While there are a lot of different genuses of mold, Cladosporium is one of the most frequently present molds in the global community. Around 40 species exist in the soil or living upon dead organic matter and there are studies that claim that the mold lives outdoors throughout the entire year, although the presence of this mold is lowered during the wintertime.
During the summer time, the spore levels of this mold can reach between two and fifty thousand particles per cubic meter of oxygen. The outdoor concentration of mold spores and whether you have an infestation of mold in your house influence the quality of the air in your home quite a lot.
Cladosporium infections are typically prevalent in any building material that has gotten wet, usually such things as drywall and lumber. There are four species that occur more commonly than others and these are Cladosporium cladosporioides, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Cladosporium herbarum, and Cladosporium macrocarpum. These are the most common in outdoor environments and their spores are transmitted by wind. When they are present in an indoor environment, they grow upon surfaces such as where condensation has developed on pipes or in areas where water is left to stand.
These molds are the most dangerous to people who have compromised immune systems, but they can tend to cause certain people to have allergic reactions. If someone is exposed to a high level of these spores, it can induce sensitivity to the mold and also aggravate asthma. What level of concentration induces these sensitivities and reactions depends upon the individual, though. What is a high level for one person may be a low level for another. Skin infections and sometimes sinusitis can occur, but sinusitis is not a very common occurrence.
The species of mold that fall in this genus are not difficult to detect in home mold testing kits and they can be colored green, grey, brown, or black when they grow on the test or on a surface. The only negative effects that are connected with Cladosporium mold are allergic reactions and these molds are not as serious as other molds such as Aspergillus or Stachybotrys. If you are exposed to Cladosporium mold for very long, however, it can lead to a weakened immune system. While Cladosporium molds do not make mycotoxins that are of any importance to human health, they can produce some pretty nasty compounds that cause a significant odor in the room.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut water damage restoration contractors and other states such as
North Carolina mold remediation contractor companies across the united states.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Protect Your Infant From Mold And Possibly Eliminate Crib Death
Something that a lot parents hate and cannot understand these days are diseases and disorders that the medical community claim that they cannot do anything about at this point in time. Parents become outraged when it happens to their child and the medical community says that there was nothing that they could have done to help or to prevent it from happening and this is the case with the occurrence we have come to call SIDS -- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
The term itself is a misnomer: it is not a “syndrome”. It is the act of dying suddenly and inexplicably. In European countries, it is also called “cot death”, since it is most commonly associated with babies that die in their cribs. The health care system of the United States has said that there is no true explanation of why crib death occurs, but a man in New Zealand may have come up with an answer… over a decade ago.
A man in New Zealand has begun a crusade against crib death and has pointed to a very likely explanation for it.
Most flame retardant mattresses contain one of three chemicals: antimony, arsenic, or phosphorus. These chemicals are poisonous to us as human beings and you have to wonder why they are being put in our mattresses in the first place, much less in the mattress of an infant.
We all know that babies will get their mattresses and bedding wet from spilling milk, juice, urinating through their diapers, and etcetera, but what happens when these spills do not get cleaned up properly? Mold can grow in mattresses just as easily as carpet or on wet clothing, but the difference is that when mold begins to grow in a mattress made with these poisonous chemicals, they (like anything else on the planet that digests things) secrete gases. Since mold is consuming poisonous chemicals, is it not safe to say that these gases are also poisonous? An infant sleeping on its stomach and breathing in these gases would probably die, right? It is a fact that less babies have died since the advice was given to sleep a child on his or her back instead of on their stomach.
His advice says to not re-use an old baby mattress, but to buy a new one when you have another child because the instances of crib death have shown to increase with the more children you have. It is more common in children that are the 2nd, 3rd, and so on in their family.
Special mattress wraps can also be purchased out of New Zealand for less than $50.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Mold Remediation and other states such as
New Jersey Sewage Damage Cleanup companies across the united states.
The term itself is a misnomer: it is not a “syndrome”. It is the act of dying suddenly and inexplicably. In European countries, it is also called “cot death”, since it is most commonly associated with babies that die in their cribs. The health care system of the United States has said that there is no true explanation of why crib death occurs, but a man in New Zealand may have come up with an answer… over a decade ago.
A man in New Zealand has begun a crusade against crib death and has pointed to a very likely explanation for it.
