The other day I took my normally hyperactive German Shepherd dog to the veterinarian. He looked weak and unresponsive and didn’t have much of an appetite. This concerned me a bit and so, I brought him to the vet.

But even more concerning was the diagnosis given to me by the vet. Apparently, my dog of three years had a bit of infection in his lungs and according to findings, the cause is black mold.

I didn’t know that I even had black mold infestation in my house! I generally kept a clean environment for my dog. But, in the interest of keeping my pet (and me, apparently) safe, I checked out the internet for the possible places of infestation.

I found out that a fungus that is scientifically named Stachybotrys Chartatum tends to take root in the grout between tiles. I looked around the house for places where I have tiles. There’s definitely none in the kitchen, as I have polished concrete counters. But the bathroom was another story; almost every surface was tiled.

I regularly clean my bathrooms. Maybe once every two weeks. But my focus has always been directed to the toilet seat and the tiles, and I’ve never taken notice of the grout in between. I have always scrubbed the grout, but not much was done in the way of getting it white. I actually like the contrast of the dark colored grout against the white tiles. But, as it happened, the dark color was harmful.

My findings online also said that scrubbing it would be particularly harmful, and advised to call in a professional instead. Which I did. So in a matter of days, we scheduled an appointment and they came by to clean the grout. They were just about done in a handful of hours.

Afterwards, I decided to clean up the place myself, dusting and checking out hard to reach areas for dust bunnies and dirt. I made sure to keep a note of which areas to clean up in the future, that way the house will be safe for my dog (and me).

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