Mold/Air Quality Testing

Molds are part of the natural environment, and can be found everywhere, indoors and outdoors. Mold is not usually a problem, unless it begins growing indoors. The best way to control mold growth is to control moisture. Molds can have a big impact on indoor air quality.

 

 

People are routinely exposed to more than 200 species of fungi indoors and outdoors.  These include mold like fungi, as well as other fungi such as yeasts and mushrooms. The terms “mold†and “mildew†are nontechnical names commonly used to refer to any fungus that is growing in the indoor environment. Mold colonies may appear cottony, velvety, granular, or leathery, and may be white, gray, black, brown, yellow, greenish, or other colors. Many reproduce via the production and dispersion of spores. They usually feed on dead organic matter and, provided with sufficient moisture, can live off of many materials found in homes, such as wood, cellulose in the paper backing on drywall, insulation, wallpaper, glues used to bond carpet to its backing, and everyday dust and dirt.

Certain molds can cause a variety of adverse human health effects, including allergic reactions and immune responses (e.g., asthma), infectious disease (e.g., histoplasmosis), and toxic effects (e.g., aflatoxin-induced liver cancer from exposure to this mold-produced toxin in food) .