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- Molds grow everywhere. Molds only become a problem when they start growing indoors and the air inside your home becomes concentrated with allergenic spores and mycotoxins, a chemical toxin.
- Airborne mold spores coming from the outside are not a problem - not until they find a damp indoor haven ( a roof or plumbing leak, or high indoor humidity). The mold spores and mycotoxins are recirculated throughout your home by the HVAC system and can be a serious health problem, particularly to sensitive or allergic individuals. The elderly, infants and people who are immune compromized (people on chemotherapy, AIDS patients,etc.) are particularly at risk for mold-related health problems.
- Molds can cause many health problems, including allergic and toxic reactions. Allergic reactions such as asthma attacks, chronic sinusitis and other respiratory problems, are much more common especially among people with a family history of allergies. Recent studies have also suggested that certain mycotoxin-producing molds may cause pulmonary hemorrhaging in infants and memory impairment in older children and adults. The mycotoxins appear to have toxic effects on the lungs and nervous system, though doctors are not certain exactly how the damage occurs.
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- Molds need water to grow. When a porous material like wood, ceiling tile, wallpaper or wallboard becomes wet, it becomes a food source for mold. Mold cannot survive without water.
- Testing for mold can be done without bringing in experts. If there is a musty odor or an earthy odor, or if you can see the mold, find the moisture source and fix it.
However, mold can grow behind walls and may not show up in air samplings. Air samplings do not always show mold spores, especially those that are not airborne or those that are dead.
- Dead molds are just as toxic as live molds - they can still make you sick.
- Molds that produce mycotoxins, such as Stachybotrys and Trichoderma, present a greater hazard than common allergenic molds like Cladosporium and Alternaria.
- Keep your home and the air inside it dry - run a dehumidifier to keep the humidity in the air dry. But remember to clean the dehumidifier often because it too can become a source of mold contamination.
Purify your indoor air by disinfection, oxidation and particulate control.
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- With no means of self-locomotion, bacteria are passed from person to person by contact and they also float through the air. Indeed, every speck of dust is a miniature flying carpet.
- Outdoors, various forces of nature (wind, rain, lightning, sunlight, ozone) have a dispersing and sometimes a bactericidal affect on these organisms; consequently, outdoor air tends to remain uniformly safe.
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- Bacteria live in your kitchen sink, on your counter tops and range, in your refrigerator, in the bathroom, in the cooling/heating system, in your bed, on the floor and everywhere else in your home.
Air purification units will purify your indoor air !!
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Go back to the Mold Fact info page