Gauging mold's harm
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| Examples of mold found on the walls inside houses. |
| Photos from National Centers for Disease Control & Prevention |
Of the roughly 1,000 strains of household mold, Stachybotrys chartarum--also popularly called "black" or "toxic" mold--has generated the most headlines. Some studies have linked it to a form of
pulmonary hemorrhage in infants. While a 2004 review by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine did not conclude
that Stachybotrys chartarum actually causes the illness, it couldn't rule it out. "There wasn't enough evidence to draw any kind of a firm conclusion,"
says David Butler, Ph.D., senior program officer with the National Academy of Sciences', Institute of Medicine.
You shouldn't be overly concerned about only one or two types of mold, however. Many types can cause stuffed or runny noses,
rashes, and itchy eyes if you're allergic to mold. They may also pose more-serious risks to people with undeveloped or impaired
immune systems, including infants, children, seniors, and those with HIV or cancer.
The bottom line: Excessive mold typically means that water intrusion or high indoor humidity is causing a potentially damaging
moisture problem. Toxic or not, it isn't good for you or your home.
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH, AND WHERE TO LOOK
There are currently no government or industry standards for acceptable indoor-mold levels. Small surface patches of mold on
bath tiles usually aren't a problem, since the mold probably hasn't reached the wallboard beneath. But soaked wood, wallboard,
ceiling tiles, and other organic materials quickly give airborne mold spores a moist and hospitable environment that allows
colonies to spread on walls, in corners, around air ducts, and near pipes.
Suppose you don't see any mold, but smell a musty odor or are experiencing a chronic runny nose, sore throat, or other symptoms.
You'll have to do some sleuthing:
Finding mold you can't see. If your home has been flooded, check for mold inside heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning ducts before turning on the
systems again. Otherwise, mold contamination could be spread throughout your home. Consider hiring a pro to do this, especially
if you're sensitive to mold. And be sure to use a pro to eliminate the mold if you find any there (See Ducts: A special concern).
• Check for any signs of mold beneath carpets and around windows. Also remove cover plates for cable-TV connections, phones,
and Internet connections, and use a flashlight to peer behind walls and wallpaper for signs of mold there.
• Avoid mold test kits. Based on our tests of four kits available at home centers and online, we don't recommend them. We
found major flaws with each kit. First, none of the kits have expiration dates. That's problematic for kits that use petri
dishes and growth media because old media could affect the reliability and accuracy of the test results. One of the kits was
difficult to open and could become contaminated as you wrestled with the packaging. Others were simply a pain to use. Finally,
three kits we tested made claims about detecting toxic mold, though none of their lab analyses are specific enough to tell
you if you actually have any. To learn the specific problems of each kit, see mold test kits.
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