What is mold?
Molds are microscopic fungi, related to mushrooms, yeast, and mildew—and they can be found everywhere. Fungi use enzymes to digest food and reproductive cells called spores to reproduce. Molds play a vital part in the decomposition of leaves, wood, and other dead plant matter. Mold is used in the making of bleu cheese, and mold is the start-up source of penicillin, one of the earliest and most widely used naturally-occurring antibiotics. Unfortunately, mold is also one of the most common allergens on earth.
Where does mold grow?
Mold spores need moisture to grow. Molds can grow on wood, ceilings, wallpaper, paint, carpet, sheet rock, and insulation, and these fungi use their powerful enzymes to dissolve home materials just like they dissolve decaying plant matter. An area with high humidity sets the onset for extreme mold growth and thereby poses a risk to your health. Kitchens, bathrooms, garages, basements, and crawlspaces are notorious for mold growth. If any part of your home has experienced water damage, then you'll certainly will find mold there. The EPA estimates that one-third to one-half of all U.S. buildings have environments damp enough for the growing of mold. Although indoor humidity is normally lower in the winter time, indoor mold allergy may be more dominant during the winter in some homes due to tight, energy-efficient seals. Molds grow everywhere outdoors as well, and depending on their location, many people suffer from seasonal mold allergies.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Does Indoor Air Quality Affect Your Health?
Indoor air quality is good when it is odor and dust free, has adequate air movement and has a comfortable temperature and humidity. When indoor air quality (IAQ) is poor, most health-related complaints may mimic cold or flu-like symptoms such as headaches, sinus problems, nausea, fatigue or irritation of the eyes, nose or throat.
Potential sources of contaminants in office buildings include cleaning supplies, pesticides, new building materials, furnishings, dusts, cosmetics, molds, mildew and human by-products such as carbon dioxide, dander, perspiration and food or garbage not disposed of in an appropriate and frequent manner. Almost all of these are present in a building environment to some degree and only become magnified when concentrations become excessive.
Poor indoor air quality often occurs when ventilation is inadequate to keep contaminant concentrations at acceptable levels. The heating, ventilation, and air condition system should not only control contaminants, but must also provide a comfortable environment. The perception of unmoving or stale air, odor, draftiness or exorbitant temperature and humidity can lead to discomfort and the beginning of an indoor air quality complaint.
Indoor Air Quality... an Asthma Epidemic?
Asthma cases have more than doubled since 1976. One in 9 children have asthma. Death rates due to asthma have tripled, increased five-fold in kids ages 5-9. Doctor visits related to asthma are continuing to increase at an alarming rate.
Horrible...alarming news...despite all the advances in medicine! Even though there have been gigantic advances in asthma medications, you still need to be aware of the various side effects.
You may ask yourself if indoor air allergens and contaminants are the main causes. These health changes (for the worse) in the population's defense to asthma, cannot be a result of genetic or bodily causes. Your genetic composition could never change so quickly.
Therefore, it must be the environment in which you live that must have changed for the worse. There is plenty of evidence that tells us it has. In fact, it is airborne pollutants and elements that generally cause asthma attacks and other respiratory problems.
Most people believe it is the air outdoors that presents us, especially those with allergy or asthma sensitivities with the greatest risk. Yet, it is actually the air inside our homes, schools, and other buildings that is most harmful.
Indoor air is much more harmful than outdoor air and verifiable facts prove it. According to the American College of Allergies, 50% of all illness is aggravated or caused by polluted indoor air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) themselves declare that indoor air is anywhere from 2 to 10 times more hazardous than outdoor air. The EPA also warns us that the indoor air quality epidemic is the nation's number one environmental health problem.
Today's homes and buildings are built air-tight, with energy-efficiency in mind, as a result of the energy crisis of the 1970s. Their air-tight construction keep airborne pollutants trapped inside, and nature's air-cleansing agents outside. Is it any wonder that statistics for asthma problems began rising sharply around the same time that homes and buildings began to be built this way? In fact, a recent study found that the allergen level in super-insulated homes is 200% higher than it is in ordinary homes. According to Scientific America, a baby crawling on the floor inhales the equivalent of 4 cigarettes a day, as a result of the outgassing of carpets, molds, mildews, fungi, and dust mites.
Most people spend well over 90% of their time inside. Therefore, indoor air is going to impact your health far more than outdoor air.
