Mold and water damaged building materials When leakage occurs it results in the growth of mold that in turn results in the release of pungent smelling and irritating volatile organic compounds, and allergenic mold spores into your air Persons with allergies or asthma often have reactions to such contaminates in the air while others may have no reaction at all

BASIC MOLD BIOLOGY: Fungi share some basic similarities with plants and bacteria but are not plants nor are they bacteria They are in their own kingdom, the Fungi Kingdom

Stachybotrys not always, but almost always exhibits a circular growth pattern forming round colonies of about 1 inch or less to about 1 foot across approximately Sometimes the circles are complete

The below information was not provided as final and defenitive mold spore level specifications because health responses to mold spore exposures differ from person to person Also, health responses to mold spores can be affected by the length of time you are exposed to spores, the size or type of spore you are exposed to, the levels of dust mite and roach allergens, individual sensitivity to allergens, emotional stress, general health, as well as other substances and factors that have not yet been discovered by mold inspectors

What are they good for If you feel that you have a mold problem, you can save money on a mold inspection by buying a mold testing kit from your local South Florida building supply store

Below are the five most widely used methods of taking mold spore samples from the air during mold inspections They are used by scientists, industrial hygienists, and mold inspectors

MOLD ALLERGY The leading cause of health problems associated with mold is the common mold allergy Many who believe they are being poisoned by toxic molds are actually experiencing a mold allergy

Toxic black mold or stachybotrys is found by certified mold inspectors about 6% of the time in indoor air samples and about 1% of the time in outdoor samples According to literature and according to this inspectors experience it grows almost exclusively on very wet cellouse containing materials including paper, carpet backings, ceiling tile, and especially on drywall

When a mold inspector takes bulk, tape, carpet/dust, or swab samples, spore numbers are not compared quantitatively to outdoor levels Thus, the number of spores in these types of samples often are not as meaningful as the numbers found in air samples

The most common type of mold encountered by certified mold inspectors are penicillium and aspergillus, These two genera (large groups of closely related types) each has has nearly 200 species Because penicillium and aspergillus spores look the same under the microscope both groups are lumped together in lab reports and simply referred to as pen / asp