What Is Chaetomium Mold?
Chaetomium colonies are cottony and white in color initially. Mature colonies become grey to olive in color. From the reverse, the color is tan to red or brown to black. There are over 100,000 types of mold, some of which are more toxic than others. Mold in your home can harm you, your family and your property if not treated quickly. Characteristics Of Chaetomium Mold Chaetomium is a common mold found in damp buildings. Water-damaged building materials including wallpaper, drywall, window frames, baseboards, and carpets are just a few of the places it can be found. Chaetomium produces an enzyme called cellulase, which breaks down the cellulose in these materials and destroys them. This type of [...]
What is Aureobasidium Mold?
There are 100,000 types of mold. Some are harmless, but some can be dangerous. Aureobasidium mold can indeed harm you, your family and your property if not treated quickly. Characteristics Of Aureobasidium Mold Aureobasidium mold grows worldwide. It is fast-growing, slimy and starts its life as cream-colored or pink before turning dark brown or black. It is referred to as "black" or "toxic" mold. Can Aureobasidium Mold Make You Sick? Aureobasidium mold is not of the harmless variety. Inhalation of its spores can cause respiratory problems, including shortness of breath, coughing, sneezing, a runny nose, sinus infections, bronchitis, and even pneumonia. Allergy symptoms including a sore throat, headache, and itchy, watery eyes are also possible. Asthmatics [...]
What Is Christmas Tree Syndrome And Can It Make You Sick?
Can Christmas Tree Syndrome Make You Sick? Because they're not in our homes for very long, we often ignore the fact that Christmas trees are a source of mold. A mold-infested tree is known as "Christmas Tree Syndrome." With approximately 13% of Americans suffering from some kind of mold allergy at any given time of the year and some people react negatively when in the presence of a Christmas tree. This year, Americans will buy 25-30 million live Christmas trees to decorate their homes for the holidays. About 85% of those trees will be pre-cut weeks ahead of time – in most cases prior to Thanksgiving. The trees are baled and packed into refrigerated trucks to [...]
$35 Million Dehumidifier Is Used To Battle Mold On One Of New Jersey’s Biggest Bridges
Mold can grow anywhere — even on the Delaware Memorial Bridge. That could spell danger for drivers if it goes unchecked. Operators of the bridge put a $35 million dehumidification system into operation in October 2017 designed to protect bridges. The problem? Humid air. When it reaches the steel cables that support one of the world's largest suspension bridges it can create a $1 billion problem. To prevent any potential cable failures and danger to motorists, operators of the bridge, operators decided to use the technology. The Delaware Memorial Bridge is only the second bridge in the U.S. to do so. "This is an investment in the future and something that will lengthen the lifespan of [...]
What Is Aspergillus Mold In Your Home & Should You Be Concerned?
Aspergillus Mold: What You Need To Know There are over 200 types of Aspergillus mold, and they are common invaders from the arctic regions all the way to the tropics. And yes, Aspergillus is of disrupting your everyday life by damaging your health and your home. Aspergillus thrives in oxygen-rich environments, and you can find it on everything from decaying vegetation to living trees and plants. You can also find it growing on starch-rich items such as potatoes or bread. Dirty air-conditioners are another favorite hiding spot for Aspergillus, as are the inside of walls at your home or office, especially after flooding or any other type of water damage. How does Aspergillus mold cause damage? [...]
What Is Pink Mold & How To Find & Prevent It
There are over 100,000 different types of mold, and with that many strains, it’s a given they won’t all look the same. Despite this, when we think of mold, we mostly visualize it as black in color, but pink mold also exists — it is quite common and equally detrimental to health and home. What Is Pink Mold? Pink mold, also known as aureobasidium, is a common bathroom mold, frequently found growing around damp window frames and on caulking. Bathrooms lend themselves to damp surfaces, such as showers, tubs, and sinks, and pink mold is often found in grout. It can also be found on wallpaper and carpeting, or behind bathroom cabinets and mirrors. Is Pink [...]
Should You Stay In Your Home During Mold Remediation?
So you have mold, and you've called in a mold remediation specialist to remove it. Can you stay your home to while they work or will you have to decamp to a hotel? Expert opinions vary. The Dangers of Mold A mold-infested home is a ticking time bomb. The longer it goes unchecked, the greater the likelihood of illness occurring in you, your family and pets, and irreversible damage to your home. Calling in a mold remediation professional is often critical in removing mold safety and adequately. Can I Stay In My Home While A Mold Problem Is Being Remedied? Opinions vary from expert to expert, with some saying you don't have to leave your house [...]
Do Your Children’s Toys Have Mold & How To Make Sure They’re Safe?
