Is mold on clothes a health emergency for kids?« Back to Previous Page
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My kids have been coughing non-stop for the past two weeks and I’m starting to panic. I just pulled out a bag of winter clothes from the back of our built-in wardrobe in our bedroom and found a bunch of them covered in black and greenish spots. We live in an older building in Bur Dubai and the room always feels a bit damp. How urgently do I need to get this professionally cleaned for my family's health?
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Mold on clothes is not typically a medical emergency requiring an ER visit, but it is a serious indoor air quality issue that demands prompt, professional attention, especially with children experiencing persistent respiratory symptoms.
The coughing your kids are experiencing is a common reaction to mold exposure, which can include allergy-like symptoms (sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes) and respiratory irritation. The dampness you describe in your Bur Dubai bedroom is the core problem; older buildings here are highly susceptible to condensation and high humidity, creating the perfect environment for mold to grow inside walls and enclosed spaces like wardrobes. For your family's health, you should treat this with high urgency. Do not attempt to clean the clothes yourself, as disturbing the mold will release a large number of spores into your bedroom's air, which you and your children will inhale. A professional inspection is the necessary first step. An expert will use a borescope to inspect inside the wall behind the wardrobe for a larger, hidden colony and take air quality samples to identify the spore types and concentration levels. This data is critical, as it determines the remediation scope—whether it's a surface clean or requires accessing the wall cavity. Until the inspection, keep the wardrobe closed and the bedroom door shut to contain the spores. Improve air circulation in the apartment by running exhaust fans and ensuring your AC unit is set to a reasonable temperature to help reduce humidity levels. |
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