Having your home checked for mold is vital in the promotion and maintenance of your family’s health. The inspection of the hard to reach places of your household is the most important preliminary step in the identification of possible mold infestation. You should be very concerned if you have mold contamination in your home.

What is Mold?

Mold is a fungus that grows on plants and fibers and is most often associated with damp, musty locations such as bathrooms, basements and attics. Mold travels through the air as tiny spores which like to make their home in wet areas, where they will breed. If mold is spotted, it’s best to remediate it immediately before it spreads to other areas

There are approximately 400,000 types of mold. Mold can always be smelled and the odor is rather musty and not at all pleasant. It grows on paper, drywall, wood, paint and wallpaper and many other surfaces that contain sufficient amounts of moisture.

Mold is hazardous to your health. It’s an allergen and an irritant. Someone who suffers from household allergies or asthma will have trouble breathing in homes with mold infestations. Eyes, ears, noses and throats can become irritated as well.

The most common types of mold found indoors are:

• Aspergillus and its subspecies (A. flavus, A. versicolor);
• Cladosporium
• Penicillium
• Alternaria
• Stachybotrys atra (S. atra), also known as “Black Mold.”

Allergic Reactions
inhaling or touching dead or alive mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Allergic reactions to mold are common – these reactions can be immediate or delayed. Allergic responses include hay fever-type symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash (dermatitis).

Asthma
Molds can trigger asthma attacks in people who are allergic to molds. The irritants produced by molds may also worsen asthma in non-allergic people.

Opportunistic Infections
People with weakened immune systems (i.e., immune-compromised or immune-suppressed individuals) may be more vulnerable to infections by molds (as well as more vulnerable than healthy persons to mold toxins).

You should not try to remediate a mold problem yourself. There is a right way and a wrong way to remediate. Leave it to certified technicians to get the job done right.

Castino Restoration offers the following mold mitigation services:

• Mold Testing
• Containment
• Encapsulation
• Dry Ice Blasting
• Antimicrobial treatment
• Air scrubbing
• HEPA Filtration & Vacuuming
• Duct Cleaning
• Furnace Cleaning
• Demolition & Disposal