What is Mold?
Mold is a very simple organism found virtually everywhere, inside our buildings and homes and outside in our environment. Mold comes in as many colours as the rainbow. These microscopic organisms are 2 to 80 microns in size. A human hair is 70 microns in diameter.
Is Mold harmful?
The simple answer is Yes. There is no way to know exactly how each person will react to mold. A normally healthy person may appear to be unaffected in a mold infested home, while another may become ill. Health effects can be categorized into three groups: Allergic response, sensitization and toxic response.
Asthma, Dermatitis and Legionella are just a few of the diseases related to micotoxins (mold). If you have health problems make sure you consult your doctor.
Is Mold the core problem? No.
Mold is not the core problem. The problem is moisture in our homes and buildings. Remove the moisture, and mold will not grow. Moisture problems can be as simple as excess humidity, to major leaks or sewer backups. The key to stopping mold growth is immediate attention to moisture problems.
What causes Mold to flourish in our buildings?
Water – Heat – Food, are the three conditions that must be met to sustain mold growth. With all three conditions present mold will flourish. Remove any one of the three and mold will not grow.
Water – Flood, pipe burst, wind driven rain, seepage, humidity, etc…
Heat – too cold no mold growth
Food – wood, paper, natural and synthetic fibers
These are just a few of the samples of conditions needed to support mold growth.
Signs to look for:
Musty odours, dark spots or patches on indoor surfaces or breakdown of building materials all can be signs of the presence of mold.
Common places to look would be in the basement around the foundation walls, in the attic on the underside of the roof sheathing, under the kitchen sinks or in the bathroom. Of course mold can grow anywhere when the conditions are right.
This site provides tips, videos and products that you can use to help the removal of mold in the house.
