One In Five Rooms Is 'Highly Contaminated' With Hidden Mold

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One In Five Rooms Is 'Highly Contaminated' With Hidden Mold

ScienceDaily (Apr. 30, 2008) —

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430123552.htm

Surely your bathroom is fungus-free once you've wiped the mould off

the tiles? Not according to a study by French scientists in the

Royal Society of Chemistry's Journal of Environmental Monitoring.

They report that almost one in five rooms studied with no visible

mould was in fact " highly contaminated " by fungus which could

aggravate conditions such as asthma.

The study also found that bedrooms and living rooms were no less

contaminated than bathrooms and kitchens – " hidden " fungus was not

only airborne but found in carpets and soft furnishings, and behind

wallpaper, and was often colourless and odourless.

When assessing a building's level of contamination, many authorities

rely on trained investigators to see or smell the fungus – Sandrine

Roussel, lead author of the article, and collaborators say this is

not enough. By completing questionnaires and sampling the air in

hundreds of homes in France, they found that what you see is not

always what you get.

" Nowadays, no one would agree to live in housing which presents any

risks towards lead or carbon monoxide. Tomorrow, moulds and other

chemical substances will probably follow, " says Roussel.

Mould in the home is not just unsightly and indicative of poor

hygiene standards; it is known to aggravate a range of medical

conditions, such as asthma, rhinitis and hypersensitivity

pneumonitis. This study set out to establish if more could be done

to identify fungus as exacerbating these complaints.

Surprisingly, the study found that factors commonly held to increase

mould contamination had relatively little effect. The age of the

building, presence of pets and even outdoor and indoor temperature

had little bearing on fungus concentration.

As for airborne fungi, it made little or no difference if the room

was regularly used to dry clothes, or contained indoor plants –

factors that public health inspectors had previously highlighted as

key issues.

The researchers found that significant factors in levels of

contamination were structure, such as lack of ventilation or a

ground floor apartment, or accidental damage, such as water damage.

Journal reference: Roussel et al., J. Environ. Monit., 2008, DOI:

10.1039/b718909e

Adapted from materials provided by Royal Society of Chemistry.