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Black Mold: Ugly, Dangerous, Expensive. Or Not? |
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Written by SuperMold
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Two of the questions we are often asked are: Is the mold that looks
black all of the same type, and does mold always represent a health hazard?
I found a good short definition of mold here.
Many molds are black in appearance but aren't Stachybotrys atra - the
toxigenic mold that can grow in people's homes and make them ill. Black mold commonly found between bathroom tiles, for example, is not stachybotrys.
So, to answer the questions, black mold can be of different types, and with different degrees of hazard.
But definitely, mold can be toxic, and dangerous. As they are experiencing some shelter residents that fear mold.
Photographs taken of one of the apartment of the shelter show a thick
black substance spotting the lower corners of a bedroom. White spots
appear on some of the black areas.
A former resident manager said she and her family and neighbors suffer
from headaches, asthma, nausea, coughs and flu-like symptoms connected
to black mold found in her apartment. You can read the whole story here.
Could something like this happen to you or your family? God forbid, it
could. Wherever there's water, there's mold.
James McDonnell, CEO of
PRO-LAB, the leading manufacturer of the most complete line of home safety test kits, makes it very simple to understand: "Water is the cause, mold is the effect"
A mold problem can cost you money. And if you are a homeowner, can cost you big time.
Jan and Kevin Garder of Bremerton, Wash., discovered this the hard way.
The Garders thought they were doing the right thing when they told
their insurance company about some minor water damage caused by a
rainstorm last year.
They didn't know that insurers increasingly are using a huge industry
database, called the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange or CLUE,
to drop or deny coverage based on a home's history of claims or damage
reports.
Little they knew insurance companies are terrified of rising losses
from water and mold
damage.
So a single report of water-related problems may be enough for insurers
to shun your home.
Remember this story the next time you call your insurance company. |
