With the coronavirus keeping people quarantined to their homes, this could be an issue if your home is already plagued by black mold. While the constant sterilizing of surfaces helps with the coronavirus and keeping you safe from contracting the virus, airborne spores aren’t cleaned by simply wiping down surfaces, and just being in a house riddled with black mold can cause a variety of severe health problems.
Table of contents
- How Does Black Mold Affect People?
- Mold Cleanup in Your Home
- Stay Home and Be Safe
- Prevention Tips
- Moldy House
Black mold and health: how does it affect people?
Black mold is normally not a huge issue if caught early, but if it’s allowed to grow and spread it can cause serious health problems. This includes issues such as triggering asthma and allergy episodes in sensitive individuals, as well as other respiratory issues. The more prevalent the spores, the worse these conditions could become, to a point where the air might become toxic to people who don’t normally have respiratory issues. The spores can also act as an irritant to the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs.
Mold cleanup in your home
With all the health problems it can cause, cleaning up black mold spots is important. Depending on the size of the black area, it’s possible you can just take care of the issue yourself. You can scrub surfaces with detergent and water to remove and spots, but it is important to let it dry completely to prevent more from growing back. Any porous surfaces like corrugated tile may have to be replaced completely, as it can’t always be cleaned thoroughly enough. Also avoid painting or caulking over black moldy surfaces, as the paint or caulk is just likely to peel off.
Protect yourself
Be sure to protect yourself and others during the cleanup process as well. Make sure the only people in the area are the ones involved with the cleanup process and wear the proper protective gear. This includes goggles, rubber gloves, as well as face masks to prevent any spores disturbed from the cleanup process from getting into your face or lungs. Also read: OSHA.gov – Control and Clean-up Mold.
Be safe, stay at home
With the coronavirus outbreak shutting down large areas, it’s important to stay home and stay safe. Practice safe social distancing while out to prevent further spread of the coronavirus, and it’s recommended you shower immediately after returning home if you have been out to sanitize yourself.
Source: World Health Organization
Coronavirus and mold prevention tips
While home, you can take preventative measures to help ensure mold doesn’t form while under quarantine. The most important thing is to repair any leaks quickly, as mold thrives in moist and damp environments. The constant wiping and sterilizing you’ll be doing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus will help, it won’t do much to fix areas that have already become moldy. Read more on Healthy Home Issues: Mold – Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (PDF)
Use online retailers
If you need cleaning supplies or special equipment, there are many online retailers who sell cleaning products for dealing both with the coronavirus as well as moldy surfaces. With everyone scooping up cleaning supplies, you may have some luck with eBay and Amazon if your local retailer is sold out. Take advantage of delivery sites and shopping apps as much as you can, and only go out if you absolutely have to. The less time you spend outside around other people, the lower your chances of contracting the virus are.
Leave your moldy house!
If your house is so moldy that it is no longer safe to live in, see if a friend or relative would be willing to put you up during the quarantine, or while you have your house professionally cleaned and treated to remove the moldy surfaces.
