by Frederick M. Hueston
Black mold removal is something that you have to be careful with because black mold is toxic. You really do need to have good information about what black mold looks like and how it forms. It only takes a short period of time to do the required testing and inspection of your home to make sure that it is a safe place for your family. You should be particularly aware of any allergies that someone in your household has. This could be your first hint that you need to look at black mold removal.
Basements and bathrooms are the prime places for black mold testing and inspection in homes. This is because these are the places in the house most known for being damp and having a lot of moisture. Black mold can form on any surface – cement, tiles, or even the countertop if you don’t take special care to keep it clean and dry. There are testing kits for black mold that you can use yourself, so testing and inspection of your home is not a costly proposition. There are also excellent products on the market for black mold removal.
Once you do the black mold testing and inspection and find some places where there is black mold, before you start black mold removal, make sure the area is well-ventilated. If the black mold is concentrated in a small space, you can easily clean it with bleach and water, for difficult jobs you will need to use a commercial black mold removal product. You do have to make sure that you dry the area completely because any excess moisture will only be a new breeding ground for the black mold to return.
Testing for black mold firstly requires looking to see if there is any visible mold on the walls or floors of your basement. However, mold is not always visible because it can form in cracks and really small spaces. With black mold testing and inspection, you are really testing the air quality in your home because once mold spores are present they will be air-borne. Simple testing using a petrie dish containing a disc will let you know within two days if you have to consider black mold removal.
When you get ready to start black mold removal, wear a facemask and rubber gloves so that you don’t breathe in the black mold spores or let them touch your skin. This could cause serious respiratory problems. There are removal products on the market that kill the black mold. But make sure you always read the label and make sure that you follow all safety procedures for use of the product. Black mold removal is something that you may have to do several times to make sure you kill all the mold spores.
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