Got Mold? Got Myth? HOT DAMP! have I got some great news for you!!!

I always thought they were making a mountain out of a mold hill! 

Mr Charles,

Frankly all that article is way over my head.

Nutsy

I"m going to email this to myself so I can save it as a reference tool - great info Charlie!

I know that there has been a hysteria over mold, especially here in Southern California, Charles.  But, it's kinda like the studies that say sugar doesn't actually make kids hyper.  If you have a child that goes ape-shnockey on you after inhaling pixie dust, you'll completely disagree with that study.  And, I did live in a condo that was rife with mold in the walls.  It was so bad that, when my father came to help fix a leak we had in the walls, I had to take my mother out of the place and go somewhere else because she was having such an adverse response to the mold.  We don't live there anymore.  This, however, was an extreme case.  You can find mold in many, many homes that won't harm you.  You just need to use a little elbow grease and you'll be fine.

I hope you change your filters on your mask often Charles!

My emphasis has always been to anyone inquiring about mold is it's the dampness not the mold that's the problem.

The "problem" with mold is an opportunity was seen to make money and so what you get are myths and half truths.

Hot Damp! The mother ship has landed. Finally we are gonna get some questions answered. (Hint: Mother Stumbles Upon Son - Another ActiveRain Miracle)

Not today at least.

Mention mold and people run for the hills. It's gotten so much negative attention that people automatically assume if there is mold there is danger.

"Mold is Gold" is a common term. It's an avenue for opportunists, who ride on the coat tails of fear, to make a lot of money.  I don't perform testing but around here it typically costs between $150.00 and $300.00 depending on test type.

Dangerous or not I always mention it in my report when found on an inspection. Trying to convince a client of the mold hype is difficult at best.

Hi Charlie - the fact that people are living well beyond 100 is all the evidence I need to toss some of the new environs aside. I mean, if you just look at the aging process (I've been spending a lot of time lately with my aging parents and it's not pretty) ...do I really want to find new ways of growing any older. Mold has been alive for centuries and people are still growing older and older.  

I absolutely love this discussion!

Hopefully , as a 'dreaded mold tester', I'll be welcomed in to give my 2 cents!

First of all, I bring with me over 100 years intellectual capital to this conversation between all the doctors, scientists, CIH, microbiologists etc on my team. So I will let you know what they tell me.

Charles is correct. All houses have mold...it's like having air. It also contains everything else Charles stated...it's a stew of sorts, and a test is only a snapshot in time of what the actual condition is.

What happens is when a dwelling becomes wet/damp/humid...it's like the garden got watered and will begin to colonize in 24-48 hours if not dried properly and sufficiently.

We may perform several samples , not just microbial screens, to determine what the ambient conditions are and test quantitatively as well as qualitatively to show how much of what is found and how it compares to the outside numbers.

 Following a test is the only way a remediation company will know specifially where to clean once the source is identified and repaired. Just because a dwelling and walls 'look clean' doesn't mean it is. How is the homeowner supposed to know that the remediation was sucessful with out testing it afterwards? Can anyone SEE air???

What Elizabeth said is also true. Mold has been around since the big bang!

King Tut's tomb was infested with Aspergillius Penicillium and there is alot of information pointing to this as the 'Curse'.

The Irish potato famine, caused by mold

The Salem witch hunts...the girls are now thought to be exposed to mold that caused their ' witchy' neurological problems... there are hundreds more stories like this.

Where I disagree is  when I hear that it's just a bunch of people trying to get rich off of hysteria.

 While I can say that this industry is not standardized, you do get alot of unscrupulous contractors running around licking their chops over mold, there are some environmental firms that are actually trying to help people and save their health due to a sick environment.

It's just like any other profession, Realtors, Home Inspectors, Pest Control...I can think of a few horrible examples in these fields as well including a temite inspector that brought his own termite 'droppings' to each of his bids as well as home inspectors that also own roofing companies. But to discount the value of the entire industry due to a few bad eggs would be short sited at best.

 I have seen first hand literally hundreds of my clients tell me we saved their lives. Teachers, students, children, cancer patients, 911 first responders...the list is endless. I feel honored and privileged to have been able to have a role in helping these people.

Heather, I'm originally from Southern California, in fact, born and raised there! I know what you are speaking about when you say hysteria! I was a doubting thomas as well, but once you or a loved one goes through it, don't you feel differently?

Fungus is amung us!