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You’re probably familiar with what mold is. It starts as a few little spots you may not even notice at first, but if left untreated, you’ll end up with a large colony of mold that’s not only unpleasant to look at, but can also be very unhealthy for your family.
The automatic assumption is that mold is gross. However, mold growth doesn’t mean your home is dirty. It simply means the conditions became prime for mold at exactly the right time.
There’s no need to panic if you discover yellow mold in your home. You just need to schedule mold remediation to address it and make sure the root cause is addressed so the same issue doesn’t happen again.
Is Yellow Mold Common?
There are thousands of varieties of mold. Each has its own characteristics to help identify it. Yellow mold is most identifiable by its distinct yellow color.
There are also several different textures of yellow mold.
Yellow mold can have a dusty texture, making it easy to confuse with pollen. If you are unsure about whether a substance is mold or pollen, you can have it tested by a mold removal company. They can usually tell the difference at a glance.
Certain species of yellow mold appear fuzzy, a common characteristic of many mold species.
Another whole category of yellow mold is called “yellow slime mold.” This group of slime molds consists of over 900 types of mold (of all colors). Slime molds are not actually fungi, but single-cell organisms that have a soft, liquid texture due to their lack of cellular structure.
Slime molds can get pretty large - up to several square yards!
Before you get too grossed out, slime molds don’t typically grow inside the home. It is most commonly found in forests, feeding on decomposing organic material of the ground. If you do find yellow slime mold around your home, it will probably be on lawn mulch or inside clogged gutters where organic matter can be found.
Common types of yellow mold include the following species:
Apergillus
Mucor
Serpula lacrymansis
Epicoccum nigrum
Cladosporium
Geomyces pannorum
Some of the varieties on this list are yellow at maturity, while others only pass through a yellow stage before turning gray, white, or brown.
What Causes Yellow Mold?
Mold only needs a surface to grow on, food and moisture. Unlike plants, fungi do not need sunlight to grow. Therefore, mold can grow in your basement, attic, sub-flooring, and many other “invisible” places.
Once mold has settled in, it can feed on a wide range of substances, including your flooring, wallpaper, drywall, and wood. Some yellow molds are notorious for causing dry rot which can destroy your home.
Climate affects mold growth, but not as much as you’d think, since most homes are climate controlled anyway.
Like other types of mold, most yellow molds prefer warm temperatures, but there are a few varieties that are partial to cooler temperatures. Geomyces pannorum, for example, is primarily found in the northern hemisphere, since it thrives in cooler temperatures rather than warmer ones.
As we mentioned before, though, many species of yellow mold are found outdoors, where there is no shortage of organic matter.
Is Yellow Mold Dangerous?
Mold is dangerous in any form and in any amount. Yellow mold is no exception. If you have allergies or a respiratory condition, you are even more likely to be affected by mold growth in your home. But even people with no known allergies can be bothered by mold in the home.
Mold can grow in any part of the home including your mattress, curtains, carpet, HVAC ducts, and inside the walls - not to mention the most common places: the attic and basement. Therefore, you may not know when you or your family is being exposed to it.
Yellow mold can also be found on food in the fridge and bread, which can be hard to see on certain foods. Eating moldy food produces some of the same side effects as breathing it, but you also might experience digestive issues and infections if you eat food with yellow mold on it.
Because there are many types of yellow mold, it can develop all over the house, including your bathroom, in crawl spaces, and on the outside of your home. And, as we already mentioned, certain varieties of yellow mold are especially partial to wood surfaces.
Some of these species are very toxic, while others pose the expected health risks of many other common molds. The most dangerous yellow molds produce mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are poisonous chemicals that are normally associated with black mold, a species that more people are familiar with.
Exposure to yellow mold can lead to symptoms such as:
Infections (both internal and external)
Headaches
Fevers
Allergic reactions
Skin irritations
Exposure includes breathing mold-infected air, coming into physical contact with mold, and eating it on food.
Mold Remediation from Pure Air North Carolina
Identifying yellow mold is the first step for removing it. You may notice a musty odor long before you see any mold in your home, depending on where it is growing.
If you do find it, observe the color. Yellow mold can be light and dusty, almost white, to a bright, mustard yellow. Another clue that you’re dealing with yellow mold is that it looks bubbly or slimy.
If you see any of these signs, it’s probably time to call Pure Air North Carolina.
Mold is nothing to play around with. There could be much more that meets the eye. Also, mold remediation is somewhat of a science. Doing it incorrectly could result in even more mold in your home later on.
Pure Air North Carolina will get rid of any visible mold and roots that it may have left behind. Remediation is an additional service that reestablishes normal (low) mold levels in your home so you don’t have excessive mold growth again any time soon.
Pure Air North Carolina can explain your options and help you decide what services are needed to restore healthy air quality in your home.