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For More Questions About Mold and Your Child's Health, Call PEHSU What is Mold? Molds are: • Simple, microscopic organisms called fungi • Examples of fungi also include mushrooms and yeasts • Molds are nature’s recycler, breaking down dead material Molds release countless tiny, lightweight spores. These spores travel through the air. Where does mold grow? Mold grows indoors and outside in moist environments. Outdoor sources of mold may include compost piles, cut grass, and wooded areas. Indoors, mold can grow around leaks and where there has been flooding. Mold can grow in dust, wallpaper, paint, insulation, drywall, carpet, fabric, and furniture. Mold can look like spots and can present itself in different colors. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not recommend or perform testing of molds. Since mold affects people differently, the CDC does not recommend relying on sampling and culturing to assess your health risk. How can mold affect my family’s health? Some people are not affected by mold. Others are more sensitive to molds. For these people, molds can cause symptoms including, but not limited to, nasal stuffiness, throat irritation, coughing/wheezing, and eye or skin irritation. Certain individuals have severe reactions. Immune-compromised people and those with chronic lung diseases may get serious infections in their lungs if exposed to mold. How can I clean mold in my home? While you will need to find the source and fix the moisture problem, you can clean mold from hard surfaces. You can use commercial products, soap and water or a bleach solution (not more than 1 cup of bleach in a gallon of water or a 1:8 dilution). Do not mix chemicals to clean your moldy surfaces; mixing chemicals can lead to toxic fumes. For more questions about mold and your child’s health, call PEHSU @ 877-800-5554 This material was supported by the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and funded (in part) by the cooperative agreement FAIN: U61TS000238 from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Mold Information Sheet August 2002 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver CO 80246 Disease Control and Environmental Epidemiology Division ─ (303) 692-2700 Air Pollution Control Division ─ (303) 692-3100 ABOUT MOLD • Humidifiers mold growth within a home, office or What are Molds? • Wet clothes drying indoors or school where people live or work. clothes dryers exhausting indoors People can also be exposed to mold by Molds are simple, microscopic Warping floors and discoloration of touching contaminated materials and organisms, present virtually walls and ceilings can be indications of by eating contaminated foods. everywhere, indoors and outdoors. moisture problems. Condensation on Molds, along with mushrooms and windows or walls is also an important What symptoms are commonly yeasts, are fungi and are needed to indication, but it can sometimes be seen with mold exposure? break down dead material and recycle caused by an indoor combustion nutrients in the environment. For molds problem. Have fuel-burning appliances Molds may produce health effects to grow and reproduce, they need only routinely inspected by your local utility through inflammation, allergy, or a food source – any organic material, or a professional heating contractor. infection. Allergic reactions are most such as leaves, wood, paper, or dirt— common following mold exposure. and moisture. Because molds grow by Should I be concerned about Typical symptoms that mold-exposed digesting the organic material, they mold in my home? persons report (alone or in gradually destroy whatever they grow combination) include: on. Mold growth on surfaces can often Yes, if indoor mold contamination • Respiratory problems, such as be seen in the form of discoloration, is extensive, it can cause very high and wheezing, difficulty breathing and frequently green, gray, brown, or black persistent airborne spore exposures. shortness of breath but also white and other colors. Molds Persons exposed to high spore levels • Nasal and sinus congestion release countless tiny, lightweight can become sensitized and develop • Eye irritation (burning, watery, or spores, which travel through the air. allergies to the mold or other health reddened eyes) Some of the most common indoor problems. Mold growth can damage • Dry, hacking cough molds are Cladosporium, Penicillium, your furnishings, such as carpets, sofas • Nose or throat irritation Aspergillus, and Alternaria. and cabinets. Clothes and shoes in • Skin rashes or irritation damp closets can become soiled. In Can mold become a problem in time, unchecked mold growth can How much mold can make me my home? cause serious damage to the structural sick? elements in your home. Molds will grow and multiply It depends. For some people, a whenever conditions are right— when HEALTH EFFECTS relatively small number of mold spores sufficient moisture is available and How am I exposed to indoor can trigger an asthma attack or lead to when organic material is present. Be on molds? other