Have you noticed that some walls in your home have a kind of mottled black coating? If you suffer from damp, there is no doubt, this is mold on the walls of your house. Although, sometimes, out of laziness, you may leave it as it is or simply paint over it (as a one-off measure), mold can have harmful effects on your health.
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they warn that mold is very common and that humidity stimulates its growth. Therefore, you have to be careful with leaks in roofs or places where there was a flood. Also, certain materials such as carpets, fabrics or upholstery can favor the growth of mold.
When is mold dangerous to health?
Although mold does not cause any symptoms for some people in healthy people, those with asthma or even allergies to the mold itself should be careful. The reaction they may have when in contact with this type of microscopic organisms can be worrying.
The CDC also explains that immunosuppressed patients should also be wary of mold. As in the previous cases, they can manifest very unpleasant reactions that may require immediate medical attention. Let's see this more in depth.
What diseases can mold cause?
Mold on walls can cause exposed people with asthma, allergies, or compromised immune systems "stuffy nose, wheezing, or red or itchy eyes or skin," according to the CDC. There can also be serious reactions that end up with fever and difficulty breathing.
It is believed that healthy children can develop asthma if they are exposed to mold in the walls from an early age. Also, the Institute of Medicine of the United States (IOM) stated that there is clear evidence between the appearance of some symptoms in healthy people if exposure to mold on the walls is prolonged. Some are:
Ways to remove mold
There are a few ways you can remove mold from your walls and prevent even the healthiest of people from starting to develop uncomfortable symptoms. For this, it is best to use a dehumidifier, as this will help control humidity levels.
If there are leaks, they should be resolved as soon as possible, otherwise the use of the dehumidifier will not fulfill its purpose. Also, after showering or cooking in the kitchen, it is essential to ventilate the house. Open windows and doors so that the humidity does not begin to permeate the walls and that the mold has nowhere to settle and start to grow.
Something that the CDC also insists on is to avoid placing carpets in bathrooms or in those places where ventilation is necessary. As we mentioned before, carpets are a type of fabric where mold can also proliferate in a way that is even more imperceptible to us. So it is advisable to avoid them depending on which rooms.
There are houses that, due to the area in which they have been built, cannot avoid suffering from humidity problems. With these tips it is possible to keep it at bay so that the mold on the walls does not cause health problems.
