Mold and Kids, Seniors and Asthma: Who's Most at Risk

The mold health risk for children, asthma and allergy sufferers, seniors, and people with weakened immune systems is higher than for healthy adults. Health Canada names these groups as more susceptible to the effects of indoor mold, which include irritated eyes, nose and throat, coughing, wheezing and worse asthma. In a home with someone in one of these groups, mold should be dealt with sooner and with more care.

Who Health Canada says is more susceptible

• Infants and children
• Seniors
• People with asthma
• People with allergies
• People with other respiratory conditions
• People with weakened immune systems, for example from illness or from certain medical treatments

More susceptible means these people are more likely to be affected, and may be affected by smaller amounts. It does not mean that every child or senior in a house with mold will get sick, and it does not mean healthy adults are immune. We are a remediation company, so the medical side belongs to your doctor. What we can speak to is the building.

Mold health risk for children with asthma

Asthma is the condition with the clearest link to damp housing. Health agencies, including Health Canada and the World Health Organization, connect dampness and mold in homes with more respiratory symptoms and with asthma that is harder to keep under control. Mold is a recognized trigger for many people with asthma, along with dust mites, pet dander, smoke and pollen.

If a child's asthma is flaring more often, needing more reliever medication, or is noticeably worse at home than away, tell the child's doctor and mention any dampness or mold in the house. Ask whether the home should be part of the asthma plan. Do not change medication on your own in response to something you found in the basement.

Why infants and young children are more exposed

Small children breathe faster than adults relative to their size, and their lungs and immune systems are still developing. They also live closer to the problem. They crawl and play on floors and carpets where dust and spores settle, they put their hands and toys in their mouths, and they tend to spend more hours at home. Finished basements are often used as playrooms, and basements are the dampest part of most houses in this region.

Seniors and people with weakened immune systems

Older adults are more likely to have an existing heart or lung condition that mold can aggravate, and many spend most of their day indoors. People whose immune systems are suppressed, such as some cancer patients, transplant recipients and people on certain long-term medications, are in a different category. For them, some molds can in rare cases cause infections, which is a separate matter from irritation or allergy. Anyone in that situation should ask their care team for specific advice about mold at home, and should not be in the house during any cleanup that disturbs it.

Practical steps for a higher-risk household

1. Keep humidity in range. Use a hygrometer and aim for about 50% or lower in summer and around 30% in cold weather. Run a dehumidifier in the basement through the humid months.
2. Look where your higher-risk person spends time. Check the bedroom, the playroom and the bathroom they use, including behind furniture on outside walls and around windows.
3. Act on small things early. Wipe window condensation, fix drips, and clean small patches when you first see them.
4. Have someone else do the cleaning. A person with asthma, allergies or a weakened immune system should not be the one scrubbing mold, and should be out of the room while it is done.
5. Rethink the basement. If it smells musty, move the playroom or the bedroom upstairs until the dampness is sorted out.
6. Dry water quickly. After any leak or spill onto carpet or drywall, get it dry within a day or two, before growth starts.

Health Canada considers one to three patches, each under a square metre, small enough for a healthy adult to clean with detergent and water while wearing gloves, eye protection and an N95 mask. In a higher-risk household we would lean toward getting help a little earlier than that, particularly if the growth is in a bedroom or keeps returning.

Keeping vulnerable people clear during remediation

Removal work disturbs mold, so the setup matters more than usual when someone susceptible lives in the house. Ask how the work area will be isolated. Standard practice under IICRC S520 is a sealed plastic containment kept under negative air pressure with HEPA-filtered equipment, so that air flows into the work area and is filtered before it is exhausted. Bagged material should leave by the shortest route, and the area should be HEPA vacuumed and wiped down before the plastic comes down.

Even with good containment, it is reasonable for an infant, a person with severe asthma or someone who is immunocompromised to stay elsewhere while the work is under way, especially if it is in or near their bedroom. Ask your doctor if you are unsure. Tell the contractor about the situation when you request the quote so the plan and the schedule account for it. When you send us photos, a line saying who lives in the house and where the mold is relative to their rooms is all we need.

Common questions