in your ducts.
1 – Take a Look
You need to rely on your sensory perception to decide if you have mold in your ducts- namely your eyes and your ears. You can always pop your ducts open to determine if there is mold growing inside, but you can actually check out the exterior for signs of mold.
If there is mold growing in the ducts, you will probably see stains on the exterior of the ductwork. You may also identify foam like substances growing too. This signals mold, which is going to diminish your air quality.
2 – Is There a Persistent Smell in Your Home?
If you detect a musty odor in a single room in your home, there may just be mold growing in a single place (often the basement).
However, if there is mold in your ductwork, those mold spores are able to move freely throughout your entire home.
Because the air in your home must pass through the ducts before it reaches the registers and the rooms, you will experience a musty smell everywhere.
3 – Chronic Health Problems in Your Family
Mold in your home can be a scary thing, as when it lowers your air quality you stand to get quite ill. You or your family members may be suffering from a number of different ailments, but are not really sure what the cause of illness is.
If you or someone in your family is experiencing dizziness, congestion, respiratory irritation or even rashes, it is very possibly being caused by mold. If you think that you might have mold, don’t hesitate to ask for help.
Call a certified mold specialist to do a full inspection and help with removal. To keep mold from growing, you should have your ducts cleaned regularly (every few years). For assistance in Erlanger, KY, call us today.