Can Mold Make You Sick? Fear of Mold - Mycophobia - Can Lead to Unnecessary Expense InspectAPedia® -
Can Mold Make You Sick? Fear of Mold
Mycophobia - Can Lead to Unnecessary Expense
BBMS - Basketball Mold Syndrome: sudden attention to pre-existing clues in buildings
The normal pattern of rise and fall of public fear for most environmental hazards, real or imagined
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This article discusses mycophobia - fear of mold and its effects on individual health, stress, and expenses. We live in a sea of mold, and other stuff in the air we breathe, on cushions
we sit on, clothes we wear, pools we swim-in, and so on. Most mold is not
hurting anyone, and some of it makes us well when we're sick (Penicillium
notatum, for example). While large areas of problem mold indeed need proper cleanup,
fear of mold (mycophobia) is unjustified and in our opinion a cause of
enviroscare which in some cases (such as the moldy framing shown at left) risks leading to price gouging of consumers.
More details about
mold related illness, building related illness, and what to do about mold in buildings can be read in the articles listed below.
What is Mycophobia and What Causes Fear of Mold? When is Mold Fear Justified?
A healthy person walking through a room of moldy air is not likely to die or even get very sick from mold exposure.
On the other hand, nearly 30 years of field and lab investigations of buildings with environmental illness and occupant health complaints
has provided a wealth of less rigorous empirical data matching occupant
complaints with indoor mold and allergens, particularly where there is chronic exposure to problematic mold.
Some people may have a genetic predisposition to mold related illness just as some do to allergies and many other health issues.
Short term very high exposure to toxic mold (one client killed
her dogs by tearing down moldy drywall), or for people who are particularly sensitive or vulnerable,
protracted toxic or allergenic mold exposure, even at what we consider rather low levels, can be a serious problem.
It's probably an overstatement by some experts who assert that "... there are no
proven links between mold and illness."
Comparing the Appearance of Cosmetic Mold versus Potentially Harmful Mold
Black mold on this building floor framing had so frightened the building owner that he had scheduled a $685,000. building demolition
and re-framing project - an expense which was completely unnecessary.
First, if this had been a problem mold it could have been
cleaned from these framing surfaces.
Second, our test showed that the scary-looking black mold on this framing was a member of the
Ceratocystis/Ophistoma group of blue-stain fungi which often is found on framing lumber. This is only a
cosmetic mold, which is not harmful to humans nor to the lumber.
Black mold in the laundry room may look like this extensive case. In cases of large areas of visible mold, unless
the mold proves to be only cosmetic mold, professional cleaning would be needed.
Black mold in this laundry room also required demolition. But although the visible mold was Stachybotrys chartarum
and Cladosporium sphaerospermum and Ulocladium on these walls, the airborne and dust mold levels
were dominated by Aspergillus sp. which was not so easy to see by visual inspection.
The Aspergillus
reservoir in this building was in the fiberglass insulation in several areas.
Also see Enviroscare: Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare"
What to Do About Mold and Other Indoor Environment Worries
Action:The Mold Action Guide - will help you discover if you have a costly mold problem or not.
Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems
Enviroscare: Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare"
Fiberglass building insulation and HVAC duct work insulation hazards
Frequently Asked Questions About Mold -- check this FAQ list to see if you can find a quick answer to your mold concern
Gas Sampling Plan for Residential Buildings lists a number of toxic indoor gases which we test for, depending on the building complaint and building conditions
Harmful mold:An Online Mold Atlas of Indoor Clinical Mold - Medical Health Effects of Specific Molds found in environmental or pathological samples
Harmful mold: clinical reference books for mold related illness
Harmful mold: Mold Classes & Classes of Mold-Related Illness - some simple categories
Illness,, Mold Related: Symptoms List both medical diagnoses and individual complaints
Investigators, professional mold: When do I need to hire a professional?
Looking for Mold: Mold Risk Levels in Buildings: Based on Visual Inspection.
Other environmental risks: Asbestos, carbon monoxide, electromagnetic fields, environmental illness, fiberglass, MCS - multiple chemical sensitivity, toxic gases, etc
Ozone Warnings - Use of Ozone as a "mold" remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.
