Dead Mold

The allergic reactions caused by mold, which some people experience, are at least in part due to the superficial casing of mold spores. Spores are mold's answer to "seeds," specifically small (often single-celled) reproductive bodies that are capable of growing into mold, but also capable of living a long time waiting to take root. When mold is dying, it releases spores as a way to insure its future survival. Spores float through the air to find a new place to land and take root. Even though the original mold colony is dead, the spores can survive for decades. Furthermore, the "shell" of the spores is an allergen whether or not the spore itself is alive, dead, or in stasis. In an allergic individual, it is still capable of causing allergic reactions such as irritation of the nose and throat, burning eyes, coughing, sneezing, etc. Because of the resiliency of the spores, it is considered good practice to not only kill the mold, but to completely remove it. Removal from impervious objects may be accomplished by scrubbing, vacuuming, and sanding, but for items that are moldy through and through, such as drywall, carpet, and upholstered furniture, disposal is recommended.

Mold and fungus are biological organisms that are present almost everywhere, but will tend to grow in moist environments. They release spores, toxins, and particulate dust into the atmosphere or inside your living environment if they have taken hold there. In the confined atmosphere of a house or business, these materials trapped in the house's ecosystem produce allergic symptoms in humans, and have even been tied to illness. Typical symptoms of mold exposure include; runny nose, eye irritation, fatigue, and respiratory ailments such as cough, chest tightness, congestion, and aggravation of asthma symptoms. These symptoms may be produced by common mold species such as Stachybotrys, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Trichoderma and Memnoniella and others, and are sometimes grouped into a complex of symptoms known as sick house syndrome.

Recently Lund University in Sweden research indicated that 67% of mold samples they tested contained at least one mold toxin. Mold toxin (i.e. mycotoxin) not only kill cells but also increases the risk of allergies. In other words, if you see mold, you probably also have mold toxins also. Mycotoxins are the very tiny toxic component of the mold itself, and as such are very minute particles which easily make their way into the lungs.