White Mold In Attic – Why And What To Do

Actually, several variations of mold in the attic which can be met in your house including Cladosporium, aspergillus or penicillium are sometimes white, but they can also have another color. The following review will give you information about white mold in attic and in other spots of your house and how to deal with it.

White color is typical for mold when it is appearing for the first time, and after some time it changes its color. Some other types can stay white because of the fabric on which it lives.

In fact, the color of the mold is not important since you should remove any kind of mold you have in your house. Black mold in attic is also harmful as any other mold.

The mold affects your house, possessions and your and your family’s health as well. So we recommend everyone to not hesitate and call for an attic mold remediation company just at the moment you notice it in your living place.

In several states, before calling a group of specialists you need to invite an unbiased organization to hold a mold inspection.

The Look Of White Mold

It is really difficult to notice white mold developing because it’s really small. When its colonies start forming, it is seen as white dots on the material where it develops. They usually happen to be filmy and powdery.

In spite of the fact that white mold reminds mildew firstly, it’s far more dangerous as it can develop on organic materials.

If you want to learn more about how white mold look like, you can search the needed information on the Internet, entering something like “What does white mold look like?”

The Reasons For White Mold Appearance

The reason why white mold appears happens to be common for any type of mold. Mold lives on two main factors which are a food source and an excessive level of moisture.

The most common food sources are usually wood, carpeting, drywall and some other fabrics. Moisture is often caused by not properly ventilated areas or leaks. To avoid this problem attic must have a fan. Before you decide to install it learn all attic fans pros and cons.

When these two things are combined together in the right proportion, you can see the white mold growth in some places of your accommodation.

The Danger Of White Mold

One of the most common questions asked about white mold is “Is white mold dangerous?”

We should always remember that the health risks presented by white mold depend on personal characteristics. Some people don’t notice it at all, while others obtain allergic reactions. They can result in skin rash, a runny nose and sneezes.

If a person deals with some immune system issues, it poses a lot of danger to their health and even life. In the case of any reaction, you should not hesitate and contact a doctor.

Does attic mold need to be removed? The answer to this question is of course, as we have already mentioned. You don’t need your things to be spoilt or have some allergic reactions to mold.

Where White Mold Is Likely To Appear

Is mold in attic common? The most favored white mold spots happen to be dark and damp and to obtain any food source. It usually appears, to our dislike, in the areas where we don’t go often or store our places without examining them from time to time. The most common areas are the following:

• Attics come as a perfect living space for attic molds because they have a lot of sources of food, including insulation and wood. Attics also often have a high level of moisture caused by leaks in roofs, condensation from changing temperatures, pipes with leaks and wrong ventilation, which is enjoyed by white mold. It is very challenging to remove mold from attics since it usually has little free space. But we think that any homeowner should regularly check their attics because it gives an opportunity to notice white mold at the beginning of its development;

• The most common areas for mold appearance in basements are usually wooden floor joists, concrete walls and things that homeowners have put into the basements such as clothing. Because of its usual location under the earth water can seep through the walls and result in a moist environment which causes white mold growth. Condensation sometimes occurring in the basement also results in its appearance.

From time to time homeowners mistake white mold in their basements for the substance named crystalline efflorescence. These things both develop in areas with high humidity, but we should remember that efflorescence doesn’t happen to be a mold type. It is a salt deposit, which is left when moisture goes through concrete walls.

If you want to know what exactly is on your walls, you just need to mist the affected space with water. In case it’s efflorescence, the salt will be washed away. If it doesn’t assure you, just call for a mold inspection, who will definitely see whether it’s white mold;

• Crawlspaces also happen to be places where white mold can be found in your house. Additional moisture which appears from leaks in pipes, broken gutters or downspouts, cracks in the foundation can cause the growth of mold here. We would like to give advice not to store your possessions in crawl places since mold likes to grow on cardboard boxes or any other organic materials which are a good food source for mold. And we need to say again that we should also combat the reason of high humidity in order to get rid of white mold for many years;

• Such things with pores as sheetrock, wood and furniture are often penetrated by white mold. You can also find white mold on such surfaces made of wood as rafters in attics, floor joists in basements or crawlspaces and even wooden furniture. Actually, white mold from wooden furniture is easily removed by homeowners, while other more porous substances require professional cleaning services. White mold on wood is not very often met but take into account that it’s really challenging to remove it from wood. If you don’t know what wild mold look like in wood, you can search in the Internet for something like “pictures of mold on wood” or “what does white mold look like on wood”;

• In times of warm summer months, white mold can appear on clothing. Make sure that your clothes and other textile things are fully dried before you return them to their place in your wardrobe. It’s helpful to dry clothes when the sun shines since it eliminates moisture from the material completely and functions as a free disinfectant as well. If your clothes have a strange smell or any signs of white mold appearance, you can use warm water and vinegar to combat the mold spores.

How You Can Prevent White Mold

The main feature of keeping white mold away from your home is to organize high-quality moisture control. You need to check regularly if the basement of your accommodation is sometimes flooded, or you acquire a roof with leaks, broken gutters, bad ventilation or a broken appliance.

In addition, in case the white mold has appeared, after combating it you should fight the reason why it has appeared. You can call a professional auditing company which will find the place where the issue of excessive moisture appears and will give the following advice concerning attic mold removal.

You should also try to keep your house rather clean. As mold requires a good food source, it can appear in dust, on paper, cardboard, and many other natural fabrics. Therefore, try no to store such things in attics, basements or crawlspaces.

It happens to be a good preventional measure. You can organize the cleaning yourself, believe me it’s not difficult.

Helpful Video: How to clean white mold in attic

If you want to know how to remove white mold and how to prevent its appearance, watch this video.

How You Can Get Rid Of White Mold

The way you can fight the appearing mold depends on the affected area and on the sensibility of a homeowner. If the area is not more than 10 square feet and a person is not affected by white mold, they can apply special tools, safety equipment and cleaners from any special store and do the procedure themselves.

When the area is much bigger and includes attics or basements, we suggest that you hire a professional mold removal service. You should take into account that in order to forget about the issue for a long time, you need to deal with the reasons why white mold appears as well.

If you miss this feature, the white mold will easily return and will be able to grow even more than the previous time.

Professional Mold Removal Services

In case white attic mold has affected a really small area of your house, you can easily get rid of it yourself. In other situations, we believe that it’s vital to hire a professional mold remediation company. The specialists are skilled enough to detect mold in locations which are not usually seen with eyes.

They are also experienced at eliminating white mold from stiff areas, including basements, attics or crawlspaces. And, of course, the invited professional will manage to define the reason why the issue comes to your house and will fix everything necessary.

Just make sure that those who will do the procedure have the needed licenses and can give a guarantee for mold removal from attic.

We hope that this article has given you a helping hand if you’re currently dealing with the mold issue or just want to prevent their appearance.