They may not seem at face like the greatest offenders to a home or business, but they are. Water is a love of civilization: without it, life would not exist. Much of the history of civilization has been occupied with the discovery and conservation of fresh, clean water. And, today, in many parts of the world, that preoccupation with and scarcity of water still remains as underground water reserves are depleted, water-ways are polluted and weather patterns have changed do to global climate change from greenhouse gasses. Yet, water in the wrong place has a way of getting into a structure and destroying at first ceilings, walls and floors and if not stopped in time can create damage to the structural framing, foundation and even cause electrical fires. Curiously, perhaps the most insidious and lurking guest of unwanted water is mold.
While mold in the wrong place is a problem, welcome mold has all sorts of wonderful benefits. Mold is used to make cheese, fertilize gardens (mushroom compost) and is one of nature’s best decaying agents, making way for new life. Mold is instrumental to our sustenance as it is a principle in the making of bread. Without mold, there would be no beer. And, without mold, we would not have most antibiotics (if the antibiotic ends in “mycin” it is made with mold). In addition, the red bread mold Neurospora is pivotal in many genetic experiments. Mushrooms, a type of mold, are a tasty addition to our diets, enhancing many recipes from pizza to pasta sauce to wok cooking and many in the world enjoy truffles, also a type of mold, which is considered a delicacy. Yet, if you have mold growing on your home or place of business it is a problem.
Why is mold growing on your home or business so dangerous? Mold in your home or business is not good for the health, although black mold is the worst. The problem is not the mold itself, it is the mycotoxins released into the air when mold is eating and absorbing nutrients. All mold releases mycotoxins. Black mold’s mycotoxins have the worst effect on human health. Take proper precautions when working with mold – wear gloves and a respirator, as some types of mold in the lungs can actually grow inside the lungs themselves, causing terrible sickness. In most cases, mold causes breathing problems, fatigue, memory impairment, difficulty concentrating, allergies, headaches, dizziness, mood swings and a suppressed immune system (leading to other sickness).
Mold comes in many forms and is often identified by color: red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, white, brown and black. Just like a water problem often going symptom-free for a year before a drip forms in a ceiling and yet has already created a lot of damage, a mold problem is very much the same way. By the time you see mold, it has likely spread behind the gypsum board (often referred to as “Sheetrock,” which is actually a brand name like Kleenex is to tissue paper), and is airborne, affecting your air quality which could make you sick.
If you see mold, your first question ought to be – where is the water feeding the mold coming from? Water and mold have this relationship – no water, no mold growing. It is really the same with us too. Look around the world – humans build cities where access to water is most plentiful. Where water is not plentiful and there is a city, you can bet that in its history there was lots of water and now that water is less abundant, the people suffer. Similarly, mold needs water to live, grow and reproduce. However, unlike people, mold is willing to hibernate dormant for as long as 40 or 50 years or more waiting for water. Thus, while some professionals will tell you that the mold has to be completely killed and while that is a good idea for a big leak, if it is a small leak the mold isn’t likely to be huge and you can quarantine the mold once the site is dry and you can close up the infected wall or ceiling and use a mildewicide added to the primer and paint to prevent the mold from getting through to the surface. While more aggressive methods to kill the mold is optimal, in small leaks, it usually isn’t necessary and serves more to benefit the contractor’s pocketbook.
I have a little water – so mold eats water? Actually, mold likes cellulose, the formation of all plants. It happens to be that the gypsum board that forms your ceilings and walls has a paper backing mold loves, and it also likes wood, wall paper and doesn’t find paint half-bad for eating too. If you have a mold problem in a bathroom, the mold is eating the soap scum that rides on water droplets while you are taking a shower landing on walls and ceilings. Yet, mold must have water to absorb nutrients, so take care of the water problem and the mold goes dormant; however – it will not “die” without chemical intervention. Usually the cheapest way to get rid of mold is to remove the infected section of gypsum board and use bleach to kill whatever remains of the mold spores.
How can I get rid of mold? The best way is to remove the infected area and bleach the rest of the area. Make sure your infected bathroom or kitchen is getting ventilation, which may require upgrading a ventilation fan or adding a ventilation to carry excess moisture out before it contributes to more mold growth. An additive can be added to paint during application to prevent it from growing on paint film and there is a type of moisture-resistant gypsum board sold that is chemically treated to resist mold growth. You may want to contact a professional to help you rid and replace damaged gypsum board and other components to your home or business, and to help prevent mold from happening in the first place, however, armed with some information, I hope you will be better educated when the professionals come so as not to be taken advantage.
