Mold Load
Your home will have more mold tomorrow than it does today!
What is the difference between bacteria, mold, and virus load in your home? First of all,
everybody's home will have a higher “mold load” tomorrow than it does today. In fact, your
home has more mold today than it did yesterday. And of course, it will have much more mold
next year than this year. Why is this?
To answer, let’s dive into the inherent differences between fungus, bacteria and viruses. This
is what explains why mold is so difficult to control in homes, and why mold toxicity is becoming
more and more of an issue with the general health of the communities throughout the country.
Mold can remain viable for hundreds to thousands of years. It is assumed that some of the
scientists opening King Tut’s tomb died of mold exposure. This occurred thousands of years
after the death of King Tut. Mold has many modes. It may become dormant, it may spore, or
it may simply grow. It will definitely off-gas mycotoxins. Regardless of the state, it will remain
viable. It can still function/respirate once the conditions surrounding the mold are ideal. Again,
what takes them from dormancy to growing/sporing is simply landing on more favorable real
estate, or the overall real estate becoming more hospitable to mold. Both occur often. Bacteria,
on the other hand, has a half life, as do viruses. We all remember that mini-pandemic of H1N1.
H1N1 had estimates of somewhere between 3 and 5 days before it would naturally die on a
surface. The influenza virus can live for about 8-12 hours on fabric. A final and more uplifting
thought; the skin produces anti-microbial substances that kill germs, so the flu virus will
potentially only live for 5 minutes on the body. It’s all short lived as compared to mold.
So, mold lives on. Mold is going to come into our homes and find ideal conditions. If it
doesn’t, it will dry and then spore out sending its progenitors looking for favorable conditions. If
it finds moisture and food, it will inherently begin to grow and thrive. This pattern repeats itself over and over again in various areas of the home and at various intervals. It is inevitable! This
mold/indoor synergy continues as the years go by and is the simple explanation to the age old
question, “Why does my home smell like an old house?”. The simple answer is the home has an
elevated mold load which includes growing mold, sporing mold, dormant mold, and associated
mycotoxins. You will want to avoid that label for your home, and for you and your families
health. Call Pure Maintenance in your area. They can assess your mold load, and give you
recommendations for lowering the mold load in your home.
Mike Adams
