When the black spots and furry little plumes start to show up in your basement, watch out: Basement Mold and Mildew are big and costly nuissances. If you don’t know the basics of how mold works and how to stop it, you are a poor candidate for winning the battle against the fungus among us. Mold basics are covered here, and some really important info about why you need to get busy now cleaning up that must basement before it gets worse, for you and your pocket book. I’ll tell you how to win the battle hands-down in future installments.
There are major property value and health risks caused by basement mold. Mold only requires moisture and food to grow, and spores with grow on any hospitable surface. Dark, wet environments with little air-flow is perfect for basement mold to grow, unless surfaces are properly prepared and precautions are taken. Spaces that are ordinarily pretty dry can still become breeding grouds for mold when spills, leaks, floods, and other mishaps provide a water source.
When basement mold shows up, human health is the first to suffer: trouble breathing, sinusitis, serious headaches, and more can plague people in the vicinity of the latest mold colony, especially those at risk. The elderly, children, and those with immune problems are ususally the first victims, but mold isn’t great for anybody. Some small and unassuming molds can cause much more than a little sniffle: serious and debilitating disease of the immune and nervous systems, and even death, have been linked to these little spores. .
Aside from heath concerns, property damage and devaluation are the next biggest concerns most people have with mold. It can be difficult or impossible to sell a building damaged by mold. Efforts at getting insurance companies to foot the bill are common, but not always successful. Water-damage related claims ran as hig as $18 billion for insurance companies in 2001 alone. However, most states, rightly or wrongly, now allow insurance companies to exclude mold coverage from homeowner and property-owner policies.
That means that home and property owners foot the bill for this major risk. Moldy buildings are the classic sick buildings. Serious damage means serious problems for the owner: possibly 10’s of thousands in costs for reconstruction and cleanup. Property owners who rent their buildings also put themselves at risk for lawsuits. MOld has landed over 10,000 litigants in court over the past 3 years in the United Sates. Some high-profile cases have costs the defendants many millions of dollars. A high price for a small creature.
If you don’t already have a basement mold problem: Watch out! According to the Census Bureau, 35% of homes are damaged due to moisture yearly, creating breeding grounds for black mold. Combine that with the fact 88 million people in the United States (including at least one person in 50% of homes) suffer from some form of respiratory distress (American Lung Association), and you’re left with the simple fact that basement mold can mean far more than a musty smell to 100’s of millions of people in the United States alone.
A complete resource on basement mold, basementmold.org is edited by Lira Pinceatt. Complete info is there on mold and mildew prevention and remediation.
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