Most flame retardant mattresses contain one of three chemicals: antimony, arsenic, or phosphorus. These chemicals are poisonous to us as human beings and you have to wonder why they are being put in our mattresses in the first place, much less in the mattress of an infant.
We all know that babies will get their mattresses and bedding wet from spilling milk, juice, urinating through their diapers, and etcetera, but what happens when these spills do not get cleaned up properly? Mold can grow in mattresses just as easily as carpet or on wet clothing, but the difference is that when mold begins to grow in a mattress made with these poisonous chemicals, they (like anything else on the planet that digests things) secrete gases. Since mold is consuming poisonous chemicals, is it not safe to say that these gases are also poisonous? An infant sleeping on its stomach and breathing in these gases would probably die, right? It is a fact that less babies have died since the advice was given to sleep a child on his or her back instead of on their stomach.
His advice says to not re-use an old baby mattress, but to buy a new one when you have another child because the instances of crib death have shown to increase with the more children you have. It is more common in children that are the 2nd, 3rd, and so on in their family.
Special mattress wraps can also be purchased out of New Zealand for less than $50.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Mold Remediation and other states such as
New Jersey Sewage Damage Cleanup companies across the united states.
Mold and Your Lawn
Did you know that mold can grow on your lawn and kill all the grass that you worked so hard on during the spring, summer, and fall? Well, you might have known that mold spores and fungi like mushrooms can grow in your front and backyard, but maybe you were not aware of the mold that can grow underneath the blankets of snow that fall during the winter. It is true: if snow falls on your lawn and does not melt for a long period of time, mold can start growing and kill the grass underneath. This is especially true if the grass has not stopped growing before the snow falls and if the snow is thick and wet. Another significant factor is that the ground the snow falls on top of is not frozen.
The only real symptom that you should be able to see besides the mold growth itself is the appearance of large circular patches of dead grass. These circles can be from 3 up to 12 inches wide, but in the most extreme cases of snow mold, you may not be able to distinguish one patch from the next because the mold has killed so much of your lawn.
Pink snow mold appears to be the most dangerous to your grass and it is caused by a mold called Microdochium nivale. This mold, when it matures, can be a light to a dark pink color. This is the most dangerous kind of mold to your lawn because it kills not only the blades of grass, but also the roots. This needs to be treated as soon as possible before it kills your entire lawn, if it has not already.
Gray snow mold can be caused by a few different species in a genus called Typhula and it can be anywhere from gray to white in color. These molds typically do not do more damage to the grass than affecting the blades; the roots are not typically affected.
Snow molds like to grow in temperatures that are just above freezing and in moist conditions. Even though it is called “snow” mold, it can also be caused when leaves are left covering a patch of grass for too long.
Preventing snow mold is not too difficult, but sometimes it will occur, anyway. Do not fertilize your lawn less than six weeks before cold weather starts to come in and causes the grass to stop growing. This can cause a spurt of green growth that the mold will feed on after it starts to grow underneath the snowfall.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut water damage restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
The only real symptom that you should be able to see besides the mold growth itself is the appearance of large circular patches of dead grass. These circles can be from 3 up to 12 inches wide, but in the most extreme cases of snow mold, you may not be able to distinguish one patch from the next because the mold has killed so much of your lawn.
Pink snow mold appears to be the most dangerous to your grass and it is caused by a mold called Microdochium nivale. This mold, when it matures, can be a light to a dark pink color. This is the most dangerous kind of mold to your lawn because it kills not only the blades of grass, but also the roots. This needs to be treated as soon as possible before it kills your entire lawn, if it has not already.
Gray snow mold can be caused by a few different species in a genus called Typhula and it can be anywhere from gray to white in color. These molds typically do not do more damage to the grass than affecting the blades; the roots are not typically affected.
Snow molds like to grow in temperatures that are just above freezing and in moist conditions. Even though it is called “snow” mold, it can also be caused when leaves are left covering a patch of grass for too long.
Preventing snow mold is not too difficult, but sometimes it will occur, anyway. Do not fertilize your lawn less than six weeks before cold weather starts to come in and causes the grass to stop growing. This can cause a spurt of green growth that the mold will feed on after it starts to grow underneath the snowfall.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut water damage restoration and other states such as
New Jersey Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
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