Insurance companies, as well as other various groups in the country, would be thrilled at the prospect of fooling you into believing that mold is not as dangerous as the media would tell you. However, mold is most likely even more dangerous than speculated. While mold has been around far longer than human beings, that does not mean it does not cause us medical and financial complications. And if anyone has tried to tell you that the problem is not as serious as stated, you may want to inform them of just how dangerous of a problem mold really is.
Mold affects far more than simply the appearance of your home. There are serious health ramifications as well. Some of these include, but are not limited to, fatigue, allergy symptoms, damaged vision, and sinusitis. The allergy symptoms are the most common health complication brought on and usually appear in the form of runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, and in some cases rashes. If these symptoms are not experienced when you are outside of your home, however, then it could be something in your living environment causing these reactions. It comes highly recommended that you see a doctor when you are able to determine that it is indeed something in your home causing these symptoms. There you can receive a proper diagnosis and recommendations on how to deal with the ailment.
It is very important that you protect pets and loved ones from mold, as well. It has been known to kill pets, and especially infants by way of lung bleeding. Elderly people, especially those who are in poor health and with respiratory problems, are at a high risk for health ramifications of mold. If someone is HIV positive, has AIDS, has any other kind of immunity debilitating diseases, or are recovering from surgery, then they are at extremely high risk for mold-related health problems.
In the region of Southeast Asia, some of the most dangerous infections are caused. This includes penicilliosis, which most commonly affects HIV positive and AIDS patients. It is caused by mold in the genus penicillium, a genus which is best known for including the species of mold used in penicillin, which was invented due to an accident in the 1940s.
Now, there are ways to make sure that your home and loved ones are safe from mold. A do-it-yourself home mold test taped to the grill of one of your air conditioning vents is a good idea. You can put tests in other rooms as well.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New Hampshire Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Mold Fun Facts
Mold is everywhere around us. Be it indoors or outdoors. It is simply there. There is no such thing as a mold-free environment on this planet, or any other. There are three things that mold absolutely must have to survive. And the only time that mold is visible to the naked human eye is when large colonies begin to grow and gather. Previously stated was the fact that there are three things that mold need to survive.
First of all, mold requires nutrients. And if the mold was in an outdoor environment, these nutrients would most likely be acquired from organic matter like dead animals or dead plants. This is natural and necessary so that debris that builds up from the cadaver of the animal or plant. The mold causes decomposition and that helps the fertilization product in plants. The mold can also inhabit discarded trash such as cardboard, paper, pieces of drywall, fabrics, and other kinds of dust.
Another key element that is essential to the survival of mold is moisture. The decaying of organic matter requires moisture. As does the digesting of the organic matter by the mold. In fact, the highest numbers of cases of mold infestation occur during the summer time, when there is high humidity, and therefore higher condensation. This condensation gathers inside of a house. Winter time is also a bad time for homes, because certain areas can become drafty, and that can lead to condensation build up.
Something else that mold requires is something that there is an unlimited supply of. And that would be: time. Mold simply requires the time to grow. It can start a colony, after it has gained a sufficient amount of nutrients and moisture, in up to twenty four hours. And if something like a wet towel or piece of clothing is simply allowed to sit, then the mold is simply being handed enough time to gather in size and in number.
The last thing mold requires in order to survive and continue to spread is heat. Most molds do not even require an exponential amount of heat in order to spread. However, a good number of molds need it. Molds have been known to remain dormant at extreme temperatures while not growing. They stay in a kind of suspended animation. This goes for cold temperatures as well. They can be exposed to temperatures near two degrees Celsius, and they would revert to this state of suspended animation.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Michigan Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Florida water damage restoration companies
First of all, mold requires nutrients. And if the mold was in an outdoor environment, these nutrients would most likely be acquired from organic matter like dead animals or dead plants. This is natural and necessary so that debris that builds up from the cadaver of the animal or plant. The mold causes decomposition and that helps the fertilization product in plants. The mold can also inhabit discarded trash such as cardboard, paper, pieces of drywall, fabrics, and other kinds of dust.
Another key element that is essential to the survival of mold is moisture. The decaying of organic matter requires moisture. As does the digesting of the organic matter by the mold. In fact, the highest numbers of cases of mold infestation occur during the summer time, when there is high humidity, and therefore higher condensation. This condensation gathers inside of a house. Winter time is also a bad time for homes, because certain areas can become drafty, and that can lead to condensation build up.