Pet control - if you can't say goodbye to your bird, cat, dog, guinea pig, hamster, tropical fish, then limit the
areas they occupy and limit the airflow from that area to sleeping or other areas of the building, use allergenic
bedding, eliminate wall-to-wall carpeting, improve housecleaning including use of a HEPA-rated vacuum cleaner. For more details
see our article Dog, Cat, and Other Animal Dander - Information for Asthmatics and Indoor Air Quality
Sewage and Septic backup contamination in buildings: inspection, testing, remediation, & references to expert sources
Bibliography of Extensive Mold and IAQ Technical References
Identifying Filamentous Fungi, A Clinical Laboratory Handbook, Guy St-Germain, Richard Summerbell, Star Publishing, 1996, ISBN 0-89863-177-7
Fundamentals of Diagnostic Mycology, F. Fisher, N.Cook, W.B. Saunders, 1998, ISBN 0-7216-5006-6
Atlas of Clinical Fungi, 2nd Ed., G.S. de Hoog, J. Guarro, J. Gene & M.J. Figueras, Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2000 ISBN 90-70351-43-9.
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Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
Kansas State University, department of plant pathology, extension plant pathology web page on wheat rust fungus: see http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/path-ext/factSheets/Wheat/Wheat%20Leaf%20Rust.asp
"A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home",
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US EPA - includes basic advice for building owners, occupants, and mold cleanup operations. See http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.htm
Associations: Sick House, Sick Building, SBS - Air Quality, Government, Private Associations and Information Resources
Atlas of Clinical Fungi, 2nd Ed., GS deHoog, J Guarro, J Gene, & MJ Figueras, Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Universitat Rovira I Virgili, 2000, ISBN 90-70351-43-9 (you can buy this book at Amazon)
Atlas of Indoor Mold, Online Clinical Mold Atlas, Toxins, Pathogens, Allergens and Other Indoor Particles - Medical Health Effects of Mold (separate online document)
Black Mold that is Harmless Photos of recognizable, usually harmless black mold on wood, bluestain, ceratocystis, ophistoma
Building Floods: quick steps after a building flood or plumbing leak can prevent costly mold contamination
Classes of Mold: what types of cosmetic, allergenic, or toxic mold are a problem? Can mold be cleaned-up successfully?
"A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US EPA - includes basic advice for building owners, occupants, and mold cleanup operations. See http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.htm
"Disease Prevention Program for Certain Vegetable Crops," David B. Langston, Jr., Extension Plant Pathologist - Vegetables, University of Georgia (PDF document) original source: www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/209797.html
"Disease Prevention in Home Vegetable Gardens,"
Patricia Donald,
Department of Plant Microbiology and Pathology,
Lewis Jett
Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri Extension - extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6202
Fifth Kingdom, Bryce Kendrick, ISBN13: 9781585100224, is available from the InspectAPedia online bookstore - we recommend the CD-ROM version of this book. This 3rd/edition is a compact but comprehensive encyclopedia of all things mycological. Every aspect of the fungi, from aflatoxin to zppspores, with an accessible blend of verve and wit. The 24 chapters are filled with up-to-date information of classification, yeast, lichens, spore dispersal, allergies, ecology, genetics, plant pathology, predatory fungi, biological control, mutualistic symbioses with animals and plants, fungi as food, food spoilage and mycotoxins.
OTHER IAQ ISSUES: How To Find and Address Other Indoor Air or Indoor Environment Contaminants Besides Mold
Mold or allergens may not be the only or even the main indoor environmental contaminant. Don't let media attention to mold
cause so much enviro-scare fear that other, possibly more urgent hazards go un-addressed.
Ozone Warnings - Use of Ozone as a "mold"
remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.
Pet control - if you can't say goodbye to your bird, cat, dog, guinea pig, hamster, tropical fish, then limit the
areas they occupy and limit the airflow from that area to sleeping or other areas of the building, use allergenic
bedding, eliminate wall-to-wall carpeting, improve housecleaning including use of a HEPA-rated vacuum cleaner. For more details
see our article Dog, Cat, and Other Animal Dander - Information for Asthmatics and Indoor Air Quality
Rodents, Mice, Squirrel Control - I find high levels of mouse and rodent dander, fecal dust, and urine-contaminated dust in some buildings,
and high levels of these materials in building insulation in those locations. If you have a mouse problem, particularly if mice and their waste (fecals or urine) are contaminating
the building HVAC or building insulation, may need both steps to clean up or remove infected materials and steps to stop an ongoing
rodent problem. If squirrels are a problem, the cleanup needs to include closing off entry openings into the building. Get some
help from a licensed pest control expert.
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Black mold in this laundry room
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