2026-06-04 · Dave Kessler · 4 min read
Can Mold Make You Sick?
Some people notice nothing. Some people cannot be in the room. Both can be true.
Why this question keeps coming up
People want a yes or no before they pay for repairs. Bodies do not give a single yes or no. The building still needs to be dry either way.
What it looks like in York County
We hear this most when a finished basement became a bedroom in East York or Spring Garden. The person who sleeps there is the one who coughs. That is a reason to stop using the room until it is dry, not a reason to argue about species.
What to do
- Move sleeping and play out of musty rooms.
- Fix water and humidity.
- See a physician for real symptoms.
- Tell the doctor about the building, honestly.
What makes it worse
- Use a mail-order toxin panel as your only plan.
- Burn candles to “purify” the cellar.
- Keep a baby in a musty basement while you research.
See kids, pets, and basements.
Questions people also ask
+Can Mold Make You Sick
These pages are homeowner education from Radon Mitigation of York, written by Dave Kessler. They are not a medical diagnosis, a species identification, or an insurance determination. Color does not tell you which mold you have. If someone in the house is sick, talk to a physician. EPA's homeowner guidance treats roughly 10 square feet as the line where many people stop DIY cleanup and call a remediation crew — sooner if sewage, HVAC, or anyone immunocompromised is involved. We are a radon and basement crew. When we are already under a York house we will tell you what we see and what we would do in our own place. We do not pretend a radon fan is a mold remedy.