7 Things I Wish I'd Known About Toxic Mold in My Home

When my husband and I moved out of our last home, a rental house, I cleaned toxic mold. Lots of it. At that point, I knew hardly anything about mold, except that it looked gross. I had no idea how the simple act of cleaning up those surfaces infested with mold would impact my life at that point. That’s why I’m writing this post: to share what I know now with others who may find themselves in similar circumstances with mold in their home, so without further ado, here are 7 things I wish I’d known about toxic mold in my home:

1. It’s not just black mold that you have to worry about.

I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me if it was black mold that we found. Black mold, formally titled Stachybotrys (stack-ee-bot-rus), is one of 26 toxic molds that we know how to identify at this point. Other toxic molds include Wallemia (wall-e-mia), Chaetomium (kay-toe-me-um), and Aspergillus. They can be black, green, white, brown, grey, or other colors, but the color is not the concern.

Color is also not a reliable way to try to identify mold for the average person; it’s not like we’re in the produce section at the grocery store and can clearly differentiate lemons and oranges from each other primarily based on color. Any mold growing on or in the walls, floor, air ducts, ceilings, windows, under cabinets, near the dishwasher, or near any plumbing is potentially toxic and needs to be addressed.

2. Cleaning surface mold is not the solution.

You might even know this on some level if you’ve ever cleaned up mold with bleach or vinegar, because it comes right back, doesn’t it? Wiping down the surface does not even begin to address the problem and often creates more problems. First of all, cleaning the surface does not address the source of moisture that’s causing the toxic mold to grow. Second, cleaning the surface cannot remove the roots of mold below the surface that can continue to impact air quality and cause health problems. Third, cleaning with something like bleach or vinegar, both of which are water based products, adds MORE moisture, which can exacerbate the problem.

Another thing to hold in mind is that mold will release spores and sometimes mycotoxins into the air as a defensive strategy when threatened, like by someone trying to remove it. Imagine blowing the seeds off of a dandelion- they go everywhere. Mold is the same way.

3. The toxic mold industry is largely unregulated.

That means it’s full of people who are uneducated about toxic mold. This is unfortunate on so many levels because it keeps costs high for inspections and remediation, often means that people have to remediate multiple times to actually address the problem, and fails to acknowledge and address the impact that toxic mold can have on health.

Get ready for this one: There are no federal guidelines on mold and indoor air quality. NONE. Not from the EPA, CDC, or OSHA. It’s often not covered under homeowner’s insurance in most states either.

Aside from uninformed professionals, I can’t tell you how many bloggers there are out there telling you to clean the mold with bleach or vinegar and the problem will be magically solved. If you want to learn from someone reputable, back away from the bleach and check out Brian Karr, Michael Rubino, and PJHarlow on Instagram.

4. Leave toxic mold removal to the professionals.

DIY mold removal is a risk not worth taking (see #7 below for some of the health concerns connected to mold exposure). Find an inspector who is a separate entity from a remediator. That way, you avoid a conflict of interest between the person inspection and the person remediating your home.

Also, make sure that both parties take mold seriously. They should be dressing in proper protective gear and have an idea of how to address the root of the moisture problem along with removing the mold.

Things certainly get a little complicated when you’re renting with this one, because a lot of landlords don’t want to address mold, unfortunately. It depends on where you live, of course, but in general, the recommendations I’ve seen from professionals might end up costing an investment from you to do the appropriate testing in order to get to a place where the landlord is required to address the problem, or you’re allowed to break the lease.

5. 50-80% of buildings have toxic mold.

I know this might be hard to imagine, but I have found this to be true in my own search for a low mold home and have yet to find one without a significant issue. I have toured at least 25 homes and every single one has had mold. There are so many factors that need to be held in mind when purchasing a “used” home or even building a new construction home to prevent mold growth. Just because mold growth in housing is common does not mean it should be accepted as normal, however. And if you’re thinking you should go check your home right now for mold, read this post for some ideas on how to do just that.

6. Toxic mold needs food, oxygen and moisture to grow.

Two of these elements (food and oxygen) are factors that we cannot control. Mold will eat anything as food and we certainly can’t remove the oxygen from our homes. The element we can track and control is moisture. All of the people and written resources I’ve consulted that I trust have recommended keeping humidity between 30-50%, checking plumbing regularly for issues, and keeping a close eye on how water moves outside the home (gutters & grading to guide water away from the house).

Additionally, avoid crawlspaces since they have a high probability of growing mold due to exposing the wood of the home to dirt, water, and poorly circulated air. On top of that, whatever air concerns are going on in the crawlspace are going to be circulated throughout the whole house thanks to the stack effect.

7. Common heath issues that can be connected to toxic mold

Respiratory symptoms, cognitive and neurological concerns, fatigue, sleep difficulties, digestive issues, skin sensitivities, joint pain and stiffness, weight gain, decreased vision, static shocks, excessive thirst and urination, and emotional health concerns. Personally, I’ve experienced the majority of these, gaining 20 pounds within just a few weeks after I cleaned the mold in the rental house, even though I’ve eaten paleo and lifted weights regularly for nearly a decade. Thankfully, I’ve been able to address many of these symptoms through proper treatment, which I will share more about in a future post.

Check out this post for steps to follow when you find mold in your home. If you’re not sure if this is relevant for you, check out this post for common symptoms of mold-related illnesses.