Why Your Washing Machine May Be The Cause Of Your Asthma

Asthma is a chronic disease that makes breathing troublesome for more 20 million Americans. For most people, asthma is just an unfortunate part of their normal lives; they take medicines and use fast-acting inhalers to alleviate their symptoms. But for many people, an asthma attack is triggered by some sort of allergen. By simply removing or avoiding the allergen, the asthma symptoms may improve. One of the biggest triggers? Mold.

Mold

Mold is a fungus that thrives in damp conditions. It can grow anywhere in your home: in the shower, under wall paper and carpeting, in the basement, and even in unassuming places like your washing machine.

Mold can enter the body through various ways; the easiest being through inhalation. Mold produces spores that become airborne which can be easily inhaled, where they then launch an assault your respiratory system. Mold can also be ingested; this may occur if you eat a piece of moldy bread, or if a child chews on a piece of clothing that carries mold. This may trigger more internal symptoms such as nausea. Finally, mold can enter the body through skin contact. This may cause itching, swelling and infections in open wounds.

Asthma Trigger

Mold can cause problems for anyone; from coughing, sneezing and itchy, watery eyes, to more severe symptoms like fatigue, nausea, and fever and in some cases even death from serious allergic reactions.

For people who have higher sensitivities or known allergies to mold, inhaling mold can trigger an asthma attack. Asthma is an inflammation and swelling of the airways that causes them to constrict, making breathing very difficult.

Asthma attacks are the cause of more than 2 million emergency room visits every year. What some people might not realize is that they may have a mold problem right under their nose that’s to blame for their asthma.

Washing Machine Mold And Clothing Mildew

A washing machine is a standard household piece of equipment that we use every day. It “cleans” our clothes, so to think that it may be harboring mold that’s making us sick is unthinkable. But very possible.

Washing machine mold can be caused by a number of things: residual water; misuse of detergent and fabric softener; a dirty drain pump filter; lint, hair and dirt build-up under the agitator; and poor laundry habits like leaving wet clothes in the washer.

Washing machine mold can cause clothing mildew. Clothing mildew lives on your clothes and can be stinky and also quite harmful to your health. As you walk around all day, the mold spores are released from your clothes; making inhaling them impossible and ultimately triggering an asthma attack.

To eliminate and prevent washing machine mold and clothing mildew, use a washing machine cleaner like Smelly Washer. Smelly Washer uses all-natural ingredients to safely and effectively remove mold, fungus and odor from your washing machine and clothes.