Facts About Toxic Black Mold That You Need To Know

One of the most dangerous molds that a person can have growing in their home or place of business is the one that we have all come to associate with the term “toxic black mold”. This is Stachybotrys chartarum and it is sometimes simply called “stachy” for short. The media has made it famous in the past few years and it has been largely responsible for the resurgence of the awareness of the dangers of mold. The health consequences of this mold living in your home are fairly dangerous and can even end in death in some extreme cases.

This mold is fond of growing on such things as wood that has been water damaged or in some cases, on paper or cardboard that has been piled up and allowed to be wet. It does not grow on plastic or on non-porous surfaces such as tile in the bathroom or the kitchen or on concrete or counter tops. Any wood or cellulose-based items that have been wetted and let to dry naturally will eventually become contaminated with mold and will probably end up spreading to the rest of your household. This particular kind of mold needs almost non-stop moisture or humidity to continue to live. It is typically a greenish-black color, slimy, and wet when it is found in the home and it needs such things as cotton, wood, or paper to grow for very long. Even though the wet spores of this mold do not get into the air very easily, if it is let to try, these spores will enter the air in your home as soon as the air is stirred by a fan or an air conditioner and this can be very hazardous.

This is one of the most dangerous kinds of mold that you can come into contact with. It has been known to kill a person’s brain cells and cause sicknesses that can have a similar effect as Alzheimer’s Disease. Symptoms of this include dizziness or disorientation of any kind, such as blanking out or forgetting what you were doing while you were in the middle of doing it or memory loss. If you are not old enough to be at risk to have Alzheimer’s Disease, it is advised that you see your doctor as soon as possible. If you are concerned that mold may exist, conduct some do-it-yourself mold tests in your home in order to rule out or identify mold as the cause.

Some common symptoms of mold exposure have been known to be pneumonia, headaches, bloody noses, or any other kind of respiratory issue. Mold also aggravates pre-existing conditions such as asthma or emphysema. Exposure for long periods of time can cause kidney failure, liver failure, or bleeding of the lungs in babies.

The Miracles Of Mold

Mold has been around for millions of years and while certain varieties of it can be quite harmful to our health, there are other varieties that have been used by human beings for years in order to improve our quality of life in one way or another. It has been used in foods, medicines, and to help decompose organic matter.

Many different kinds of foods have been made with mold over the years, one of the most famous of which is cheese. Blue cheese was invented quite by accident a long time ago when mold had started to grow in a block of cheese that had been left to age. It is salty, crumbly and is a somewhat acquired taste, if the blue mold veins of the cheese do not stop you from tasting it in the first place. Roquefort and gorgonzola are also made with molds. The culturing of just the right kind of mold to make these blue cheeses has become a science over the years and these moldy cheeses are often referred to as the “kings” of cheese.

Aspergillius oryzae or “koji-kin”, as it is known in Japan, has been used for centuries to create the Japanese alcoholic drink of sake. Without the magical koji, they say, there is no sake. Sake is not the only type of drink that uses the koji mold as an ingredient. It is sprinkled on top of steamed rice and provide the enzymes that are needed for making the sugar the yeast needs to grow. The mold has an immensely important role in the creation of sake and any brewer proud of his drink is sensitive about its handling. Depending upon the flavor wanted in the sake, the koji-creation process can be affected by different temperatures, the kind of rice used, the mineral content of the water, and other factors seriously affect the final product.

Penicillin was created by Alexander Fleming back in the early 1900’s by accident and it has been used by countries worldwide since then in order to help the human body fight all kinds of infections. While some people have been known to be allergic to penicillin, allergic reactions are not so common as to stop doctors from prescribing it.

Aside from the uses that human beings have made of mold, its natural role is to decompose dead organic matter in its natural environment. This is one reason that it often finds its way into our homes, because our homes tend to be made of wood and sheetrock that has paper on it. This is what mold feeds on and until we start making our homes out of synthetic materials, we will probably have a hard time keeping mold out of them.

Some Notes About Mold For homeowners And Tenants

No matter whether you are a landlord, tenant, homeowner, or an employer, there are some general facts about mold that everyone should be aware of. Everyone knows that exposure to mold can be a very dangerous thing, but not everyone knows the most important things about it that can be the difference between a mold infested home, a lot of lost money, bad health and a healthy, happy home.

