Uh oh. That pesky, grimy fungus has made its way onto the surface of your grout and tile. When you see grout and tile mold or mildew making an appearance in your home, you know to eradicate it, but your efforts to fight the fungus shouldn’t stop there.
Mold and mildew can cause great harm to your home and to your physical body. So it’s important to not only clean them but to investigate how bad the issue truly is and what caused it in the first place. As a Tulsa grout and tile cleaning expert, we know what to look for and why it’s so important to remove.
What is Mold vs. Mildew?
You might wonder what mold and mildew are and how they differ. Mildew is actually a form of mold, which means that both are fungi that grow in dark and moist areas. Mildew tends to have a lighter appearance, looking grey or white. Mold on the other hand tends to be darker in blacks, greens, or blues.
Let’s Investigate
Don’t let mold related issues pass you by. Here are six major reasons you should have that pesky grout and tile mold or mildew investigated.
1. Lowered Aesthetic
As simple as it may be, mold and mildew decrease the beauty of your home. They make a home feel dirty and lack luster, which actually decreases the value of your home. In fact, homes that have had major mold problems have a more difficult time during resale. Not to mention, mold and mildew can leave your home with a musty smell. Because both are transported by air, they can rapidly spread in your home without proper treatment. But the decreased aesthetic is the least of the problems associated with these substances.
2. Adverse Health Effects
One of mold and mildew’s most serious effects is on your health. These substances can cause many problem in your system such as nasal issues, sore throats or coughs, headaches, irritated eyes or skin, and upper respiratory tract infections. Persons with mold allergies can experience even more severe symptoms.
3. Chronic Illnesses
Mold and mildew can also aid in severe or chronic illnesses. Exposure can be extremely dangerous for pregnant women. Mold especially produces dangerous toxins that can be inhaled, ingested, or can absorb into the blood stream through skin. This can cause a variety of choric conditions including:
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Kidney and liver damage
- Blood or immunity disorders
- Digestive issues
- Heart conditions
4. Structural Damage
Grout and tile mold and mildew can spread, making their way into your walls, vents, carpet, wood, and many other places of your home. And as they grow, damage can occur. In your bathroom, this can become especially prevalent with subflooring. Leaks or unkempt water can make its way onto the floor or even into the subflooring. As subflooring rots and is eaten away by the mold and mildew, your floor is weakened, which can result in major problems.
5. Destruction of Walls
Once mold makes its way into walls, it can begin to rot and peel dry wall.
The walls may begin to become discolored or the plaster can actually start to crumble. What seems like a small and insignificant substance can wreak havoc in your home and break down the walls around you.
6. Tile Damage
Grout and tile mold is a serious issue, and grout and tile mildew can be a pain to remove. Mildew easily binds itself to porous substances, and grout is extremely porous. Mold grows wherever moisture is present, and bathrooms are the moistest rooms in a home.
Because both of these substances are fungi, living organisms, they grow and spread. And as the make their way into your grout and under your tile, they can weaken the hold of grout and begin to lift tiles off your floor, walls, or counters. And in some instances, this could cause irreversible tile damage. So rather than spend money repairing or replacing tile, investigate how you can avoid grout and tile mold and mildew.
Defeat Grout and Tile Mold and Mildew for Good
The seriousness of mold and mildew should never be taken lightly. However, there is a solution for removing these harmful substances from your home. Reach out to a professional for a grout and tile cleaning, but also to help determine the cause of mold. This will help keep it from returning. Contact us at 918-938-1975 for a free in-home estimate and demonstration.