Article: By Ehron David Nygard
Sources:
http://www.ehow.com/info_8309458_mold-mildew-die-moisture.html
http://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm
http://www.ehow.com/about_5333072_dangerous-black-mold.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask
http://blackmold.awardspace.com/black-mold-toxic-stachybotrys-mycotoxins.html
http://filterair.info/articles/article.cfm/ArticleID/A50421B6-FE35-456F-93CCC3E474946ABB/Page/1
http://www.advnt.org/art-detecting-black-mold.php
While mold in the wrong place is a problem, welcome mold has all sorts of wonderful benefits. Mold is used to make cheese, fertilize gardens (mushroom compost) and is one of nature’s best decaying agents, making way for new life. Mold is instrumental to our sustenance as it is a principle in the making of bread. Without mold, there would be no beer. And, without mold, we would not have most antibiotics (if the antibiotic ends in “mycin” it is made with mold). In addition, the red bread mold Neurospora is pivotal in many genetic experiments. Mushrooms, a type of mold, are a tasty addition to our diets, enhancing many recipes from pizza to pasta sauce to wok cooking and many in the world enjoy truffles, also a type of mold, which is considered a delicacy. Yet, if you have mold growing on your home or place of business it is a problem.
Why is mold growing on your home or business so dangerous? Mold in your home or business is not good for the health, although black mold is the worst. The problem is not the mold itself, it is the mycotoxins released into the air when mold is eating and absorbing nutrients. All mold releases mycotoxins. Black mold’s mycotoxins have the worst effect on human health. Take proper precautions when working with mold – wear gloves and a respirator, as some types of mold in the lungs can actually grow inside the lungs themselves, causing terrible sickness. In most cases, mold causes breathing problems, fatigue, memory impairment, difficulty concentrating, allergies, headaches, dizziness, mood swings and a suppressed immune system (leading to other sickness).
Mold comes in many forms and is often identified by color: red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, white, brown and black. Just like a water problem often going symptom-free for a year before a drip forms in a ceiling and yet has already created a lot of damage, a mold problem is very much the same way. By the time you see mold, it has likely spread behind the gypsum board (often referred to as “Sheetrock,” which is actually a brand name like Kleenex is to tissue paper), and is airborne, affecting your air quality which could make you sick.
If you see mold, your first question ought to be – where is the water feeding the mold coming from? Water and mold have this relationship – no water, no mold growing. It is really the same with us too. Look around the world – humans build cities where access to water is most plentiful. Where water is not plentiful and there is a city, you can bet that in its history there was lots of water and now that water is less abundant, the people suffer. Similarly, mold needs water to live, grow and reproduce. However, unlike people, mold is willing to hibernate dormant for as long as 40 or 50 years or more waiting for water. Thus, while some professionals will tell you that the mold has to be completely killed and while that is a good idea for a big leak, if it is a small leak the mold isn’t likely to be huge and you can quarantine the mold once the site is dry and you can close up the infected wall or ceiling and use a mildewicide added to the primer and paint to prevent the mold from getting through to the surface. While more aggressive methods to kill the mold is optimal, in small leaks, it usually isn’t necessary and serves more to benefit the contractor’s pocketbook.
I have a little water – so mold eats water? Actually, mold likes cellulose, the formation of all plants. It happens to be that the gypsum board that forms your ceilings and walls has a paper backing mold loves, and it also likes wood, wall paper and doesn’t find paint half-bad for eating too. If you have a mold problem in a bathroom, the mold is eating the soap scum that rides on water droplets while you are taking a shower landing on walls and ceilings. Yet, mold must have water to absorb nutrients, so take care of the water problem and the mold goes dormant; however – it will not “die” without chemical intervention. Usually the cheapest way to get rid of mold is to remove the infected section of gypsum board and use bleach to kill whatever remains of the mold spores.
How can I get rid of mold? The best way is to remove the infected area and bleach the rest of the area. Make sure your infected bathroom or kitchen is getting ventilation, which may require upgrading a ventilation fan or adding a ventilation to carry excess moisture out before it contributes to more mold growth. An additive can be added to paint during application to prevent it from growing on paint film and there is a type of moisture-resistant gypsum board sold that is chemically treated to resist mold growth. You may want to contact a professional to help you rid and replace damaged gypsum board and other components to your home or business, and to help prevent mold from happening in the first place, however, armed with some information, I hope you will be better educated when the professionals come so as not to be taken advantage.
Article: By Ehron David Nygard
Sources:
http://www.ehow.com/info_8309458_mold-mildew-die-moisture.html
http://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm
http://www.ehow.com/about_5333072_dangerous-black-mold.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask
http://blackmold.awardspace.com/black-mold-toxic-stachybotrys-mycotoxins.html
http://filterair.info/articles/article.cfm/ArticleID/A50421B6-FE35-456F-93CCC3E474946ABB/Page/1
http://www.advnt.org/art-detecting-black-mold.php
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