It doesn’t matter if you’re house-hunting, just moved in, or have been living in the same house for 30 years — mold is something no one wants to find! It’s smelly, it looks bad, and most people have the (correct) suspicion that it could make them sick. So in this article, we want to help you recognize all the top signs of mold in a house, so you can keep you and yours safe from it, and identify it early!
Why trust our advice? Because we’re professional mold experts! We’re Cleaner Guys, a professional mold remediation company with more than 20 years of experience dealing with mold. In this article, we’ll break down important signs of mold in a house, list all the places you should check for it, and tell you what you need to do to clean it. Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
- Top 8 Signs of Mold in a House
- Where to Look for Mold in Your House
- Can You Clean Mold Yourself?
- When Should I Call a Mold Removal Company?
- More Frequently Asked Questions About Mold
Top 6 Signs of Mold in a House
Signs of mold can range from very obvious to very subtle. However, it is crucial to be watchful for all of them! Hidden mold can make your home smell awful, cause terrible mold sickness, and eventually weaken and compromise the very structure of your house! These are the top 6 signs of mold you should be watching our for.
- Musty, unpleasant odors. In our experience, this is the strongest indication of the presence of mold without actually seeing any. Most mold has a distinctive and pungent odor often described as “musty”, “damp”, or “earthy”.
- Persistent cold or allergy symptoms. Many people have allergic reactions to mold, and they usually present as cold symptoms like a runny nose, a cough, and more. However, the key sign that these symptoms may be mold sickness is if they linger for weeks, and don’t really go away. If they go away when you leave home, and reappear when you return, that’s even more of a sign that it’s mold. Learn more about mold sickness here.
- Headaches. By the same token, headaches are another one of the strong signs of mold in a house. There’s an even bigger likelihood that your headaches are caused by mold exposure if they lessen when you leave the house, or if they just appeared out of nowhere, when you didn’t have a history of headaches.
- Known previous water damage. If you know there has been previous water damage, like an overflowed toilet or a pipe leak, then if you never checked for mold, you should now. Mold almost always grows out of water damage, and usually inside walls and under floors, where you can’t see it.
- Signs of previous water damage. Mold almost always grows from water damage, because mold cannot grow without excess moisture. That’s why signs that there may have been previous water damage are also a major indicator that there is likely mold. Signs of water damage can include brown or greyish staining on the walls or floors, peeling or bubbling paint, and soft or squishy drywall or flooring. Learn all the other signs of previous water damage in this article here.
- Visible mold. This may seem like an overly-obvious “sign” of mold, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t know what mold looks like! Mold looks like clusters of small dots or blotches on your walls, ceiling, or floor. Its color can be black, green, grey, yellow, or white, and its texture is usually fuzzy or slimy. See the images below for some examples of mold.
Where to Look for Mold in Your House
Now you know all of the top 6 signs of mold in a house. Whether or not you recognize any of them in your home right now, you most likely now want to know all the places you should check! Next up is a list of all the most common places mold grows and hides. Our mold remediation experts here at Cleaner Guys compiled it based on our 50+ years of collective experience with mold. These 10 places are hands-down where we see the most mold.
Check These 10 Places for Mold:
- The cabinets under your sinks. The most forgotten place to check for mold, in our experience, is in the very back of the cabinets under the sinks in your kitchen and bathroom(s). But it’s one of the most common hiding spots of mold!
- Attics and crawlspaces. Attics and crawlspaces are one of the very top places we find mold! They’re dark, often damp or humid, and rarely checked. The mold we find in attics and crawlspaces is usually rampant and really bad, because people don’t inspect their attics or crawlspaces often.
- Behind appliances and large furniture. Pull your refrigerator and washing machine away from the wall and check behind and under them for mold or water. They are rarely moved, and they often leak water, so they are prime breeding grounds for mold. Ideally, you should move them every couple months to check!
- Ventilation shafts. Remove the grates covering all ventilation shafts in your apartment, and check for any black, grey, or green fuzziness or smears. This is likely mold, and should be inspected by a professional mold inspection company.