One of the most important things that you should realize is the fact that no matter what you do, you cannot remove all of the mold from your home. Mold has existed for millions of years and will continue to exist for millions more; you cannot completely stamp it out from where you live or work because it is truly everywhere. The only thing that you can do is stop it from taking root in your home and becoming a nuisance.

Make sure that the ground at the base of your home slopes away from it so water flows away from the foundation. Water that is allowed to settle at the foundation will seep inside the home and allow mold to begin to grow.

Pay attention to the mold warnings that you see on the news sometimes. If you are elderly or have small children, especially those with asthma or other respiratory conditions, you should not go outside if the spore count is high.

In order to discover just what kind of mold you are dealing with in your home, you need to have a mold laboratory test the mold that you have sampled into a do-it-yourself mold kit. Only they can tell you just what kind of mold you are dealing with and whether or not it is dangerous.

Something important to remember is that mold is not always visible and does not really need standing water in order to grow. Actually, most kinds of mold do not need any more than the condensation that can form on the cold pipes in your basement or on your windows. It requires only some high amounts of humidity, food, and warmth.

Lastly, if you move into a home or an apartment and mold exists on the property, you should understand that it is not your responsibility to have the mold removed, it is the owner’s simply because if you choose to move out, the mold will still be there.

Is Mold Affecting Your Allergies

So many people in the world suffer from allergies that it is often hard to completely get away from them, no matter what kind of medications you might be prescribed by your physician. Most allergy symptoms can be seen from spring to the late fall because the majority of allergies can be attributed to grasses, pollens, and different kinds of mold. Most grasses, flowers, and molds cannot grow during the winter time. Even though some types of mold can withstand cold temperatures, most cannot continue to live in temperatures that are below freezing, though they can lie dormant for quite a long time. If they are allowed to thaw, they can be just as live and dangerous as before they were frozen.

Unfortunately, not all places in the world are touched by freezing temperatures and so mold often grows year round, affecting not only the allergies, but also the general health of the people who live in a building infected by it. The allergy symptoms caused by mold can be anything from sneezing to runny noses to skin rashes. Perennial allergic rhinitis can also be brought about by the presence of mold, however mold usually causes allergy symptoms only when it is present in a fairly high amount. Mold allergy symptoms are often made worse by the consumption of any kind of food that has been made with a fungus such as mushrooms or even foods like bread and beer. Cheese made with mold, particularly bleu cheese, can also bring about the occurrence of these symptoms.

Compared to the number of species of mold on the planet, there are not too many kinds of it that are highly allergenic, but there are a few dozen. Cladosporium, Alternaria, and Penicillium are three kinds of molds that tend to cause many allergic reactions. Penicillium is the only genus that has both a medicine and a disease named after it, however.

If you have allergies, something that you probably do on a regular basis is watch for the grass, pollen, and mold spore counts that appear on the news every day. These are important to pay attention to because if you are elderly or have a small child who is allergic, going out into a day when there is a high count of anything you may be allergic to could be either an irritating day or end up aggravating your allergy until you need to go to the hospital. Severe allergic reactions are rare, but they can happen.

Steps To Take If Your Employer Ignores Mold Problems

Everybody’s found that great job that they do not want to let go of, but sometimes something gets in the way that you just cannot do anything about. Or can you? What do you do if you discover that mold is growing at the place you work and your employer does not want to do anything about it? How do you complain about the mold and keep your job at the same time? Sometimes it is easy to get an employer to take care of a mold problem once they realize that it can be a problem to their own health, as well.

But, what about those employers who do not seem to care what the mold does to their employees or their customers? It is dangerous and can cause many kinds of health problems, so what do you do? Do you keep quiet about it? Keep complaining and risk your job? It does not really matter what state that you live in, the truth is that if an employer wants to get rid of you, they are allowed to do so for almost whatever reason they want to and this is what makes issues such as this difficult to maneuver around if you want to keep your job.