Spotting Mold In Children's Toys Those plastic toys children put in their mouths can sometimes collect mold. There are several videos on YouTube showing footage of how potentially harmful mold can infest and lurk inside children’s rubber toys without anyone realizing it's there. https://youtu.be/MlQJ3saQ66I How does mold infiltrate a child’s toy? Mold proliferates in a child's toy just the same way it does anywhere else—it needs moisture to thrive. Toys that are made for use in water attract mold, as do toys that are kept in the basement or left in a damp area outside. Mold can even form when toys improperly are cleaned, drained or dried out. What can you do to prevent and [...]
How To Prevent Mold During Winter Months
Just because the weather is getting colder doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods when it comes to mold. Mold is still alive, even in freezing temperatures. How Does Mold Continue To Thrive In Winter? Mold needs moisture and darkness to proliferate, and winter is primarily wet and dark. It is one of the best times of year for fungi to grow and multiply. During winter, we tend to close up our homes when it gets colder, and a tightly sealed, warm home lends itself to mold growth, especially in wet or moist areas with improper ventilation. Mold growth in winter is not only relegated to inside the home. The outdoors has its own special blend [...]
Yoko Ono’s 8.3M Penthouse Embroiled in Toxic Mold Lawsuit
John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, is embroiled in a lawsuit with developer David Blumenfeld over her former West Village penthouse. The New Owner Alleges Evidence Of Mold Proliferation Due To Shoddy Workmanship She sold the fourth-floor unit at 49-51 Downing St. to Blumenfeld in 2014 for $8.3 million, who now alleges it's a wreck, with warped beams, toxic mold, and a rotted roof deck. Blumenfeld is currently suing the co-op board for refusing to make “structural repairs" that he deems have made the unit “dangerous." (Despite this, his adult son still lives there.) According to court papers, he alleges that the board doesn’t want to do the renovations—which will total in the millions—because the repairs would [...]
All Monroe Township NJ Schools Closed Due To Fungus Build Up
Mold can proliferate in virtually any place, indoors or out—just ask New Jersey school officials who have been having a tough time tackling mold it in its schools this year. Willow Grove In Hackettstown NJ Closed Due To Mold Concerns Willow Grove Elementary School was closed in September due to a mold build up in the building. The entire 250 member student body got the day off while workers tested for mold by taking samples. They cleaned and dehumidified the building, and replaced or cleaned ceiling panels, whiteboards, and other fungus-laden items in classrooms. While officials didn't think the mold was harmful, they didn't want to take any chances, said building Superintendent Dave Mango. "It's unfortunate, [...]
Mold Smell Removal Guide
If you smell that familiar musty smell, chances are, you HAVE mold. It’s a musty, unpleasant scent that can linger even after the fungus is gone. Here are some ways to keep your home smelling fresh and clean. Why Does Mold Smell Musty? Mold gives off volatile organic compounds (MVOC). While some don’t smell at all, others have an unmistakably musty scent. What Does It Mean If DO Smell Mold? If you smell mold, it’s likely growing somewhere moisture and improper ventilation exists. Inside walls, under carpets, and inside heating and ventilation ducts are all suspect spots. That smell is not good for your health, as you are inhaling potentially toxic compounds produced by mold and [...]
How To Improve Indoor Air Quality In Your Home
With mold proliferation and other factors, indoor air quality can be five times worse than the air you breathe outside, and without the proper ventilation, it can cause health problems for you, your family and pets. If you suspect your indoor air isn’t as clean as it should be, here are some ways to change that. How You Can Tell If The Air In Your Home Isn’t Clean Your house may look spotless, but if you have persistent allergies, asthma, colds, or other respiratory illnesses, your indoor air quality may be suffering, and you just might have an unseen but growing, mold issue. You may not be able to smell it or see it, and you [...]
Mold Inside Your Coffee Maker Is Making You Sick. Here’s How To Clean It.
We all love nothing more than a delicious cup of warm coffee? But a good cup of mold? Not so much. However, there are times when mold can even affect the coffee you drink, by making a cozy home for itself in your coffee maker. How Does Mold Get In A Coffee Maker? Mold thrives in coffee much the way it does if there’s a leak in your home—with moisture and darkness. In 2011, U.S. product testing giant NSF International conducted a study on the classic basket-and-carafe coffee makers most of us have in our homes and found that about half of had mold growing in their reservoirs. This doesn’t surprise University of Arizona germ specialist [...]
How To Prevent Mold During New Home Construction
We know that mold is caused by a combination of moisture and darkness and can be hidden in the walls and floors of any home. It not only thrives in already existing homes, but it can be found in new construction too. How Can Mold Affect New Construction? Mold thrives indoors and out, and, if it proliferates, it can slow construction and increase costs by the replacement of affected materials as well as costs of remediation. Climate and location factor into mold growth and some construction sites are more simply more susceptible as a result of those factors. Prevention is key, and measures undertaken before and during construction can go a long way in keeping you [...]
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