Why is mold in the home dangerous?

Many people consider mold an inconvenience in a wet basement or poorly ventilated bathroom. But mold can be much more than just an inconvenience—they can affect the health of you and your home. Here are resources to frequently asked questions.

What is mold?

Mold spores are microscopic fungi, which are neither plants or animals. In nature, molds use enzymes to eat dead plants and animals. If there is a moist environment and other proper conditions, molds can attack materials in a house or building such as fiberboard, drywall, carpet backing, paper, dust, wood, or exposed soils in crawlspaces.

Once established in a building, mold/fungi can spread, destroying structural wood components, and can be hard to get rid of.

Why is mold hazardous?

Mold use tiny spores to reproduce. Spores that become airborne are hard to filter out and can stay suspended in the air for long periods of time.

The spores can then be easily inhaled, causing the following symptoms:

• headaches and/or fever
• coughing, wheezing
• runny nose/sinus problems
• ongoing flu-like symptoms
• skin rashes
• diarrhea
• hypersensitivity, pneumonitis, asthma, or other immune responses

A few mold species are capable of producing toxins if a proper food source is available.
People vary in their sensitivity to the concentration of spores in the air. The elderly,
children, and people with compromised immune systems are most vulnerable to the effects of
spores. However, even healthy people may react to high concentrations!