Mold in the home is no joke, and once you’ve spotted it you’re sure to be asking yourself a number of different questions; how deep has it gone, should I get someone to look at it, how did I miss this for so long, is it possible there are more mold colonies somewhere? All of these questions and more slide through your mind in rapid fire succession as you begin to grapple with this new and oh so much more elaborate and interesting than usual home maintenance project.
The bottom line, whether or not anyone wants to hear it, is that if you watch your house like a hawk, checking the potential problem places on a regular basis and dealing with anything you find promptly, you might not ever have any serious problems with mold in your home. But even if you check every nook and cranny with maddening constancy, scrubbing any moldy spots, removing or fixing any sources of water like likes, it is possible for unseen and unpredictable sources of moisture to build a comfy little habitat for some mold, and slip right under your nose until it’s found its way into the drywall and is going to require some remodeling.
So the first step is obviously trying to avoid the trap altogether by educating yourself about the sources of moisture and situations that cause mold and doing whatever you can to prevent any from ever getting a strong hold on your property. There are great some great broadly available sprays and soaps that can kill many kinds of mold on surfaces. It’s not even too much for most do it yourself to remove and replace sections of drywall or insulation when that has to be done, or even fill in any empty spots in the walls with insulation to prevent condensation if you live in an area that sees a “proper” winter.
But if the mold has gone airborne or has gotten into too many of the structural elements of house you really do need the help of a pro. Can you really imagine trying to fumigate some or all of your house without professional equipment and experience? This is a quixotic endeavor that will end in not but tears as sure as you were born.
One thing that is always a good idea is to find a professional mold remediation service in your area, one that is fully certified and you feel you can trust and have them send someone over to estimate the extent of the damage whenever you find that you are getting mold that recurs in the same place even after you’ve cleaned it thoroughly. Better safe than sorry, and making a problem worse by handling it badly always ends up costing more than just letting someone experienced deal with it in the first place.