As autumn approaches and folks start spending more and more time indoors, it’s the perfect opportunity to think more about your indoor air quality. Do you know what kind of particles are floating around in your home? Are you concerned about staying healthy, feeling well, and enjoying fresh-smelling air to breathe all winter, while you’re cooped up?
One of the deeply unpleasant things that floats around in the air in many homes is mold. Did you know that mold is not just an unsightly greenish fuzz on forgotten leftovers? Did you know it contaminates your air as well? We’ve got the details on exactly why mold is so bad for your indoor air quality and what you can do to keep your air free of that nasty contaminant.
The Science of Mold
When you see mold in your home, you are only seeing what is known as the fruiting body, which is just part of the life cycle of mold. And when you don’t see mold, but you can smell that tell-tale mildew odor, you know it’s growing somewhere. It’s just out of sight. This makes perfect sense, because mold grows best in dark, undisturbed places.
The part of mold’s life cycle that contaminates your air is when it reproduces. The fruiting body of the mold releases spores into the air. These microscopic particles contain all the genetic information of the mold, like the seeds of a plant. They float through the air until they settle somewhere, and if they’ve landed a place with a bit of moisture and not too much light, they grow new mold colonies.
The Toxicity of Mold
Many people have mold allergies. Exposure to these spores causes allergy symptoms like itchy skin, watery eyes, runny noses, and respiratory irritation. The spores can also cause worsening symptoms in people who have respiratory conditions like asthma. Some molds are so toxic that the mycotoxins they release can cause illness even in otherwise healthy people with no allergies!
Eliminating Mold
Mold remediation, the clean-up of extensive mold colonies, is costly and time-consuming, and it requires the use of harsh chemicals. It’s generally done by professionals, and sometimes there’s so much damage that portions of the home, especially wood, can be unsalvageable. You don’t want it to get to that point!
To eliminate mold, you should target the air. Preventing the mold from reproducing will stop new mold colonies from growing. It will make your air smell fresher. And it will eliminate those toxins that can cause so much illness and irritation! And you can destroy those mold spores right in the air using nothing but light, no chemicals involved.
UV air purifiers scramble the DNA of mold spores. They’re installed inside air ducts, and they purify all the air that passes through. The mold will no longer be able to reproduce, your home will smell fresh, and you’ll have healthier air to breathe—especially considering that the UV light also targets other pathogens like bacteria and viruses!
For more information about UV air purification in Winnetka, IL, just reach out to us.
Contact ServiceMax with any questions about indoor air quality.