H2O Magazine

Ubiquitous Mold

Most people are unaware the damage the mold can do to our health and household items. Mold can form on almost anything including foods that are left open for long. Mold can be formed on any wooden surface, for instance, such as dining table, chairs, floor, and roof for example. Mold can damage your property and create severe health problem if left to grow unhindered.

High tolerance

The many different mold species vary enormously in their tolerance to temperature and humidity extremes. Certain molds can survive harsh conditions such as the snow-covered soils of Antarctica, refrigeration, highly acidic solvents, anti-bacterial soap and even petroleum products such as jet fuel.

Mold in home and office

Although molds grow on dead organic matter everywhere in nature, their presence is only visible to the unaided eye when mold colonies grow. In artificial environments like buildings, humidity and temperature are often stable enough to foster the growth of mold colonies, commonly seen as a downy or furry coating growing on food or other surfaces.

Mold in the home can usually be found in damp, dark or steam filled areas e.g. bathroom or kitchen, cluttered storage areas, recently flooded areas, basement areas, plumbing spaces, areas with poor ventilation and outdoors in humid environments.

Symptoms

Symptoms caused by mold allergy are watery, itchy eyes, a chronic cough, headaches or migraines, difficulty breathing, rashes, tiredness, sinus problems, nasal blockage and frequent sneezing.

Cause severe health problems

One must take precautions to prevent mold to grow in homes. Mold damage repair can be a very involved procedure. The spores of the mold have the ability to spread to other portions of the house and even infect the lungs of the family members causing asthma episodes and respiratory problems, for instance. Moreover, sinuses and digestive tract infections are most common; lung and skin infections are also possible (1) Continued to next page…