Yes, mold has invaded the ultimate sanctum.

The Library.

St. Albans High School Library has visible mold eating the books. 10,060 of them. Apparently while the kids were away, the books had a moist and humid summer.

A maintenance crew has come in to clean the books and work on the ventilation. They are, ironically to say the least, replacing the fresh air “dampers.” The remediation crew will be putting air scrubbers in the hallway and taking measures that the mold stirred by the cleanup will have minimum effect on the rest of the building.

If you’re in California, you might want to give us a call and see about getting an assessment from Byebyemold.

Toxic Terminology the semantics of mold

If you’re going to be talking about mold, then you need to get this concept of black mold right. All mold is not toxigenic. Some molds make mycotoxins which are toxigenic, but NOT ALL mold is toxic, and technically the term TOXIC BLACK MOLD is a complete misnomer.

Black mold may be black but it isn’t necessarily toxic. You might be allergic to it, however. You might see symptoms like breathing difficulties, memory and hearing loss, dizziness, and flu-like symptoms if you’re inhaling mold spores you’re allergic to.

Toxins, on the other hand, affect everyone.

There are different types of MYCOTOXINS toxic chemical products born of mold.

Aflatoxins

Aflatoxins are a mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus like A. flavus and A. parasiticus.) Aflatoxins are carcinogenic in most mammals. When you see the USDA announcements of massive quantities of peanuts and corn being recalled, it is frequently because of a deadly mycotoxin contamination. Some forms have been proven related to liver cancer.

Ochratoxin

No relation to okra, regardless of the name. Ochratoxin is produced by Penicillium and Aspergillus and there are different forms (A, B and C known as OTA, OTB and OTC) OTA is a carcinogen linked to tumors.

Citrinin

Citrinin is an acutely toxic mycotoxin, the cause of Japan’s “Yellow Rice Disease.” It is a Nephrotoxic mycotoxin capable of inducing mitochondrial permeability transition.

Ergot Alkaloids

This is a toxic mixture of alkaloids found in Claviceps which are pathogens of various species of grasses, such as RYE. Ergot hallucinations were responsible for some of the events of the Salem witch trials, and cause ergotism historically known as St. Anthony’s Fire. Ergotamines are mycotoxins which cause the constriction of blood vessels which can result in tissue death, nerve damage and gangrene.

Fusarium toxins
The 50 species of Fusarium produce Fusarium toxins which infect grain and can infect those who eat infected grain.

Ironically, pharmaceutical companies use these same mycotoxins in various drugs. But when they’re growing on your walls, making you sick, they are certainly not medicinal.

Just remember this: the toxic Black Mold that you hear spoken about so glibly and frequently may be something else entirely. The term toxic black mold is simply an easy term people use when they aren’t going to bother taking the time and expense of sampling of every type of mold encountered to the lab to determine the actual taxonomy.

If this is your situation too, and you’re in California, you might want to give us a call and see about getting an assessment from Byebyemold.

24 states have declared mold statutes but Georgia is not among them. Even if mold is growing unchecked in a daycare, there’s no state statute.

Georgia has rigorous statutes for daycare except for mold or indoor air quality.

In the Mendocino County Social Services Department building on South State Street, a leaky roof is causing mold in the carpet. Two days after an employee reported the mold, Cal/OSHA began looking into the problem–a problem which may be more serious than it appears at first because this mold is occurring after the problem was supposed to have already been fixed.

Cal/OSHA will be sending in inspectors to judge how hazardous the mold situation is.

If this is your situation too, and you’re in California, you might want to give us a call and see about getting an assessment from Byebyemold.

Anyone looking for a home on the coast should certainly have a mold inspection prior to purchase. If there is mold found, there is probably a water problem lurking somewhere. Anything from an actual roof or plumbing leak, to trapped humidity can be indicative of a more aggressive problem that a new homeowner would not wish to be stuck with some time down the road. If mold is found, then in addition to elimination of the mold, whatever underlying water problem exists must also be handled if the new homeowner wants to avoid a repeat of the same problem some years down the road.

Call Bye Bye Mold

While mold has taken residence in (circa 1978) Fire Station No. 4 (Escondido), don’t look for the fireman there. They’ve taken up residence at the the Aegis Escondido Retirement development, at least for the duration of this year, as the city spends $300,000 removing mold from the firehouse.

Aegis is less than a mile from the fire station and is said to be the ideal temporary location, not only because of proximity to the old firehouse, but also because of the proximity to crucial high-need areas, and also the amenities.

1) Vacuum–Use a machine that captures dust and does not blow it back into the air. Good vacuums reduce allergen particles, and are asthma and allergy friendly.

2) Air purifiers–Purifiers with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are the best option. They remove at least 99.97 percent of airborne particles. This includes mold spores that normally float around in the air you breathe.

3) Mold–Remove it. Use elbow grease, soap, water and bleach to cleaning the moldy area. Dead causes allergic reactions so after you kill mold, remove it.

4) Leaks-eliminate them. Mold loves water.

There’s an old saying “Don’t let the fox guard the henhouse.” It comes from an even older Latin saying, “Ovem lupo commitere.” There should be an Aesop’s fable covering this, but there’s not, so I’m making one up.

Once upon a time, a farmer had made friends with the fox who came daily to look at the henhouse. The day came when the farmer set the friendly fox to guard the chicken house. Of course, chicks and chickens came up missing–because, after all, a fox is a fox is a fox.

(Well, Aesop, I’m not.)

But it makes the point–do not assign a job to someone who can exploit it for their own ends. It is setting the scene for failure.

This is why ByeBye Mold asks “How can a company that tests for mold also do the remediation without a conflict of interest?” The answer is they can’t.

ByeBye Mold tests for mold, but does not do the remediation. Byebye Mold has no vested interest in whether or not your property tests negative or positive for mold.

The irresistable face of the fox is brought to you by the magic of Microsoft clip art

Youtube Caption: Black Mold Exposure follows Michael Roland Williams, filmmaker, and Karen Noseff, founder and designer of Fortune Denim, struggling to regain their livelihood and well-being after they were unknowingly exposed to high levels of various molds that had infested Karens apartment.

A growing number of people from all ages and walks of life claim mold made them ill while physicians, lawmakers, and medical associations dispute the validity of these claims. Most of the symptoms of those claiming illness from mold can be caused by, and diagnosed as, any number of other illnesses. There are no standardized methods to measure what molds, at what exposure levels, over what period of time, might cause any given person to become ill.

BLACK MOLD EXPOSURE explores the bizarre illnesses associated with exposure to toxic mold and the film participants difficult task of regaining their health and lives in an atmosphere of political and social intolerance and disbelief.

17 Types Found Include:
Alternaria
Aphanocladium
Aspergillus fumigatus
Aspergillus niger
Aspergillus ochraceus
Aspergillus versicolor
Bipolaris
Blakeslea
Curvularia
Engyodontium
Fusarium
Memnoniella
Nigrospora
Non-sporulating fungi
Penicillium
Stachybotrys chartarum
Trichoderma