Signs and Symptoms of Exposure to Mold in My Apartment With a Leaking Roof

Musty Odor

• Mold has an unmistakable musty odor that smells like nothing else. It can perhaps best be described as a thick, sour stench in the air. The strength of the odor depends on the amount of mold growth that has occurred. The odor itself results from gases produced by the mold spores as part of their growth cycle. These gases, called microbial volatile organic compounds, or mVOCs, will continue to produce odor until you neutralize the mold colony.
  
  

Visible Mold

• Mold can appear in many forms. There may exist over 400 thousand different types of mold, and they can assume just about every color in the rainbow. Some appear black and green, while others appears white or yellow. Brown, gray, red and even pink molds also exist. But whatever mold type you have, the colony usually appears in blotches or patches. Since mold requires moisture, the patches typically appear wet and thick. On porous surfaces like walls, the colony may assume a thin and velvety appearance. If your water problem results from a roof leak, pay special attention to your ceiling and carpet.
  
  

Health Effects

• Beyond the visible signs, mold can manifest itself in the way it pollutes your airways. If you spend any time breathing in a moldy environment, some spores and fumes will inevitably invade your upper respiratory system, and many of these molds can manifest symptoms like difficulty breathing, coughing, wheezing respiratory infection and sinus difficulties. If you have mold allergies, you may even experience rashes and flu-like symptoms when in the presence of allergenic mold varieties. In a small, enclosed space like an apartment, these types of symptoms can manifest themselves very quickly.
  
  

Act Quickly

• If you have mold growing in your apartment as a result of a roof leak, contact the management at once. Water damage is not simply a maintenance issue, it is a public health issue, and if the management fails to take action, you can contact your local health department about the problem. If you wait too long, the problem will worsen, and you may expose yourself to long-term health effects. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that certain “toxigenic” molds like black mold may actually cause cancer after long-term exposure.