When you clean your bathroom, you may be cleaning to remove soap scum, lime scale, and something that you consider to be mold. You probably see the gray or white fuzzy fungus often referred to as 'house mold' on the walls of your bathroom or maybe you notice a dark gray area inside the grout in your shower or along the top of your tub. Since you and the other members of your family have been fighting this good fight for years, you may be under the impression that house mold is perfectly normal and not dangerous. You think nothing of this mold, spray some bleach on it and move on to your next chore.

In reality, there is no such thing as benign house mold. In fact, the fungus you are fighting in your bathroom is probably not actually mold but instead is mildew. Like mold, mildew is a fungus that grows in damp areas. Mildew can grow on walls, furniture, ceilings, grout and the like. Mildew, however, is non-toxic and can be safely cleaned by untrained individuals using over the counter cleansers.

Mildew vs. Mold - One of the ways you can distinguish mold from mildew is by color. Mildew is gray or white. It is never black. Mold can be yellow, red, brown, green or black (the black will also have a touch of a dark forest green). When you find a fuzzy gray or white fungus in your bathroom or shower, you can be relatively confident that you are dealing with mildew rather than mold.

If ever you find the fungus in a color other than white or gray you need to call a mold inspector before attempting to clean it up. Black mold is especially dangerous since it can be toxic, and unless you are professionally trained to determine the potential danger of a mold situation, it is best if you call a professional.

Where Does Mold Grow? Mold does not restrict itself to your bathroom. Mold will happily proliferate on pipes, near leaks, on ceilings, behind wallpaper and drywall, under flooring, on furniture and anywhere else it finds a damp environment with some type of food. Mold colonies are living organisms that break down whatever object they build their colony on and use it for food.

Why Can't I Clean It? If you find mold as you clean your home or move furniture out of storage, it's important that you don't attempt to clean it yourself. While attempting to clean mold yourself, you may be doing nothing more than disturbing the spores and making them airborne. Once you've done this, the airborne spores can go on to settle into another room of your home and re-colonize within as little as one day. In addition to that, unless you have the proper gear, you will be inhaling many spores and putting your health at risk.

The best defense against mold is a good offense. Calling in a professional to complete a mold test or mold investigation is the best way to identify a mold infestation early-before your family begins getting sick. While mold does have a smell, you can not rely on the fact that you will smell it if it is in your home. The same goes for being able to see mold; mold can be under your home or in rooms, like an attic, that you visit infrequently. It could be growing and sending off airborne spores without you realizing it.