COLUMBIA, SC (WACH) - If you have ever had concerns about mold in your home, this is the month to explore the issue.
It is National Indoor Toxic Mold Awareness Month. The Environmental Protection Agency established the month to help make people more aware of the dangers mold can present to their health and home.
If it is present in your house you may start developing symptoms that can aggravate allergies and asthma, and cause sneezing and headaches. And if you can see mold in your home experts advise you to steer clear. Let trained professionals clear the way. Experts say mold can be as dangerous as a house fire.
"If you see it, what you're actually looking at are millions of mold spores piled on top of each other called a mold colony," said Greg Morgan of Mold Test USA. "Unfortunately, everyone's natural reaction is to go ahead and wipe it down, which is probably the worst thing you can do, because what you're doing, you're releasing millions of spores in the air. Now you're breathing them in and it's going to search in other areas of your home for moisture. So when you do that, you're actually cross contaminating your home."
There are simple air quality tests experts can perform to detect the presence of mold in your home. If you have questions call a professional to be sure you don't make the situation worse so you can truly break the mold.
If you have questions, Mold Test USA is offering a free Community Helpline at 1-877-554-MOLD.
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