Have you been seeing some black spots in your bathroom lately? If you have seen such, you may be looking at black mold in your bathroom.
Let’s look at what black mold is and how you can prevent it and get rid of it.
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What Is Bathroom Black Mold?
The name ‘Black Mold’ is the name that is given to a certain type of mold, which is known as ‘Stachybotrys.
This kind of mold is regarded as harmful to human health, and they are normally found in bathrooms or moistened places.
If you have heard of toxic black mold before and how dangerous it can be to the health of humans, you may be wondering about it, but the truth is that you can manage black mold quite easily compared to other types of mold.
As long as you know what you are dealing with, you will take definite steps to eradicate it and then prevent it from appearing again.
You will then be able to keep yourself and your family safe from black molds and other kinds of mold as well.
In this article, you will find out how you can deal with black molds that have appeared in your bathroom and prevent them from ever resurfacing again.
It is always important to maintain hygienic conditions in and around your place of residence at all times, and keeping black mold in check is one of these important things to keep an eye on.
Signs Of Black Mold
Before you can know for sure if you have dealt with black mold, you first need to identify it.
In this case, we will look at the signs that show that you are indeed dealing with ‘Stachybotrys or black mold in your bathroom.
For black mold, the hint of spotting it is in the name.
- Black mold is normally black, although the color can vary based on how far the mold has grown in your bathroom.
- You can see black molds where it has flooded or places where there has been water damage, and some of these places are attics, basements, bathrooms, and kitchens.
However, black mold will often appear in black, while you will sometimes see it in gray color.
- Black molds can also be green in color. They normally form as fuzzy white fibers that look similar to cotton, but this is not common except in laboratory environments.
But if you spot any gray color mold in the places that have been mentioned above or anywhere that water has flooded or damaged, it could be possible that it is black mold that is beginning to grow there.
Is Black Mold Something Dangerous?
For this question, the answer can be yes, depending on the health issues of the residents of the residence that black mold has infected.
However, you can easily handle most black mold situations with nothing to panic about after seeing them.
When you look online about black mold, you are sure to come across numerous articles and other sites that speak about the dangers of black mold, with some of these being the cause of seizures, cancers, and even causing death.
However, you have to understand that black molds are not something to panic about in most situations.
Science has also proved that black mold is not more harmful than the other types of mold in existence.
People who are highly sensitive to black mold are a small percentage, and this is normally due to their severe allergic reactions when they come into contact with black mold.
What Are Mycotoxins
You may have heard of mycotoxins in some articles that spoke about molds. It is a form of poison that can be found in some fungi, such as some types of molds.
And because black mold is a member of the fungi kingdom, you may have thought it contains some of this mycotoxins poison.
The mycotoxins, produced by black molds, are the agents that trigger the allergic reactions of allergic people who come into contact with the black mold.
Due to the fact almost all molds produce mycotoxin poison that is capable of triggering allergic reactions of people who have such allergies and come into contact with the molds.
Some people are chanting the mantra of no mold, no matter the color in a healthy home.’ And I think that this is a noble idea in general.
Can Black Molds Cause Sickness?
We are aware that black molds can trigger allergies, just like most other molds in existence due to the mycotoxin poison they produce.
So, in this case, the answer is yes. Black molds can cause sickness by triggering allergic people who come into contact with it.
Some of the illnesses can be a stuffy head, headaches, itchy eyes, sinus issues, and many other allergic reactions depending on the allergy of the person in question.
However, black molds have not been proven to cause cancer. However, we know that it can cause some major health problems, such as pneumonia in people who have respiratory issues, and pneumonia can certainly lead to the person’s death if they cannot recover from it.
However, many other things and fungi can cause pneumonia, and some of these are colds, flu, and other respiratory-related infections.
Common Places For Black Mold
Black molds normally appear as a black stain covering a particular place with high moisture. This area is normally a place that has been flooded by water or damaged by water.
