About Toxic Mold

If you've been reading the paper or watching television lately, you've certainly heard a lot about Mold. Whether referred to as "Black Mold", "Toxic Mold", or the technical sounding "Stachybotrys", "Fusarium", "Cladosporium" and many more, Americans have suddenly been deluged with disturbing news about a new threat to our health.

Much like the early reports of asbestos dangers, the American public is beginning to ask if toxic mold is as serious a threat as media reports indicate. Meanwhile, the medical profession issues numerous alerts, while lawsuits against landlords, realtors, employers and insurers skyrocket.

You may have read about the closing of schools and buildings, rising incidence of asthma and related respiratory disease, the severe illness and even death of children, of multi-million dollar jury awards & settlements, of extensive cleanup projects.

The medical and legal communities have both begun to take mold contamination very seriously. Toxic mold has now been proven to cause asthma and severe allergic reactions to some exposed individuals. Bleeding lungs and other very serious ailments such as immune system disorders have been reported.

In short, mold kills. It destroys health, and can severely impact business owners, landlords, and employers, and it can decimate the value of real estate.

Visit our links page for complete resources regarding specific health threats, media reports, and the outcome of various legal battles.

Are you affected by Toxic Mold?

Until recently, determining if you have mold contamination, and whether the mold is of the dangerous variety, has been difficult and expensive, involving technically trained specialists. We at Toxic Mold Labs have been experts in mold testing and consulting, and have developed a simple, inexpensive, yet effective system to help homeowners and employers determine if they are affected. Visit our testing page to learn more.

Mold can spread anywhere there is enough moisture. It is resistant to even the strongest disinfectants and bleaches, often becoming dormant until the chemicals dry, at which point it often uses the leftover byproducts as food, spreading even more spores throughout a building. Eliminating leaks and moisture can slow the spread of mold, but testing to determine the type of mold is the first meaningful step in creating an action plan.

Professional mold inspectors can provide valuable information, but often at a cost of thousands of dollars. And with the recent media attention to toxic mold, the rise of "fly by night" testing services hoping to capitalize on public fear will certainly grow.

An affordable alternative

If you suspect you have a mold problem, whether mold is visible or not, an affordable alternative is the "tape lift sample". Used by many professional testers as a first-line of defense, tape sampling is effective, fast, and affordable. Mold spores are best identified visually, by a trained technician using powerful optical equipment.

Since mold spores are invisible, testing not only suspected areas (stains, water damaged areas, etc.) but areas where airborne dust accumulates (such as around your home air filter or air ducts) is the most effective way to utilize the tape-lift method.

Tape lifting isn't the same as an overall air quality test. But it is a quick and affordable way to determine if dangerous mold spores exist, by looking in the places they are most likely to settle.

Visit our testing page for more information.