Black mold can show up on walls, ceilings, and other surfaces in your property. Black mold is one of the most dangerous types of mold. The most common black mold symptoms and health effects cause respiratory issues. Chronic coughing and sneezing, irritation to the eyes, mucous membranes of the nose and throat, rashes, chronic fatigue, and persistent headaches can all be symptomatic of black mold exposure or black mold poisoning. So, if you or someone in your property are experiencing these symptoms, you most likely have black mold somewhere in your property.
Alright. So how can you tell if the black mold is hiding inside your walls? If you’re like most homeowners whose walls are made of gypsum walls, also called “drywall”, you might be curious to know whether there’s mold build-up inside. You can try this process yourself or hire a mold mitigation expert to come to inspect and test for the presence of mold. Here are several ways to detect if there is a presence of mold behind your walls:
- Cut a large hole on your wall. This is perhaps the most definitive way of determining whether there’s mold inside your walls. If there is, you will be tearing them down anyway. However, there are drawbacks to this approach, because a drywall saw can damage any electrical or plumbing systems if you unknowingly puncture them.
- Perform a smell test. The second method is to sniff around electrical outlets. If the mold is actively growing, it produces microbial volatile compounds which are the musty, earthy odor released by the mold. Electrical outlets and other openings provide you with more direct access to the odors inside your walls. If you smell the musty odor through them, there’s likely a mold infestation. The drawback of this approach is that you may not find any electrical outlet or opening on the walls you suspect are damaged or infested by mold. You may also find it hard to determine the extent of the mold build-up as if it’s just around the outlet or far from the outlet.
- Check for moisture problems. When there is a moisture problem, then there is most likely mold build-up. If you see water stains on your walls or if a part of your walls has sustained water damage and it has been there for quite some time, there’s a high probability of mold being present.
- Hire professionals to test for mold. This might come with a price but it’s the safest and most effective way to tell whether there’s mold lurking inside your walls.
If you suspect that you might have mold behind your walls, you need to call a professional to help you determine the FULL extent of the infestation and to come up with a plan for complete mold remediation. Black mold should not be ignored, as it posses a major health risk. In Utah, you will want to call Expert Restoration at 801-801-642-4347 to get a thorough evaluation of your mold problem,
