Do air purifiers help with indoor mold?

Do air purifiers help with indoor mold?

Mold is a fungus that grows in multicellular structures and you can witness mold anywhere indoor or outdoor. While indoor mold is responsible for causing several health diseases, outdoor mold is not known to be harmful. However, both types of mold can cause major damage to buildings and other objects.

Mold needs suitable temperature and a humid environment to thrive. It can often be found in basements, bathrooms, and kitchens. To get rid of mold spores, you can use air purifiers to reduce the mold spores from the air.

So, do air purifiers help with indoor mold? Let’s find out.

What is Mold?

Molds are microscopic organisms that form a fungus when they grow in warm, humid, and dark environments. Mold serves as a decomposition agent in nature and is essential to break down organic waste such as plants.

Like other living organisms, mold needs water, food, and proper temperature to survive and grow. Once mold spores find their way into your home, they can start to grow and multiply rapidly.

Mold reproduces through tiny pores that are released into the air. When these mold spores land on a humid place, they begin to grow colonies. Remember that certain surfaces are ideal for mold growth like Cladosporium, which mostly grows on carpet, wood, and paper.

How Does Mold Grow?

Mold spores can enter your home through open windows, doors, ventilation systems, etc. OAfter that, if they find a suitable environment, they will start to grow. Mostly, mold needs four things to grow:

1. Moisture – Mold needs humidity to grow and thrive. It can come from many sources, including leaks, condensation, spills, or high humidity.
2. Organic Material – Mold also needs something to eat. The most common mold food source is cellulose and they can feed themselves from wood, paper, cardboard, and insulation as cellulose is present in these materials. 
3. Warmth – Mold prefers warm temperatures between 77 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Darkness – Mold also needs darkness to grow since it doesn’t photosynthesis as plants do.

How to identify mold?

Mold can be in many colors, including white, black, green, yellow, brown, and gray. It can also have a musty smell. If you notice mold growing in your home or notice a musty smell, call a professional mold remediation company right away.

Here are a few of the ways you can identify mold in your indoor space:

1- Perform a visual inspection

Look for any signs of mold growth in your home, like the basement, bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room. Mold can often grow on walls, ceilings, floors, and HVAC systems.

2- Run a beach swap test

If you suspect mold in your home but can’t see it, you can perform a beach swap test. To do this, you will need to tape a piece of white paper to the wall or surface in question and wait 24-48 hours. If mold spores are present, they appear on the paper as black or green spots.

3- Use a mold test kit

You can get mold test kits online and at most hardware stores. These kits will help you identify the type of mold present in your home and the concentration.

4- Examine the area if it is crumbled

Mold can often cause the surface it is growing on to crumble. If you see any cracks or crumbling, mold is likely to present.

5- Look for water damage

Water damage is often a sign of mold growth. Check for any leaks, condensation, or spills in your home. These can all lead to mold growth.

Type of Household Molds

You may have heard about the mold on the cheese called Penicillium. While it may not sound dangerous, many other types of mold can cause severe health issues, especially immune and respiratory problems.

Here are the 4 main types of molds that can cause potential damage to humans and pets:

Allergenic Mold

Allergenic molds are the most common type of mold. It can cause several respiratory issues, including asthma, sneezing, runny nose, and coughing. In some cases, mold is also responsible for causing skin irritation.

Pathogenic Mold

The second most common type is Pathogenic mold. It can cause serious health problems (even for healthy people) and are dangerous for individuals with a compromised respiratory and immune system.

Toxigenic Mold

Toxigenic molds are the third most common type of mold. They can produce toxins that can cause various health problems, including respiratory infections, fevers, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Potentially Hazardous Mold

Potentially hazardous molds are the fourth most common type of mold. They can cause various health problems, including respiratory infections, fevers, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Common types of indoor mold

You need to understand the indoor mold types if you want to get rid of it. Here are the most common types of indoor mold:

1- Aureobasidium

Aureobasidium is a type of mold that can be found growing on painted surfaces, wood, paper, and fabric. It is often pink, black, or brown. Aureobasidium can cause various respiratory problems, including runny nose, watery eyes, and coughing.

2-Cladosporium

Cladosporium is a fungus that attacks hardwood floors, causing large black, yellow, or green clusters to spread rapidly if not treated. In fact, Cladosporium can survive in both warm and cold temperatures, which allows it to spread via floorboards. Because of its ability to endure in both hot and cold conditions, Cladosporium is often found in areas with high humidity.

3- Penicillium

Penicillium is a type of mold that is often blue or green and it is found on bread, fruits, cheese, and vegetables. This mold is associated with several health issues like chronic sinusitis, asthma, and allergic reactions.