- Windows. Is there any black, brown, or green stuff anywhere around the windows? This may be mold, which probably means the windows aren’t properly sealed.
- Closets. Be extra careful to check the backs of closets. They’re a common location for mold growth, because no one usually checks every wall of their closet that often!
- Baseboard trim. Another overlooked place is the trim where your walls and floors meet. Now, we are not necessarily recommending that you pull it off — it can be a pain to put back on! But if there is discoloration, swelling and warping, or black spots anywhere along your home’s trim, it’s a sure sign of water damage and/or mold.
- Black or brown stuff in the grout of your shower tile. Black or brown stuff in tile grout is usually mildew, which is a type of mold. It grows in showers a lot because they’re wet almost every day! Luckily, mildew is easy to clean!
- Discolored or wet carpet. Check for discoloration, stains, or squishiness along the edges of all carpet. This is a sign of water intrusion, which, if not cleaned up properly, may well leave behind mold inside the wall or under the carpet.
- Bathroom caulk and grout. Carefully inspect the caulk and grout of the bathroom(s). Is there any staining, discoloration, blackness, or spots? This may be mold. You should clean it right away with vinegar or peroxide!
Can You Clean Mold Yourself?
It depends on the location and size of the mold. If the mold is on a hard, non-porous surface, like in a shower, bathtub, toilet, or sink, then yes, you should be able to easily clean it yourself. This is because mildew — the subspecies of mold that grows on hard, non-porous surfaces — roots very shallowly, and can easily by scrubbed off of the surface.
Mold on drywall or wood, on the other hand, is trickier. Mold that grows on porous, organic surfaces spreads its roots deep and fast. If the mold you see covers less than 1 square foot total, then you might be able to successfully clean it yourself. But if the mold has spread further than 1 square foot, or if there is more than one small patch, we strongly advice against trying to clean it yourself.
This is because, once the mold growth has extended larger than about 1 square foot, it is highly likely that it has rooted and spread deep into the material, and there’s almost certainly a LOT more of it under the surface. When mold spreads like this, it requires the experience of professional mold removers to successfully remove it completely.
When Should I Call a Mold Removal Company?
If you see mold that covers more than 1 square foot of surface area, you should call a professional mold removal company. If you can smell musty, damp odors that might be mold, but you can’t see any, call a professional mold removal company right away — it’s likely inside the walls. Generally, if you see mold or signs of mold anywhere but non-porous surfaces, it’s best to call a professional mold removal company.
Why does it have to be a professional mold remediation company? Why can’t you just do it yourself? Firstly, because some species of mold are highly toxic and dangerous, and even the milder ones aren’t good for you. Handling it is not safe for your health. Secondly, because even the most experienced DIYer is likely to miss some of the mold, because they haven’t gone through professional training on its removal. If even the smallest bit of mold is left, it will come right back and spread again. And thirdly, because only professionals have the specially-designed equipment and chemicals to thoroughly wipe out every bit of mold, and make sure it doesn’t come back.
That’s why hiring a professional mold removal company is essential.
More Resources About Mold
There are so many more questions to answer about mold — from how to prevent it, to what chemicals clean it best, and much more! Lucky for you, we here at Cleaner Guys have provided professional answers to all those questions and more, entirely for free, on our blog! Check out our full archive of mold-related information here, or jump straight to one of our other popular articles below!
What Kills Mold 100%? Our Complete Guide to the Chemicals That Kill Mold ➜
How to Deal With Mold in an Apartment – Our Ultimate Guide! ➜
Top 5 Spots People Miss When Cleaning That Cause Mold! ➜
If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of needing a professional mold removal company in Western Washington State, consider Cleaner Guys as a high-quality, well-trusted option. We’re proud to boast award-winning customer service, lower prices than others, and top-notch workmanship! Contact us today through the menu at the top of your screen, or by calling us now at (360)757-4300.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. No part of this article is medical or legal advice, and may not be used as such. For all serious medical matters, consult your doctor. For all serious legal matters, consult your legal advisor. This article contains Cleaner Guys’ experience and opinions only.
