Mold in my room?

Question

My room is in the basement, and my room has carpet, but one of the storage rooms behind my room has a leak and now one corner in my room has mold. It is just from rain not drying and getting gross. Is it harmful? Would it give me head aches, because I have noticed in the last few months head aches more often. Would it be harmful for my dogs?

Answer 1

My local Home Depot and Lowe's both have home mold test kits.  They can tell you which kind of mold it is.

But otherwise there is no way any of us can diagnose your mold over the internet.

Answer 2

well it sort of depends on the mold most of it is harmful to both animals and people and u should get that leak checked out and if u start feeling sick maybe u should c a doctor and the head aches might come from being stressed hope i helped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

i am quoting from a health book i have...

If exposed to elevated levels of indoor mold, some or many residents can experience one or more of most common, mold health symptoms: allergies, asthma, bleeding lungs, breathing difficulties, cancer, central nervous system problems, recurring colds, chronic coughing, coughing up with blood, dandruff problems (chronic) that do not go away despite use of anti-dandruff shampoos, dermatitis, skin rashes, diarrhea, and/or; Eye and vision problems, fatigue (chronic, excessive, or continued) and/or general malaise, flu symptoms (chronic), sudden hair loss, headaches, hemorrhagic pneumonitis, hives, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, irritability, itching (of the nose, mouth, eyes, throat, skin or any other area), kidney failure, learning difficulties or mental dysfunction or personality changes, memory loss or memory difficulties; and/or Open skin sores and lacerations, peripheral nervous system effects, redness of the sclera (white of your eyes), runny nose (rhinitis) or thick, green slime coming out of nose (from sinus cavities), seizures, sinus congestion, sinus problems, and chronic sinusitis, skin redness, sleep disorders, sneezing fits, sore throat, tremors (shaking), verbal dysfunction (trouble in speaking), vertigo (feelings of dizziness, lightheadedness, faintness and unsteadiness), and vomiting.

So get rid of carpet...or try to move....but do not take this problem lightly.....

Answer 4

Here is some info from Wikipedia.  

Health effects

    Main article: Mold health issues

Exposure to bacteria and fungus in indoor air has emerged as a significant health problem in residential environments as well as in occupational settings[citation needed].

Mold spores can be allergenic, causing irritations of eye, nose, throat, and lungs. In response to this, environmental health research has yielded tests such as the MELISA test, which can determine whether or not a person is allergic to a specific mold.

Molds may excrete liquids or gases; not all can be detected by smell. Some molds generate toxic liquid or gaseous compounds, called mycotoxins. Molds that produce mycotoxins are sometimes referred to as toxic molds. Of these molds, some only produce mycotoxins under specific growing conditions. Mycotoxins are harmful or lethal to humans and animals when exposure is high enough.

Dermatophytes are the parasitic fungi that cause skin infections such as Athlete's foot and Jock Itch. Most dermataphyte fungi take the form of a mold, as opposed to a yeast, with appearance (when cultured) that is similar to other molds.

Opportunistic infection by molds such as Penicillium marneffei and Aspergillus fumigatus is a common cause of illness and death among immunocompromised people, including people with AIDS.

Answer 5

If you have a problem with mold, you need to watch it. There are some toxic molds as I am sure you seem to be aware of.

Simple solution though! :0) Attack it with bleach. It's time I do this too.

Get yourself an empty spray bottle, fill it about 1/6th with bleach, fill the rest with water then a couple of drops of dish washing liquid. Spray away! That should kill it. You may want to do this every 2 weeks.

The carpet can be a problem.. Do you need to have a carpet? or is it at least not a shaggy one? Spray that down too. (Check on a corner for color loss first) If you can spray under the carpet, that would be really good too.

Another thing to keep the mold down would be to keep a fan on. A big floor fan. Move it around every few days. Keep the air circulating. :0)  Open windows are a big plus too.