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Click Here for Three (3) Common Misconceptions about Using Drywall in a Basement

basement mold

Basement gameroom with mold on painted gypsum board, baseboard, and carpet.

 

What Is Household Mold
& How Common Is It?

Mold is any of various fungi that often cause disintegration of organic matter. When molds grow, it's usually in damp, moist or wet places like office windows, behind walls and under floors, above ceiling tiles, behind shower walls or basements. Mold grows wherever there are wet cellulose materials they can feed on, such as wood, ceiling tiles, walls, plasterboard, carpets or drapes. All mold sources contaminate the air you breathe.

"Fifty percent (50%) of homes contain problem molds. A new medical study attributes nearly 100% of chronic sinus infections to mold. A 300% increase in the asthma rate over the past 20 years has been linked to molds."

-- as reported in USA WEEKEND, Dec. 3-5, 1999

A 1994 Harvard University School of Public Health study of 10,000 homes in the United States and Canada found half had conditions of water damage and mold associated with a 50% to 100% increase in respiratory symptoms.

Molds can cause hearing loss, vomiting, memory loss and asthmatic lungs.

Health-care professionals now know that molds can cause allergies, trigger asthma attacks and increase susceptibility to colds and flu. Anyone with a genetic predisposition can become allergic if exposed repeatedly to high enough levels.

Asthma and Mold

Asthma affects more than 17 million Americans, including five million children. Patients may find their condition triggered or worsened when exposed to allergens to which their immune system is sensitive. Mold is one such allergen.

Alzheimer's and Mold

The effects of toxic mold (Stachybotrys) are similar to Alzheimer's Disease in such ways as the memory loss and inability to think logically. Medical researchers strongly believe that environmental factors help trigger what is ultimately a genetic condition.

 

Your Basement is Naturally Damp and Moist: The Perfect Environment for Growing Mold

Impressive Basement's wall panels are Mold Resistant. They are not a food source for mold. Without a food source, mold cannot grow.

Wood studs in your basement are a food source for mold. Drywall is made up of paper and cellulose - organic materials that are also food sources for mold.

Combine these food sources with the natural damp environment of a basement, and mold spores which are everywhere, and you have the perfect growing environment for mold. But you can't see it because it is behind your walls.

Click the PLAY button below to watch the eight- minute video. See what can happen when drywall is used in a basement.



Three Common Misconceptions about using Drywall in a Basement

  1. Drywall has been used for years in basements so it must be safe.
    That is because, other than paneling (which is also a food source for mold), nothing else was available.
  2. I know of a drywall basement that has been done for years and it still looks fine.
    A drywall finished basement might appear to be OK on the surface. Can you really be sure that there is no mold growing behind the drywall, between the drywall and the foundation of the basement?
  3. I can get a drywall-finished basement for less than one of these basement finishing systems.
    That is absolutely not true. When comparing apples to apples, if a drywall-finished basement was able to offer you all of the features and benefits of a basement finishing system, the drywall-finished basement would actually cost more. Additionally, when someone decides to go with a drywall-finished basement because they think that it costs less, they can count on spending more money in their basement at a later date - due to damage from moisture.

Do you want to help protect your family from the health risks of mold? Refinish your basement a mold-resistant system.

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or Call 412-276-7757 / 1-800-541-0087