Mold in your basement can easily spread throughout your home. Mold spores in your basement can be circulated through your house by HVAC ducts, air currents, and foot traffic in your basement. Once mold spores are carried from the basement to the rest of your home, they will begin to grow in any area with damp conditions and a suitable surface. If there is mold in your basement, you should take swift steps to kill it completely. If it is not controlled quickly, it can spread and cause serious damage to your home.
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How Does Basement Mold Travel Upstairs?
A common way for mold to travel from your basement to the upstairs portion of your house is through air currents. Mold spores—the microscopic “seeds” produced by mold—can be carried from your basement to other rooms through air ducts. Also, as warm air rises in your home, causing air circulation, mold spores can be carried up from the basement to the rooms above.
- Mold spores can be carried through your home through HVAC ducts or natural air circulation.
- Wherever mold spores land, mold growth can form.
- Mold spores can be carried from your basement to other rooms on your shoes, clothing, or moldy items you take out of your basement.
- If your pet goes into a basement with mold growth, they can spread the mold to other areas of your home.
Mold spores can also be carried from your basement on your shoes, clothing, or on cleaning tools used to remove mold. Your pets can track mold through the house if they are allowed into your basement. So, any time you go into a basement with a mold infestation, you may be spreading mold to other parts of your home.
Is it Safe to Live in a House with Mold in the Basement?
Mold growth in your home can cause allergic reactions, skin rash, asthma attacks, headaches, and other health issues. So, if you have mold in your basement, it should be removed immediately. Follow our guide to removing mold from your basement, or contact a mold removal specialist for help. Although black mold is the type of mold most people fear, the truth is many mold species can be harmful to humans. If there’s mold in your basement, it needs to be removed.
- It is unsafe to live in a home with mold infestation.
- Mold can cause severe allergic reaction, rash, and difficulty breathing.
- Unchecked mold growth can also damage your home, since mold breaks down wood and drywall.
In addition to health issues caused by mold exposure, mold can also damage your home. Mold eats away at whatever surface it is growing on. So, if mold invades your walls and ceilings it can gradually destroy the wood in your home. Rather than risk home damage, begin taking steps to destroy mold quickly.
How Do You Stop Basement Mold From Spreading?
The only way to stop mold from spreading through your home is to kill the mold in your basement. However, this process can be labor-intensive and requires you to wear special protective gear to prevent dangerous exposure to mold. Because killing and controlling mold is such a big job, in most cases, it’s best to hire a professional mold remediation specialist. They can assess the extent of the mold damage and repair it.
- Basement mold must be completely killed and removed to prevent it from spreading through your home.
- Mold remediation is a big job that is best done by a professional company.
- Run this dehumidifier in your basement at least 12 hours per day to help slow the spread of mold.
In order to slow down mold growth in the short term, the best thing to do is to run a dehumidifier in your basement for 12–24 hours per day. A dehumidifier will remove excess moisture from the air, making your basement less friendly for mold. Although a dehumidifier won’t solve your mold problem, it can help slow the spread of mold until it can be professionally removed.
Does Basement Mold Go Away By Itself?
Moldy basements won’t become mold-free on their own. The high humidity levels in most basements and crawl spaces encourage rampant mold growth. Even a large dehumidifier won’t entirely kill mold in your basement. Mold is a very aggressive fungus that requires a lot of work to kill.
- Mold in your basement will not go away on its own.
- Easy remedies like dehumidifiers or scrubbing away mold with soapy water will not kill mold permanently.
- It’s important to take serious measures to stop mold from spreading through your entire house.
Home remedies for killing mold—such as soapy water or vinegar—are mostly ineffective. They can remove the appearance of mold for a brief time but the mold will grow back on porous surfaces, such as wood and painted walls. Do not ignore a mold problem in your basement—it must be addressed quickly to kill the mold.
Can Mold Spread From Your Basement and Affect Rooms Upstairs?
If you’ve spotted signs of mold in your basement and are wondering if the rest of your house could be affected, keep these facts in mind:
- Mold can easily spread from your basement to upstairs portions of your home.
- Tiny mold spores can be spread through your home through air ducts and natural air circulation.
- Humans and pets can bring mold from the basement to upstairs areas on shoes, clothing, and fur.
- Mold in your basement should be addressed. Moldy conditions can cause allergic reactions and damage to your home.
- The mold in your basement will not go away on its own.
- Hiring a professional mold remediation service is the best way to get rid of mold in your basement and the rest of your home.
- Be very careful when working to remove mold—you must wear gloves, eye, and breath protection to prevent exposure to mold spores.
Growth of mold in your basement can signal a larger mold invasion in your home. Work with mold removal experts to prevent damage to your home and eliminate the medical risk of mold allergy.
