Green Mold in Basement

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Q + A: Green Mold in Basement

Tom Kraeutler's Home Improvement Tips & Tricks

http://journals.aol.com/tomsmoneypit/tom-kraeutlers-home-improvement-

/entries/2007/07/02/q--a-green-mold-in-basement/1894

What is the green mold growing in my basement? It is growng on

furniture, boxes, plastic tubs, etc. I am afraid to even check all

my videos. What is this mold? My landlord is bringing in

inspectors tomorrow. My landlord said that I should not be storing

anything in the basement. However, I have lived here in PA in this

house for 18 months. The flooring in the basement is concrete. I

have had previous mold exposure in CA when I lost my home. I have

sealed all the vents from the basement to the first floor. I am

still getting sick. What is this green mold?

washechu 7-2-07 2:16pm

I don't want to alarm you but this situation sounds pretty serious.

Although I can not be certain without seeing and confirming what you

have with a lab report, my first guess would be a potentially toxic

mold called Aspergillus.

Under certain conditions, this type of microfungus, along with

others, such as species of Stachybotrys chartarum (often referred to

as " toxic black mold " ) can produce mycotoxins which have an impact

on human health. Aspergillus mold can be more of a concern than

Stachybotrys chartarum, though, for several reasons.

While Stachybotrys chartarum requires wet conditions (steady leaks

or a floor flood) in order to thrive, and thus is not as common as

Aspergillus molds, which can grow in conditions of elevated relative

humidity. Aspergillus spores are also smaller than Stachybotrys

spores, and thus can remain airborne longer and are easier to breath.

The photo above depicts Aspergillus and was supplied by Jeff May,

author of The Mold Survival Guide and several other leading books on

indoor air quality. Jeff also authored much of The Money Pit's Mold

Resource Guide which you can review on our web site for additional

information.

In any event, a thorough, professional inspection by a mold expert

is the appropriate first step to determining exactly what you have

and what needs to be done about it. Until then, hold tight. One of

the fastest ways to contaminate an entire house is by attempting to

remove a serious mold infestation without having the knowledge,

qualifications and tools to do so.

Reaching Tom: If you have a home improvement question or comment on

this topic, please post it below. For answers to other home

improvement questions, please email Tom at tomsmoneypit@... so

your question can be used in future blog entries, or search Tom's

home improvement articles at moneypit.com.

Tags: mold, indoor air quality, toxic mold, toxic black mold,

Aspergillus, Stachybotrys chartarum, Stachybotrys, Jeff May, Tom

Kraeutler, The Money Pit