health problems. For other the lookout in your home for common persons, symptoms may occur only sources of indoor moisture that may Everyone is exposed to some mold when exposure levels are much higher. lead to mold problems: on a daily basis without evident harm. Nonetheless, indoor mold growth is • Flooding It is common to find mold spores in the unsanitary and undesirable. Basically, • Leaky roofs air inside homes, and most of the if you can see or smell mold inside • Sprinkler spray hitting the house airborne spores found indoors come your home, take steps to identify and • Plumbing leaks from outdoor sources. Mold spores eliminate the excess moisture and to • Overflow from sinks or sewers primarily cause health problems when cleanup and remove the mold. • Damp basement or crawl space they are present in large numbers and To be prudent, infants less than one • Steam from shower or cooking people inhale many of them. This year of age should not be exposed to occurs primarily when there is active chronically moldy, water damaged allergies, chemical sensitivities, or agencies seldom provide this service. environments. asthma. Mold inspection and cleanup is usually • Persons with weakened immune considered a housekeeping task that is Are some molds more hazardous systems, such as people with HIV the responsibility of homeowner or than others? infection, cancer chemotherapy landlord, as are roof and plumbing patients, and others with chronic repairs, house cleaning, and yard Allergic persons vary in their diseases. maintenance. sensitivities to mold, both as to the • Infants and young children. Another reason the health amount and the types to which they • The elderly. department does not recommend react. In addition to their allergic testing for mold contamination is that properties, some indoor molds, such as Will my health or my child’s there are few available standards for Fusarium, Trichoderma, and health be affected, and should we judging what is an acceptable quantity Stachybotrys, may produce compounds see a physician? of mold. In all locations, there is some that have toxic properties, which are level of airborne mold outdoors. If called mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are not If you believe that you or your sampling is carried out in a home, an always produced, and whether a mold children have symptoms that you outdoor air sample also must be produces mycotoxins while growing in suspect are caused by exposure to collected at the same time as the indoor a building depends on what the mold is mold, you should see a physician. Keep samples, to provide a baseline growing on, conditions such as in mind that many symptoms measurement. Because individual temperature, pH, humidity or other associated with mold exposure may susceptibility varies so greatly, unknown factors. When mycotoxins also be caused by many other illnesses. sampling is at best a general guide. are present, they occur in both living You should tell your physician about The simplest way to deal with a and dead mold spores and may be the symptoms and about when, how, suspicion of mold contamination is: If present in materials that have become and for how long you think you or your you can see or smell mold, you likely contaminated with molds. While children were exposed. have a problem and should take the Stachybotrys is growing, a wet slime steps outlined below. Mold growth is layer covers its spores, preventing them DETECTION OF MOLD likely to recur unless the source of from becoming airborne. However, How can I tell if I have mold in moisture that is allowing mold to grow when the mold dies and dries up, air my house? is removed and the contaminated area currents or physical handling can cause is cleaned. spores to become airborne. You may suspect that you have At present there is no mold if you see discolored patches, GENERAL CLEAN-UP environmental test to determine cottony or speckled growth on walls or PROCEDURES whether Stachybotrys growth found in furniture or if you smell an earthy or buildings is producing toxins. There is musty odor. Evidence of past or The following is intended as an also no blood or urine test that can ongoing water damage should also overview for homeowners or apartment establish if an individual has been trigger more thorough inspection. You dwellers. We recommend that you exposed to Stachybotrys chartarum may find mold growth underneath consult EPA and other documents spores or its toxins. water-damaged surfaces or behind listed in the useful publications section. walls, floors or ceilings. Who is at greater risk when Elements of the Clean-up exposed to mold? Should I test my home for mold? Procedures Exposure to mold is not healthy for The Colorado Department of • Identify and eliminate sources of anyone inside buildings. Therefore, it is Public Health and Environment does moisture. always best to identify and correct high not recommend testing as a first step to • Identify and assess the magnitude moisture conditions quickly before determine if you have a mold problem.
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