Try talking to your boss about the issue first and explain to him everything that mold can do to a person’s health. Explain that he could be liable for the damages both to his employees and anyone else who enters the building. Tell him about the structural damage it could also be causing or how it might be damaging the product you are producing in some way. Most of the time this is enough, but what if they just do not care?

There are a few different things that you can do. You can stop complaining about it and let it get quiet for a while, then talk to someone at your state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration about the problem or your local county health department. Mold in the workplace is a safety violation for the employer.

If you work in a public building such as a hospital or a library and nothing is done about the mold problems, see if you can take some pictures of the infestation and get them to your local newspaper or television news station. This should draw enough attention to the problem that it gets taken care of, but unfortunately your job may suffer for it. Your employer can fire you for whatever he or she wants, but if they fire you for complaining about the mold, you can sue. What usually happens is they will do anything they can to find a reason to get rid of you, but if you suspect that this is what they are doing to retaliate for your exposing of the mold problem, contact your lawyer.

A Clean Fridge Is A Mold Free Fridge

Cleanliness in the kitchen is one of the most important things that you can train yourself to practice if you want to keep not only a healthy home, but also a slightly more padded wallet. The medical issues that can come about because of moldy or spoiled food in your refrigerator are not pleasant in any way and if they are severe or common enough, it can start to drain your bank account. Salmonella poisoning is not fun to deal with and it can possibly lead to death if you are not careful, but one of the most commonly occurring things that you do not want in your refrigerator is mold.

Mold starts to grow inside jelly jars or tubs of sour cream after they have been in your refrigerator for a while and if you are in the habit of buying a larger jar of something that you need, try buying a smaller one if it exists. Also clean out your refrigerator of outdated and spoiled items often.

One of the most important things that you can do to keep a clean kitchen is to keep a clean and well organized refrigerator. Keep Ziploc bags to store things like meat that do not have re-sealable containers, such as packs of bologna that you have to cut open with a knife. The longer a food remains uncovered, the sooner it will dry out and no one will want to eat it except the mold and bacteria that exist in your refrigerator. The unwanted top piece is left in the refrigerator in the hopes that someone else will eat it, but this rarely happens.

Produce like vegetables and fruits that are put into plastic sacks when you are gathering them in the produce aisle at the grocery store should be removed from these sacks when you put them in your refrigerator. Always refrigerate vegetables if possible; leaving them out at room temperature will encourage mold to grow on them. If you have grains such as flour or cornmeal (and you should), putting them in the refrigerator or freezer can also help keep mice, bugs, and mold away from them. However, remembering to allow the necessary portions of these to warm to room temperature before cooking with them is essential to good food.

Clean your refrigerator and wash it on both the inside and outside as often as you need to. Doing this will help keep your refrigerator as bacteria and mold free as possible and your food will taste better and be healthier for you because of it.

What You Should Know About Stachybotrys Mold

Most of us have heard the term “toxic black mold” on the news or other television program, but what exactly does this mean? Well, the famous mold that is usually referred to as “toxic black mold” the most often is Stachybotrys chartarum and some people who are familiar with it, particularly mycobiologists, tend to refer to it as simply “stachy”. The media has had a fair field day with this kind of mold the past few years and it has been one of the reasons for the renewed concern for mold dangers in the civilized world. Some people may not realize that mold growing in your home or your business can be quite devastating to your health, especially if you are exposed to this for a long period of time.

This kind of mold is a very dark green color and it is also fairly slimy. Whatever you do, do not touch this mold with your bare hands or get it on your skin anywhere. If you are planning on removing it from your home, it is highly suggested that you hire a professional with the correct equipment because this mold is called “toxic” for a reason. It has been linked to sicknesses that have a similar effect on a person’s mind that Alzheimer’s Disease has and it has also been proven to kill a person’s brain cells. Dizziness and disorientation are also not uncommon in those who have been exposed for long periods of time.