Due to this, you can find black molds in your bathrooms or kitchens, and they can normally be found in bathrooms that use tubs and showers.
This is because these kinds of bathrooms are the ones that normally suffer flooding, water damage, or maybe an inadequate ventilation system.
Black molds can also appear in damp areas or places with poor ventilation levels and not just in water-flooded areas alone.
It can also appear in high temperatures, damp basements, kitchens, and laundry areas. Stagnant leaks can also aid the growth of black molds.
Black molds can also appear on surfaces of wood near water sources.
These can be wood trims on the bathroom walls, bathroom sinks with wooden surfaces, and wooden furniture in damp basements.
This is because wood is highly porous, and thus, mold can grow on its surface and grow its roots inside the wood. The black molds usually spread in patch forms or small circles, although they can also have irregular shapes.
What Does Black Mold Look Like In The Bathroom?
Black molds normally develop and produce spores that look gray or green in the middle with some white around their edges.
Black mold in the bathroom is normally black as that is when most people become aware of the growth and pay attention to it.
So in the bathroom, you will normally see black mold in black color, although you should also watch out for any gray or green patches.
How To Get Rid Of Black Mold In The Bathroom
Getting rid of black mold in your bathroom is not a difficult task at all, and the good news is that this is something that you can do on your own. Here is how you can get rid of black mold in your bathroom.
Using Antifungal Cleaner
You can use an antifungal surface cleaner to get rid of black mold in your bathroom. You can do this by putting the antifungal on a sponge or cloth and then wiping at the mold areas such as tiles and porcelain.
After that, make sure to scrub the place with a scrubbing brush at the stubborn areas that remained.
You then rinse the area with water. You can use an antifungal surface cleaner like Clorox, which you can find on amazon.
You can also use baking soda to remove black mold by mixing it will a small amount of water to form a paste, applying the paste on the black mold, waiting for about 10 minutes, and then scrubbing it with a brush.
Cleaning Stains
Mix bleach and water in a spray bottle and spray at the wood surfaces where mold can be seen. After several minutes, spray that area again and then use a scrubbing brush to remove the remaining mold there.
How To Get Rid Of Back Mold In Basement
Black mold in your basement can cause your drywall to rot aside from triggering allergies, leading to serious health issues such as headaches and coughs.
Before you get down to removing black molds from your basement, you should put on a nose mask. Also, make sure not to touch the black mold while inspecting the affected area. Below is how you get rid of black mold in your basement.
- Dry the damp area because the problem may not be about molds alone. It could also be that you have a damp problem as well. You will have today out as much humidity as you can before you can start looking at the black molds in the basement.
- Now you can turn your attention to the mold. If it looks dusty, you will have to make it a bit damp with water before scrubbing it off. It would be best to dry out the area but avoid the flow of air so that the contaminated area does not spread to other areas. Apply some light mist onto the mold with a spray bottle. Be careful not to saturate it. Otherwise, you will increase the moisture problem.
- Now scrub the mold area with a solution of dish soap and water. Scrub all the affected areas
How To Prevent Mold Growth
What aids the growth of molds of all kinds is the presence of moisture. This is why most black molds can be located in the bathroom where water is normally around.
However, there is always a way to prevent their growth, even in the bathroom. One way to keep black mold in check is to control the moisture.
You should always make sure that bathroom faucets and valves do not leak, and the drains should also not be clogged. Always make sure to repair any faucet and valve that quickly starts leaking.
Your bathroom must always be ventilated properly, and you should also use the best quality paint for areas that need to paint.
Towels, bathmats, and shower curtains must always be dry since being wet can aid in the growth of black molds.
Conclusion
Now you know all about black molds and how to get rid of them. You also know how to prevent them from coming back, and you know that they can trigger allergies as well.
You can also check out how to remove black mold from concrete, we made sure to cover the causes and the best ways to get rid of black mold on concrete.
