Your doctor will want to know your signs and symptoms and may want to conduct a physical examination to identify or exclude other medical problems. Your doctor may also recommend one or more skin or blood tests to see if you have an allergy that can be identified. These include: Skin prick test. This test uses diluted amounts of common or suspected allergens, such as molds found in the local area. During the test, these substances are applied to the skin...
Read MoreWhile there are medications and shots which you can take to treat mold allergies, the best response is to avoid exposure to mold and mold spores as much as possible. If you have mold in your home your first priority should be to get rid of it. By removing mold and its spores from your environment you will no longer be breathing in mold allergens, the cause of your allergic reactions, and you will quickly get better.
Read More5 Reasons Mold Test Kits Waste Your Money The most important part of a mold inspection is the inspection, not the mold samples The most important part of a mold inspection is the inspection, not the mold samples. Mold samples can be misleading, are sometimes incorrect with both false positive and false negative results occurring, and can only be accurately interpreted in conjunction with a well thought out sampling plan and visual inspection. The visual inspection requires an understanding of building construction,...
Read More[caption id="attachment_401" align="alignright" width="137"] Mold found in school[/caption] A Pennsylvania school district will have to pay nearly $1 million to re-mediate mold at a high school building, according to testimony offered at a school board meeting last week. Robert Nesbit of the architectural firm Crabtree Rohrbaugh Associates told the Hazleton Area School Board that every brick in the building and a 24-inch swath around the roof had to be replaced after mold was found. The bill came to $997,855. Workers...
Read MoreThe National Toxicology Program (NTP) released a new fact sheet on mold earlier this month, which includes information on NTP’s current research efforts related to mold exposure. NTP supported NIOSH in the development of an acoustical generator, a device that can create and disperse molds for rodent studies in a way that closely mimics real-world human exposure. The device will be used in upcoming short-term toxicology studies to help researchers characterize responses to different species of mold. NTP is developing...
Read MoreMore than 50 million Americans reportedly suffer from allergies with approximately 80% of those affected by indoor or outdoor allergens. Some sufferers experience short-term seasonal allergies, while a growing number experience chronic, year-round allergic reactions
Read MoreIt happens often. A tenant discovers a mold problem and contacts the landlord to report their concern. From there things can go in many directions. At this time there are no specific laws with regard to mold in the State of Michigan. However, the link below should help in providing some direction for both renters and landlords. www.michigan.gov/mold
Read MoreA black mold entering the spines of hundreds of people who received contaminated vaccines for back pain has marked uncharted medical territory. This fungus, classified as being difficult to diagnose, has never seemingly caused meningitis, until now. It requires at least three months of a treatment that can cause hallucinations. Not only is it unknown when is it safe to stop treating, but there is also no good way to know how to monitor those who fear the fungus, which...
Read MoreGood Mold Mold gets a bad rap of late, but good mold does exist. Penicillium is the typical “blue” mold found on food. Bread that sat too long in the pantry typically develops penicillium. In fact, as the name implies, the very tasty blue cheese is derived from this particular strain of mold. In this day and age, cheese makers now add a commercially reproduced and freeze-dried culture, but originally, penicillium was procured from dark, damp caves and adding to...
Read MoreThe most common causes of mold growing on walls are high humidity, condensation and water leaks (which are often hidden inside the wall). Condensation forms when water vapor in the air meets cold surfaces and cools to become liquid. Condensation is especially common on walls which form the perimeter of a house. These walls are often colder because of cool outdoor air on the other side. Things like drying wet clothes inside or steam from hot water increases the humidity...
Read MoreIt was bad enough when Tropical Storm Irene sent the Dog River spilling over its banks, filling Chandar Hall’s basement, destroying the stairs and back door, toppling her oil tank and destroying thousands of dollars’ worth of stored books and clothing. But since the storm more than 10 months ago, Hall, 39, says she has suffered such severe health problems from mold left behind by the flood that she had to stop working and move out. As of Monday, when...
Read MoreMold is a fact of life. It is all around us daily in the form of spores. But when conditions are right, when a home gets too humid for too long, mold can start to grow. When it does, removal is the only answer. “There are mold spores everywhere,” says Jim Echols, senior analyst at Springfield Indoor Air Quality, who has helped homeowners identify mold problems for 15 years. “… Most of the time, those mold spores don’t grow inside...
Read MoreChlorine Bleach (sodium hypochlorite 6%) does not kill mold. Why? Mold's hyphae (root structures) actually grow into wood and drywall like roots. The hyphae are not killed by bleach because bleach's ion structure prevents chlorine from penetrating into porous materials such as dry wall and wood. It stays on the outside surface, whereas mold has protected enzyme roots growing inside the porous construction materials. When you spray porous surface molds with bleach, the water part of the solution soaks into...
Read MoreMold on windows is usually caused by cold outdoor air on the other side of the window cooling on the glass causing condensation. Although mold cannot feed on the glass itself, if the window is dirty then mold can feed off of the debris on the window glass and frame material. Condensation can also lead to mold growing around window frames because of moisture condensating on the glass and then running onto the frame. The other place to watch out...
Read MoreThe struggling economy and weak housing market has led to an explosion in both foreclosed homes and the mold population. Banks and other lien holders have hired management companies to clean and lock their investments up tight. But, in doing so, they have inadvertently caused unimaginable damage. Most people assume that if the house water supply is shut off then the mold problem is circumvented. Nothing could be further than the truth. Dampness and moisture are a concern but the bigger culprit...
Read MoreThe most common causes of mold growing on walls are high humidity, condensation and water leaks (which are often hidden inside the wall). Condensation forms when water vapor in the air meets cold surfaces and cools to become liquid. Condensation is especially common on walls which form the perimeter of a house. These walls are often colder because of cool outdoor air on the other side. Things like drying wet clothes inside or steam from hot water increases the humidity...
Read MoreIn a toxic black mold colony the spores are kept within a slimy, gelatinous mass. Toxic black mold spores are a brownish color although they can't be seen with the naked eye of course. Under the microscope toxic black mold spores that are still attached to the mold colony look similar to a dandelion with clusters of spores growing at the end of a "stem" called hyphae. The wet coating of a toxic black mold colony usually prevents its spores...
Read MoreWhen it comes to removing and remediating mold it's always best to hire a professional mold inspector and sometimes a best to hire a remediation service. If the mold in your home is not toxic and the area of mold growth is small (less than 10 square feet, or the equivalent of roughly a 3 by 3 foot patch) then you can most likely perform the mold removal yourself. If you are uncertain of the extent of the damage a...
Read MoreBlack Mold = Stachybotrys Stachybotrys is a genus of molds, or asexually-reproducing, filamentous fungi. Closely related to the genus Memnoniella, most Stachybotrys species inhabit materials rich in cellulose based building materials. The genus has a widespread distribution, and contains about 50 species. The most infamous species, S. chartarum (also known as S. atra) and S. chlorohalonata are known as "black mold" or "toxic black mold" in the U.S. and are frequently associated with poor indoor air quality that arises after fungal...
Read MoreGood Mold Mold gets a bad rap of late, but good mold does exist. Penicillium is the typical “blue” mold found on food. Bread that sat too long in the pantry typically develops penicillium. In fact, as the name implies, the very tasty blue cheese is derived from this particular strain of mold. In this day and age, cheese makers now add a commercially reproduced and freeze-dried culture, but originally, penicillium was procured from dark, damp caves and adding to...
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