A typical question asked from homeowners about their basements and crawl spaces they are looking to have repaired is whether or not the mold they have found there is dangerous to the health of their families. When you are looking for a service company for answers on what to do, conflicting information is the last thing you want to hear as it makes coming to an educated decision difficult. You may hear from one company that any mold you find in the crawl space or basement is no big deal, that a simple removal is adequate and will solve a good deal of your interior problems. Another company may advise you to leave the home immediately, otherwise you could suffer severe health affects from it, including death. The truth about mold lies somewhere in the middle. First of all, you can’t identify which kind of mold is in your crawl space by visibly looking at it. They’re called microbiologists. They receive extensive amounts of education to be able to tell you what kinds of mold you have and how much. So don’t trust an inspector to identify all the molds that are out there. Now, typically, in crawl spaces, we find about three or four different kinds of molds. You’ll find Stachybotrys sometimes which is also referred to as black mold. We also find a lot of Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Cladosporium. Those are the different kinds of molds found in the crawl space. There are also both grey and brown wood rot fungus varieties that can grow in your crawl space. The difference between mold and fungus is that mold is typically harmful to humans while wood rot fungus is eating away at the floor joists and the sub floor. They can live together, but most of the time, one is doing damage to the foundation while the other could be doing harm to you. We at Barrier Waterproofing Systems get asked all the time, “What is the health ramification of not addressing a mold problem?” The best answer we find to give is that we always recommend you call your physician if you have questions about, or if you think you are currently exposed to, mold. Another way to go about helping solve your mold problems is to get a mold DIY mold test kit or look to hire a local home inspector that does mold testing. once you know what kind of mold and how much of it is growing there, the odds of being helped are much higher. Once you have taken these steps to identify and learn more about the mold you have in your crawl space then it is time to schedule some professional help to remove it. Give Barrier waterproofing Systems a call today and schedule a crawl space evaluation and mold removal service!