Stachybotrys mold typically likes to grow on things made of cellulose, that is, dead plant materials. This can include the wood that you built your home with, papers, cardboard, and etcetera that has been piled together in an area, allowed to become significantly wet, and allowed to stay that way. This essentially opens up a mold nursery in your home and even though Stachybotrys does not require constant moisture in order to remain alive, it does like plenty of it. So, if you have any leaks in your basement or anywhere else in your home that stays wet almost constantly, you need to do anything necessary in order to stop this leakage. Because of the wetness of the Stachybotrys spores, they do not stir up and into the air that we breathe very easily; however, if this mold is let to dry out, these spores will enter the air and possibly our ventilation systems. Mold does not have to be alive in order to cause an allergic reaction to it.

Mold in My Rice, Please

A favorite food in Asia for the past thousand years is called red yeast rice and it considered a traditional part of the dish most of us are familiar with, at least by name, called Peking duck. The system of Traditional Chinese Medicine has put the dish to use by claiming that it assists the body in keeping a healthy circulatory system and promotes a healthy heart. Its use has been documented back as long ago as the Tang imperial dynasty in China in the approximate year of 800 A.D. There could possibly be a fair reason for the claim that it helps keep a good circulatory system, since current research has proven that it is pretty good at lowering your cholesterol. But, what is this “red yeast rice”, exactly?

Well, red yeast rice is produced by fermenting a mold called “monascus purpureus” that has been put on top of rice. The natural ingredient mevinolin is supposedly what gives the dish its cholesterol lowering characteristic, since this ingredient is similar to that which doctors typically give a person to help lower high cholesterol, such as the drugs Zocor and Lipitor. Even though we all need a certain amount of cholesterol in order to survive and be healthy, most of the time our own bodies produce enough of it to maintain survival. We only actually need to obtain about twenty percent of our cholesterol from the food that we take in every day. Red yeast rice (or mevinolin, whichever you want to say) blocks the enzyme in the liver that causes it to produce cholesterol.

Even though this medicine food has been used in China for at least a millennia in the treatment of high cholesterol and maintaining a healthy circulatory system, it has only begun to see some use in the United States and other western countries. Mevinolin is actually sold as a dietary supplement in some places and is available over the counter without a prescription.

If you do happen to eat red yeast rice, it is not a good idea to eat it or take the mevinolin supplements if your doctor has already put you on Zocor or Lipitor.

Monascus purpureus is a red-purplish mold that is used primarily in Asian foods to provide color and was used for this long before food dyes were invented. In addition to providing a healthy amount of color to a dish, it can also give the food a good flavor, too.

Mold And Water In Your Two Most Important Rooms

A good meal and a good bath is something that most Americans enjoy thoroughly, but how can you enjoy either one when you’re in a room full of ugly water damage stains on the walls, floors, and ceilings? Many of these rooms often have the brown stains on the ceiling that are typical of water damage and while most people just paint over them, often the stains just keep coming back because the underlying problem has not been fixed yet.

It is probably due to a leaky roof, but what about the steam that comes off of your bath water or off of the stove when you cook dinner? These every day tasks can be just as much of a cause of water damage as a leaking roof can be, if not more so because they happen every day. At least, a bath a day comes recommended, anyway. Installing a steam vent in your bathroom for under $100 and a day’s work could possibly be one of the best investments that you can make to help safeguard the appearance and structural integrity of your kitchen and bathroom.

Make sure that you do not allow your bath tub or your kitchen sink to overflow. Sometimes we turn on the bath water and get stuck talking to a relative or a co-worker on the phone, all the while unaware that the water you wanted in your tub is pouring all over your floor. The same thing can happen when you are cooking in the kitchen or washing dishes. This can land quite a lot of water in your floor before you realize it and can do quite a bit of damage to your floor if you let it happen often.

An overflowing toilet is also a hazard, not only because of the water damage that can occur, but also due to the possible sewage content of the water when you go to flush it. If not cleaned up properly, mold can start to grow around the base of the toilet, especially if you have carpet in your bathroom. Carpet in the bathroom is a no-no.

Also avoid throwing wet dirty clothes into your bathroom floor or closet, especially if you happen to have a carpeted bathroom. You will probably forget that these wet clothes are there and throw dry ones on top of it.

This results in water damage and mold growth more often than not when the closet is not cleaned out. The best thing to do is to wash wet clothes and towels as soon as possible so they are not forgotten about or at the very least stored separately from dry dirty clothes.