Mold In The Home – an Introduction
Mold in the home is a serious problem that can occur where you might not even suspect or be able to see it. Thankfully with the wealth of information available to people on the Internet and otherwise, many homeowners or renters are aware of the warning signs and how to prevent mold and mildew from forming in the first place. However, there are still a lot of concerns about mold in the home, whether it’s about how to prevent it, how to get rid of it, how to know what to watch for, or even what symptoms to be aware of in case you’re allergic or getting sick as a result of it.
We’re going to be offering several posts on different mold topics for you, so this is just the first introduction to more information to come in helping you keep your indoor air quality safe and your home mold-free.
What is mold?
Mold is comprised of microscopic fungi that can grow just about anywhere that there’s moisture. Thriving off of the decaying matter that it inhabits, mold reproduces through spores, many surviving in airborne environments as well as on surfaces. Mold is everywhere, but we’re only able to see it when it grows in colonies (the blotchy, fuzzy clusters you see on food or surfaces in your home). Mold is essential in breaking down organic compounds like food or other biodegradable items like antibiotics.
What types of Mold are there, and are they all dangerous?
There are thousands of mold species in existence, and with such a versatile playing field for growth and expansion, it’s easy to see why it can be confusing to identify what molds are dangerous and what aren’t. Some of the most familiar, helpful mold is evident in foods like blue cheese. This mold is harmless to you and lends the cheese its tangy flavor and pungent aroma. Other mold, such as the fuzzy kind that grows on fruit, is much more harmful if ingested in enough quantity because it produces harmful compounds known as mycotoxins. One of the most important and dangerous molds to be aware of in your home is known as black mold (see picture). We will dedicate more posts specifically to this mold on the blog.
Is mold easy to get rid of?
Since mold lives everywhere, even when you can’t see it, it’s safe to say it’d be impossible to eradicate all of the mold in your life. We don’t want you to feel paranoid and go scrubbing every surface you touch and every food you eat! But for the more dangerous molds, it’s important to find ways to get rid of the colonies before they spread further. Getting rid of mold can be a difficult process. It involves eliminating moisture and identifying the source of the problem, which isn’t always straightforward. We will be offering some information on how to treat a mold problem and prevent further outbreaks.
Until our next mold post, please feel free to explore some more mold information with the following resources that we found useful for this post:
The EPA’s Mold Resources Site
Wikipedia
