Black mold: what to know

"Black mold" usually refers to Stachybotrys chartarum, a greenish-black mold that grows on materials with a lot of cellulose — drywall paper, ceiling tile, wood — that have stayed wet. But many molds are black or dark green, and you can't tell the species by looking.

Mold exposure symptoms: what CDC and EPA say

The first thing the CDC says about it is that living or working around damp, moldy material may cause a range of health effects, or none at all. Who gets symptoms, and how bad they are, depends more on the person than on the color of the mold.

Common symptoms

• Nose, throat and chest. The CDC lists a stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing or wheezing.
• Eyes and skin. The CDC adds burning eyes and skin rash. The EPA's mold and health page describes the allergic version as hay fever-type symptoms: sneezing, runny nose, red eyes and skin rash.
• Irritation without an allergy. The EPA says mold exposure can irritate the eyes, skin, nose, throat and lungs of people who are allergic to mold and people who aren't.
• Asthma flare-ups. The EPA says molds can trigger asthma episodes in sensitive people with asthma.

Who is at higher risk

• People with asthma or a mold allergy, who the CDC says may have severe reactions.
• People with weakened immune systems or chronic lung disease, who can get mold infections in their lungs.
• Workers exposed to large amounts of mold, where the CDC notes severe reactions such as fever or shortness of breath.

The CDC's page also summarizes a 2004 Institute of Medicine review that found enough evidence to link indoor mold exposure with upper respiratory symptoms, cough and wheeze in otherwise healthy people, with asthma symptoms in people who have asthma, and with hypersensitivity pneumonitis in people susceptible to that immune condition. The CDC's long-standing advice is that you don't need to know which kind of mold you have: all mold should be treated the same way when it comes to health risk and removal. The EPA adds that dead mold can still cause reactions, so it needs to be removed, not just sprayed.

When to see a doctor

If anyone in the house has symptoms that get better when they're away and worse at home, wheezing or shortness of breath, an asthma flare-up, or a weakened immune system, that's a question for a doctor, not a contractor. The EPA's advice for anyone with health concerns is to talk to a health professional before starting cleanup, and to leave the work to someone else if you have asthma or a mold allergy.

This site can't give medical advice. If you or someone in your household has symptoms you think are related to mold, talk to a doctor.

What to do if you find it

1. Don't disturb it more than you have to. Scrubbing or tearing out dry, moldy material can release spores.
2. Find the water. Black mold in particular is a sign that something has stayed wet for a while — a slow leak, a past flood, condensation.
3. Size it up. EPA's rule of thumb: under about 10 square feet, most homeowners can handle cleanup following EPA guidelines; see how to do a small mold cleanup yourself. Larger areas, mold inside walls, or mold in the HVAC system call for a professional.
4. Remove porous materials. Moldy drywall, insulation, and carpet usually have to come out.

For anything past a small patch, see mold remediation steps and containment for how a professional job runs.

What black mold removal involves

Black mold removal is the same job as any other mold removal; the color doesn't change the method. What changes the job is size and what the mold is growing on:

• Porous materials come out. Stachybotrys grows on wet drywall paper, ceiling tile and wood products. Drywall, insulation and carpet with growth in them are cut out, bagged and replaced, not cleaned.
• Containment above 10 square feet. The EPA's guide treats areas larger than about 10 square feet as jobs where you should consult its remediation guidance, and professionals typically seal the area with plastic and run air filtration so disturbed spores don't spread through the house.
• No species test needed. The CDC says it isn't necessary to determine what type of mold is present; all of it is handled the same way. Paying a lab to confirm it's "black mold" rarely changes the plan.
• The water gets fixed. Black mold means something stayed wet for a long time. The leak, flood damage or condensation has to be found and fixed, or it grows back.

Black mold removal near you

A patch bigger than about 10 square feet, growth inside a wall or the ductwork, or mold that came back after you scrubbed it: that's the point to have a pro look. For black mold removal near you, call us from Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Benton, Bryant, Sherwood, Jacksonville, Maumelle or Cabot. Before anyone starts, ask where the water came from and what they plan to cut out versus clean. Those two answers tell you more than a lab report naming the species.

Renting?

The Arkansas Department of Health notes there are currently no State of Arkansas or federal laws requiring property owners to remediate mold in buildings. Tell your landlord in writing about leaks and mold, and keep copies and photos.