The quality of the air we breathe is directly linked our health, this is even truer for indoor air. Since most of us spend our time indoors, checking for mold spores in the air of a property is essential for better living and working conditions.
Mold can be hard to detect even if there are conditions for its development. Sometimes it hides in plain view, but often times its tucked away in a hard to reach or see space.
How mold detection works and why it’s so important?
Most of mold detection services work with direct contact samples which can disrupt the fungi prompting it to release spores into the air. This is both a dangerous and reckless practice it could spread spores throughout the entire house.
The works case scenario is your HVAC system picking up the spores and distributing them throughout the property. Whole property fungal and mold removal takes days.
It disrupts lives and business operations and may cost you customers and business. So threading lightly is paramount for the proper execution of the task at hand.
Is mold really THAT dangerous?
It both is and isn’t – it really depends on the type of mold. 5 out of 9 times it’s just regular fungi. However the other 4 times it’s highly dangerous and toxic and may cause serious health issues.
While we’ve evolved alongside mold and fungi, the toxic kinds have always been dangerous to us. This is why experienced technicians and specialists like the GCD Restoration crews use Indoor Air Quality Testing.
This allows them to see whether there is a mold problem in the property. It also detects the kind of spores, what sort of an organism it is coming from and their saturation in the air.
The related effects of mycotoxicoses, or sickness due to exposure to toxic mold, are as follows:
- Respiratory issues and inflammations of the upper airways
- Cluster headaches and migraines
- Skin irritation and allergic reactions
- Disrupted sleep and sleep apnea related issues
- Cardiovascular complications and heart palpitations
- Difficulty concentrating – neurological damage
- Pollen allergy-like symptoms
Exposure to black and other types of toxic mold may lead to very serious complications and such an issue should not be underestimated.
If you have suspicions that your residential or commercial property may have become a host to fungal growths, give GCD Restoration a call.
How can an indoor air quality test detect mildew and fungi?
Fungi and mildew breed through spores which are dispersed throughout the air. Landing in certain areas spores lay dormant until the right conditions are met for them to germinate.
These spores are microscopic particulates which can float throughout the air. This helps them spread far and wide, making it possible for one culture to be a parent culture to another 200 miles away.
While the interior of a house is not an open plain, the air circulation of a house acts as a wind current. With even the slightest disruption, the organism WILL disperse its spores making it extremely difficult to clean up completely.
How an air quality test is performed?
When such a service is requested, one of our air test specialists will take 2 unique samples. Those samples will be of the undisturbed air of the property with and without the HVAC turned on.
This provides a good representation of the air conditions of your property. Depending on the size of your building and the time its HVAC has been cleaned, we may take more samples.
These are then sent to a local laboratory for mold and fungal growth detection. Once the results are in, we will provide you with a comprehensive and detailed chemical analysis of your property’s air.
If there are fungal spores, it is recommended that you book full Mold Removal as well as Air Duck Cleaning.
What should be done if there’s visible mold?
Visible mold should not be disturbed, because it cannot be certain which kind it is. Like it was mentioned earlier – 5 out of 9 times its harmless, however, one should one take chances.
Contact GCD Restoration straight away for a property mold inspection so further action can be taken. Regular mold can be scraped away using a wash cloth and hot water, however, using pure alcohol or paint stripper will absolutely kill any existing cultures on that particular surface.
It is not recommended, however, strong chemicals be used, such as the aforementioned paint stripper, because it will introduce those chemicals into the air.
Health officials recommend that you should contact professional mold and mildew removal services. Give us a call at any time of the day or night, we are available 24/7, 365 days a week – no exceptions.
Better health waits for no one, neither should you. We provide full service accommodation for the entire San Francisco Metro and Bay Area, contact us at (650) 835-4447 today!