Something else that mold requires is something that there is an unlimited supply of. And that would be: time. Mold simply requires the time to grow. It can start a colony, after it has gained a sufficient amount of nutrients and moisture, in up to twenty four hours. And if something like a wet towel or piece of clothing is simply allowed to sit, then the mold is simply being handed enough time to gather in size and in number.
The last thing mold requires in order to survive and continue to spread is heat. Most molds do not even require an exponential amount of heat in order to spread. However, a good number of molds need it. Molds have been known to remain dormant at extreme temperatures while not growing. They stay in a kind of suspended animation. This goes for cold temperatures as well. They can be exposed to temperatures near two degrees Celsius, and they would revert to this state of suspended animation.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Michigan Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Florida water damage restoration companies
Mold Miracles
For the millions of years that mold has been around, it has been considered a harmful scourge to our health. However, there are a variety of ways that mold has been used by human beings for years in order to improve our quality of life as opposed to harming us. It has been used in various kinds of foods. It has been used for medicinal purposes. It has even been used to decompose dead organic matter.
There have been many different kinds of foods have been produced with the aid of mold for millennia. And perhaps the most famous food created using mold is cheese. Blue cheese was actually an accident when mold had been allowed to grow on a block of cheese that had been left to age. Roquefort, as well as gorgonzola, is also made with molds. It takes cultivation of the right kinds of molds to make these blue cheeses. The cultivation of these molds has become somewhat of a science over the years, and the gorgonzola and Roquefort are the so-called “kings” of cheese.
The popular Japanese alcoholic beverage sake is produced by using the mold aspergillius oryzae, also known as “koji-kin”. Sake is not the only drink that employs the use of aspergillius oryzae as an ingredient. It is splashed on the top of steamed rice and it provides all of the enzymes that are needed to make the sugar that the yeast needs to grow. The mold is also very important to the creation of sake, as any brewer who would be proud of his drink would tell you. Depending on the desired flavor of the sake, the koji-creation process is manipulated by the use of different temperatures, the different kinds of rice used, the mineral content of the water, and all of the other factors affect the final product.
Alexander accidentally created penicillin back in the early 1900s and it is used in countries worldwide in order to keep all sorts of different diseases and infections at bay. While there is a group of people who are allergic to penicillin, they are not common enough to prevent doctors from breaking out their prescription pads.
Apart from the usual uses that human beings have found for mold, its natural role is very basic. Its role is nothing more than to decompose dead matter in the natural environment. This is how it makes its way into our homes and work places, because these buildings are composed of organic material.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Maine Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors companies across the united states.
There have been many different kinds of foods have been produced with the aid of mold for millennia. And perhaps the most famous food created using mold is cheese. Blue cheese was actually an accident when mold had been allowed to grow on a block of cheese that had been left to age. Roquefort, as well as gorgonzola, is also made with molds. It takes cultivation of the right kinds of molds to make these blue cheeses. The cultivation of these molds has become somewhat of a science over the years, and the gorgonzola and Roquefort are the so-called “kings” of cheese.
The popular Japanese alcoholic beverage sake is produced by using the mold aspergillius oryzae, also known as “koji-kin”. Sake is not the only drink that employs the use of aspergillius oryzae as an ingredient. It is splashed on the top of steamed rice and it provides all of the enzymes that are needed to make the sugar that the yeast needs to grow. The mold is also very important to the creation of sake, as any brewer who would be proud of his drink would tell you. Depending on the desired flavor of the sake, the koji-creation process is manipulated by the use of different temperatures, the different kinds of rice used, the mineral content of the water, and all of the other factors affect the final product.
Alexander accidentally created penicillin back in the early 1900s and it is used in countries worldwide in order to keep all sorts of different diseases and infections at bay. While there is a group of people who are allergic to penicillin, they are not common enough to prevent doctors from breaking out their prescription pads.
Apart from the usual uses that human beings have found for mold, its natural role is very basic. Its role is nothing more than to decompose dead matter in the natural environment. This is how it makes its way into our homes and work places, because these buildings are composed of organic material.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Maine Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors companies across the united states.
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