September is Mold Awareness Month

September means a lot of things to a lot of people. The start of football season. The early traces of crisp, reinvigorating fall air. The arrival of pumpkin spice everything. A reason to start decorating your home for Halloween. 

But did you know that September is also National Mold Awareness Month? And are you aware of just how important it is to ensure your home is mold-free?

No less an authority than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) itself recognizes September as National Mold Awareness Month. Part of this initiative includes informing, educating and raising awareness about the existence and nature of indoor molds—and how the presence of these molds in your home can lead to adverse health effects. 

Naughty by Nature: How Does Indoor Mold Grow?

Indoor molds come in quite the variety of species, severity, density, and even colors. Ranging from innocuous but unsightly mildew stains to the mycotoxin-producing stachybotrys chartarum. No matter the stain, strain, or severity, all indoor mold will thrive in damp, dark environments—meaning that shower and bathroom areas, sinks and kitches, and especially below-ground basements and dens are particularly vulnerable to mold growth. 

There’s a lot of ground these scary spores can cover—and there’s a lot of detailed scientific information related to indoor mold. You can read more about the dreaded stachybotrys chartarum at the American Phytopathological Society site.

Sick Tricks: How Can Indoor Mold Affect Your Health?

We touched on Halloween a bit earlier, and there’s no doubt that creeping, crawling indoor molds are a time-honored, wall-scraping staple of any good red-blooded American haunted house. But are you fully aware of just how tricky indoor molds can be? Or how very far from a treat they can be for you—and your overall health?

The bottom line: indoor molds can be nothing short of toxic. Which means you and anyone else living in your home can get (and stay) sick. Among the litany of adverse health issues that can arise from the presence of mold in your home:

• Runny nose
• Sore throat
• Chronic cough
• Skin rashes

Unless you’re the type of person who enjoys living in a haunted, horrible house, these ailments probably aren’t on your short list of preferences when you’re relaxing or working at home. If you’re already an allergy sufferer, these conditions may hit you ever harder when indoor mold comes creeping, crawling, and calling. 

On an even more serious scale, thriving indoor mold spores can also result in something known as “mold poisoning” for you, your family members, or roommates. The proper scientific name for this condition is mycotoxicosis, and its symptoms can range from physical (headaches and body aches) to mental and psychological (memory loss and mood changes). 

NOT in MY Home! Prepare and Prevent Mold.

It’s often said that the best medicine is preventative medicine. So what can you do to help ensure your home–and you and your family–avoid any unsightly and injurious mold infection? Let’s take a closer look at some quick tips:

• Stave off/fix any water leaks: Notice a water leak in your home? Address and correct it. Immediately! If you notice any dark, damp areas on your carpet, under or around plumbing pipes, or along or among the edges of your home’s walls, you’ll want to reach out to a mold removal specialist—or purchase RMR-86® Instant Mold and Mildew Stain Remover!
• Keep carpet away from damp areas: Remember, mold thrives in warm, damp, dark areas. It can particularly proliferate on a substance like carpet, so keep a close eye on any carpeting—especially carpeting that doesn’t receive lighting. 
• Check bathroom vents and fans: You should also keep a close eye on your clothes dryer vents. Any and all vents in your home can often be replaced with newer versions.
• Limit indoor humidity: Mold growth is a danger for any home in any region or climate, but it can pose particular problems (and rapidly gain strength) in places where heat and humidity thrive. Do your best to keep your home cool, when and where you can. Dehumidifiers and humidity monitors are helpful home additions. 
• Purchase a mold test kid: Just like home COVID tests helped a lot of people during the pandemic, you can easily purchase an in-home mold test kit online. Here’s one home mold test kit you can find on Amazon right now. 

The professionals at Mold Only have a more in-depth checklist you can consult for tips and tactics to stave off home mold growth. 

RMR Solutions: Helping You Stay Mold-Free

Thankfully, the passionate professionals here at RMR Solutions have extensive experience with fighting, removing, and preventing mold infestations. Even better, we offer industry-leading and game-changing products to help keep your home mold-free. 

Our RMR-86® Instant Mold and Mildew Stain Remover has earned a reputation as the best mold and mildew stain remover available on the market today. RMR-86 was formulated over several years by disaster restoration professionals with untold hours of experience treating and eliminating unwanted mold in and out of homes. 

RMR-86 can be used indoors as well as outdoors to remove unsightly and potentially unhealthy mold and mildew stains. Even Bruce “The Alligator Man” Mitchell from the hit HISTORY TV show “Swamp People” swears by our patented product! 

If you’re really needing to tackle a nasty mold problem that’s festered for too long, you can purchase our RMR-86® PRO Instant Mold Stain Remover. Made from a patented contractor-grade formula, this solution works faster and lasts longer. RMR-86® PRO will tackle the toughest of tough mold remediation, even removing deeply embedded fungal stains. In fact, it’s graded out at a full five times stronger than similar contractor brands. 

Of course, if you’re really looking to live in a haunted house, you can just sit back…and let the mold become one with your home. To each their own. Just make sure to double-check all your Halloween candy.