4- Alternaria

Alternaria is an allergic mold that may be found everywhere, including in your home. It’s often discovered on dirt or plants outside but might also enter through open windows or doors. Once inside, it can grow on many surfaces, including wallpaper, carpeting, fabric, and upholstery.

5- Mucor

This mold type mostly appears in poorly ventilated places with high humidity like air ducts, near AC units, or damp carpets. Mucor can cause nasal stuffiness, throat irritation, and wheezing. People with weak immune systems or respiratory problems are at a higher risk for more serious mucor infections.

6- Stachybotrys chartarum (Also called ‘black mold’)

Stachybotrys chartarum is a greenish-black mold that can grow on materials like cellulose (e.g., paper, cardboard) that have been soaked in water for some time. This mold is often associated with water damage and can cause various health problems, including respiratory infections, fevers, diarrhea, and vomiting. It is one of the most dangerous molds because it produces toxins that can potentially cause serious health problems.

What are the Mold health risks?

Mold sensitivity is not the same and it varies from person to person, so you may not have any symptoms while someone else in the same home is dealing with severe problems. Some people are more susceptible to mold than others, including infants, children, the elderly, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems or respiratory problems.

Mold can be a reason for several respiratory illnesses, including sneezing, runny nose, asthma, and coughing. In severe cases, mold can cause difficulty breathing, chest pain, and bronchitis. Mold can also cause other health problems, including fevers, diarrhea, and vomiting.

What are the symptoms of mold exposure?

Below are a few of the common mold allergy symptoms:

• Coughing
• Headaches
• Sneezing
• A sore throat
• WheezingSinusitis
• A stuffy or runny nose
• Watery or itchy eyes
• Skin irritation or rashes
• Fatigue

However, mold can cause difficulty breathing, chest pain, and bronchitis in people with respiratory issues like asthma.

Do air purifiers help with indoor mold?

Yes, air purifiers can play an important role in removing mold spores from the air and stop its further growth by not allowing it to reproduce. Most air purifiers capture the mold spores from the air and prevent them from growing further. However, it is important to note that air purifiers will not kill or remove mold from surfaces. 

If you are unsure if there is mold but are concerned about it, you can use air purifiers as they will help capture mold spores; however, the spores that are not captured will continue to grow.

If you have a mold problem in your house, use traditional surface treatments to prevent mold spores from spreading throughout the house along with a quality air purifier. Moreover, air purifiers will also help to reduce mold odors.

How do air filters help with mold?

If your air filter has Needlepoint and Pulse Ionization filters combined with advanced photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), it will help reduce and prevent mold.

Pulse ionization is an electrical process that creates negative and positive ions. These ions are attached to particles in the air, making them too heavy to float in the air. That’s why they fall to the ground. The PCO process uses a UV light to break down mold spores and other contaminants into harmless carbon dioxide and water vapor.

The Needlepoint Bi-Polar Ionization works by sending positive and negative ions through the air. These ions attach themselves to mold spores and other contaminants, making them too heavy to float and thus fall to the ground.

Do air purifiers help to reduce dampness?

Yes, air purifiers can help to reduce dampness in your home by reducing the air mositures and spores. However, you can also use dehumidifiers to keep the humidity level low in your home.

Air purifiers are more effective in removing particles, germs, and allergens from the air. Pollen, mold spores, and smoke are just a few pollutants they can remove. A dehumidifier does not eliminate these irritants; however, it makes the indoor environment less conducive to mold and mildew development and may help reduce symptoms for those with allergies and asthma.

What is the best air purifier for mold?

The best quality air filter with needlepoint and pulse ionization can diminish the dangerous ultrafine nanoparticles. The Triad Aer air purifier has advanced photocatalytic oxidation and scalable purification, which will help you eliminate mold. Its electrostatic filtration makes the static electricity attract particles and destroy them.

The Triad Aer is a high quality air purifier with many features that make it ideal for use in homes with mold problems. It has a high CADR rating and can quickly purify the air in large rooms.

Moreover, it comes in 3 different sizes:

• Shield Aer: Best for travel, shopping, and walking.
• Mini Aer Single Room: Best for single rooms, hotel rooms, and cars.
• Triad Aer V3: Best for the whole house and commercial buildings.

The Triad Aer V3 is the most powerful of the three models and covers more area as compared to the other 2 models. It can quickly purify the air in large rooms and is ideal for use in homes or offices with mold problems. Also, it utilized the top-of-the-line technology- advanced photocatalytic oxidation with scalable purification.

Conclusion

To sum it up, air purifiers can help reduce mold spores and other contaminants in the air. However, they will not eliminate the problem. If you are facing mold issues, you should invest in a quality air purifier along with traditional surface treatments to prevent the spores from spreading. 

So what are you waiting for? Get your triad aer air purifier now!