When you’re raising your family in West Island of Montreal, you enjoy the security of living in a safe, stable community in one of the most safest countries in the world. But even with all the extra safeguards that Canadians enjoy like universal healthcare, there are still some things that mothers need to be vigilant about. This is especially true when it comes to potential health risks right in the home, and one of those is mold. This is why it’s so important to find reliable a West Island mold removal company when you need it most.
A Hidden Threat
Mold is in some ways, a “land-based” version of coral. It is a collection of tiny organisms that have banded together and live in a collective colony. Unlike coral, however, mold is extremely hardy and versatile; capable of living in a variety of different environments and conditions. It reproduces by sending out “spores,” tiny, nearly microscopic eggs that drift in the air, settle down on some surface, and eventually “hatch” and develop into more mold when the proper conditions arrive.
As a result of this, for most homes, mold in the air is actually unavoidable. The moment any door or window is opened, outside air comes in, and with it, spores. Unless a home has an advanced airlock system that sterilizes the air before entry, including clothing, there’s no way to avoid bringing mold into a home. So if this is the case, why isn’t mold something we are constantly dealing with?
Different Mold Has Different Needs
It’s important to remember that mold comes in a lot of different varieties, and not all of it is bad. Penicillin, for example, is a mold, but it’s crucial in keeping people healthy. And the different types of molds have very different environmental requirements. One of the hardiest forms of mold, for example, is not particularly harmful to humans at all, unless you take the time to eat it.
Bread mold is a type of mold that everyone sees. All you have to do is leave your bread alone for days past the expiration date, and you’ll eventually see the mold growing there. That mold didn’t magically appear on the bread from nowhere, it was, like other forms of mold, floating in the air before eventually settling down on its favoured environment, bread. Once it took root, it began a mold colony.
Other types of mold have very different needs. Some need an environment that is wet, and dark, such as a damp basement. Others need dry, dark places, such as a ventilation duct. Still, others might need a certain kind of surface, such as rotting wood, in an attic. Older homes, in particular, can have many different conditions in different parts of the residence that may be conducive to particular types of mold.
Children At Risk
If you have young children at home, you’ll want to seriously consider getting rid of mold in your home. While not all mold, like mold found on old bread or penicillin, is harmful, some other types of mold infestation that can take root in other parts of the home present real, serious, long-term health threats to residents, especially growing children.
As mold grows, it reproduces. It does this by sending spores into the air, and the more mold there is; the more spores are ejected into the air. If the mold should take root in a ventilation duct, this means every time the heater or AC circulates air through the home, it is circulating mold too, and everyone, including young children, are breathing it in.
The reason that children in particular benefit from mold removal is because a growing child is especially vulnerable to chronic breathing disorders. Sensitive children may respond to the presence of mold spores as if it were pollen season every day, all year round, but indoors, where they can’t escape it. Allergy symptoms, runny eyes or nose, sneezing and other respiratory issues can all crop up as relatively minor side effects. For children with an asthmatic condition, the presence of mold spores in the air can magnify both the intensity of asthma attacks as well as the frequency.
Mold can also create both skin and neurological disorders in children. Irritation, itchiness, and rashes are some possible skin symptoms, while dizziness, headaches, confusion, disorientation, trembling, and even anxiety or depression can be possible nervous system conditions.
On top of all this, there is the threat of black mold, which causes a very serious lung disease with serious life-threatening effects. In addition to causing severe respiratory issues, black mold has mycotoxins that can poison other organs in the body, even leading to heart issues, such as cardiomyopathy, and clotting blood.
The only way to get your home back is to have professional mold removal in Montreal take place in your home. DIY solutions like simply trying to scrape mold away will not work, the visible layer of mold is only part of the problem. A permanent solution is getting rid of the mold as well as the conditions that first allowed the mold to gain a foothold in the first place. Only professionals can do this quickly and effectively for your home.
Professional Peace Of Mind
Steri Mobile has extensive experience and success with mold removal in West Island, Montreal and surrounding areas. We know what to do when it comes to mold in any part of home, and have different approaches and strategies depending on your home situation. We can even help with odor removal if this is also a concern that you’d like addressed.
If you find or suspect you have mold in your home, don’t waste any time. Your family’s health is at stake, so contact us to find out more about our mold removal services, and get a free estimate on what it will take to make your home safe again.