Like many people, you may believe that mold is inherently “toxic” in some way. However, the presence of mold doesn’t automatically spell out sickness and disease for most people.
Actually, mold is much more common than we tend to believe. It’s present on a lot of surfaces and is prevalent even in homes that are perfectly maintained. Spores travel in the air outside and are present nearly everywhere. The problem comes when these spores find somewhere wet and dark to start growing.
There are several different types of mold, even among species that grow indoors. The most common indoor mold species are:
- Cladosporium
- Penicillium
- Aspergillus
- Alternaria
None of these are “toxic,” or poisonous. The symptoms that you might link to mold exposure don’t occur for everyone. In mild cases of mold growth, people with asthma, compromised immune systems, and other respiratory diseases are often the ones affected by a difficulty breathing, wheezing, or a heaviness in the chest area.
A perfectly healthy adult might experience hay fever-like allergic symptoms, including sneezing, headaches, or cough, but these symptoms aren’t proven to be harmful to long-term health. Mold doesn’t linger in your lungs or in the rest of your body and hasn’t been found to correlate to any fatal illnesses in people who are otherwise healthy.
Essentially, common mold growth may cause respiratory discomfort but isn’t as life-threatening as it’s so often made out to be. For people with mold allergies, compromised immune systems, and asthma, certain complications and symptoms may occur, but most types of indoor mold aren’t toxic or poisonous.
The Real Danger Is Structural Damage
In truth, the most urgent concern associated with extensive mold growth is not toxicity, but rather structural damage. Where there’s mold, there’s moisture—which means weakened structural integrity. Plus, mold can subsist on any organic matter (as long as there’s also water), so it slowly deteriorates whatever surface it’s growing on. Therefore, when you discover mold in your building, a sense of urgency is still 100% warranted.
If you have any questions regarding how the presence of mold in your home may be affecting you or how you can prevent mold growth, don’t hesitate to call MoldXpertsNY today.
Testimonials
Gary is very professional, knowledgeable, and honest. I’m very grateful that he came on a Sunday and for the fact that he was willing to answer any question I had about the report.
Gary was very informative in explaining to us about mold, how it grows and what we needed to do to remove it. I would highly recommend him for mold testing.
Very fast good work they are very nice people and knowledgeable. I did not feel rushed and they answered all my questions. Very accommodating to my hours I needed since I work.
Gary was very polite, knowledgeable and made suggestions as to how I could improve the environment in my house.
Gary is a total professional. He goes out of his way to accommodate your needs, patiently answers all questions and offers suggestions as to how to alleviate problems. I could not be more pleased.