Mold is everywhere. That’s not the same as mold growth is everywhere. If you look under a microscope, you should find a spore or two of mold in the dust collecting in your home. It won’t be a Stachybotrys (black mold) spore. It might be a mushroom or common outdoor spore type. It’s as finding spores of pollen in your home. You’ll find those too. Unfortunately for those who are allergic to pollen.
Mold growth is not everywhere. You don’t find a tree growing in your living room unless, as with pollen, you water the spores. Mold will not grow unless the spores get wet and stay wet for a sufficient time.
Some like to dismiss the idea that mold in homes is a problem because they like to point to the fact that you can find mold anywhere. A common saying is, “You can find mold in any house”. They can’t see the justification for spending money to remove the mold. They believe you can never remove it all the mold. The fact is mold growth is not everywhere, does not belong in your home, and it (mold growth) can be completely removed. That’s what you should be paying for when you have mold remediation performed – removing mold, not treating it.
Some like say that it’s only certain kinds of mold that are a problem and that others are “not toxic”, i.e., don’t need to be removed. Some say you only need to remove mold if it is “toxic”. That is dis-information. Any type of mold can be toxic. Even toxic mold is not toxic all the time. Toxic is not the correct term. Rather, it’s more proper to call the mold potentially toxigenic. This is because most of the time health problems related to mold are not because the mold is pathogenic. Rather, the mold contains chemical compounds that can be toxic depending on what they are. More on that in another post. For now, it’s important to be clear on the fact that it does not matter what kind of mold growth is present – any and all types of mold growth should be removed.
To provide guidance in how mold should be removed, as well as what should not be done, there is a professional reference standard for mold remediation. The ANSI/IICRC S520 Standard for Professional Mold Remediation by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) is the defacto standard. It contains definitions that differentiate what’s normal background mold vs. actual mold growth.
If you need assistance knowing what the best way to remove mold in your house is and wonder if it will work, contact us. We can also tell you what the best test is to make sure the mold is gone after you had mold remediation.