Still believe you are not affected by the indoor air quality epidemic? Virtually everyone is affected, especially asthmatics and others who are particularly sensitive to allergens and contaminants in the air. No home or building is immune to the indoor air quality epidemic.
According to the EPA, 6 out of 10 homes and buildings are "sick", meaning they are hazardous to your health to occupy as a result of airborne pollutants. Even the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) very own headquarters, constructed a few years ago, was determined to be "sick". Many EPA employees could not work inside the building without becoming sick. If the headquarters of the EPA can fall victim to the indoor air quality epidemic, the very government agency that is charged with finding solutions to this problem, then any home or building can be afflicted. In fact, every home and building is affected by the indoor air quality epidemic to various degrees, regardless of how clean it may seem. Every home is filled with prime sources that contribute to mass quantities of airborne allergens and contaminants.
For example, even though your home looks really clean, you should question yourself how it got to be this way. Did you use toxic aerosols, floor and/or furniture polish, bleach, ammonia, bathroom cleaners, etc.? If so, be advised that these products emit harmful chemical vapors into the air.
The Sick Building Syndrome
Most homes or buildings are carpeted, painted, with chemically-treated furnishings. there is dust, insects, moist or damp stuff, food, and people. People? Yes, humans shed more than just about any other animal, but our skin flakes are small enough to float in the air, and are consequently inhaled by anyone who enters a populated room.
For a graphic example, picture a floating ray of sunshine, coming through your window. About 80% of what you see floating in this ray of sunshine is dead human skin! There are additional sources of airborne pollutants that you may bring indoors, such as cigarette smoke and pet dander. Even if you eliminate or prohibit a certain source of indoor air pollution from your home, such as pets, you may still be affected.
To cite an example... a recent study conducted in Philadelphia tested a random sample of homes for the number one allergy trigger: cat dander. Out of all the homes tested, 100% were found to contain cat dander, despite the fact that many of these homes did not have a cat.
Horrible...alarming news...despite all the advances in medicine! Even though there have been gigantic advances in asthma medications, you still need to be aware of the various side effects.
You may ask yourself if indoor air allergens and contaminants are the main causes. These health changes (for the worse) in the population's defense to asthma, cannot be a result of genetic or bodily causes. Your genetic composition could never change so quickly.
Therefore, it must be the environment in which you live that must have changed for the worse. There is plenty of evidence that tells us it has. In fact, it is airborne pollutants and elements that generally cause asthma attacks and other respiratory problems.
Most people believe it is the air outdoors that presents us, especially those with allergy or asthma sensitivities with the greatest risk. Yet, it is actually the air inside our homes, schools, and other buildings that is most harmful.
Indoor air is much more harmful than outdoor air and verifiable facts prove it. According to the American College of Allergies, 50% of all illness is aggravated or caused by polluted indoor air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) themselves declare that indoor air is anywhere from 2 to 10 times more hazardous than outdoor air. The EPA also warns us that the indoor air quality epidemic is the nation's number one environmental health problem.
Today's homes and buildings are built air-tight, with energy-efficiency in mind, as a result of the energy crisis of the 1970s. Their air-tight construction keep airborne pollutants trapped inside, and nature's air-cleansing agents outside. Is it any wonder that statistics for asthma problems began rising sharply around the same time that homes and buildings began to be built this way? In fact, a recent study found that the allergen level in super-insulated homes is 200% higher than it is in ordinary homes. According to Scientific America, a baby crawling on the floor inhales the equivalent of 4 cigarettes a day, as a result of the outgassing of carpets, molds, mildews, fungi, and dust mites.
Most people spend well over 90% of their time inside. Therefore, indoor air is going to impact your health far more than outdoor air.
Still believe you are not affected by the indoor air quality epidemic? Virtually everyone is affected, especially asthmatics and others who are particularly sensitive to allergens and contaminants in the air. No home or building is immune to the indoor air quality epidemic.
According to the EPA, 6 out of 10 homes and buildings are "sick", meaning they are hazardous to your health to occupy as a result of airborne pollutants. Even the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) very own headquarters, constructed a few years ago, was determined to be "sick". Many EPA employees could not work inside the building without becoming sick. If the headquarters of the EPA can fall victim to the indoor air quality epidemic, the very government agency that is charged with finding solutions to this problem, then any home or building can be afflicted. In fact, every home and building is affected by the indoor air quality epidemic to various degrees, regardless of how clean it may seem. Every home is filled with prime sources that contribute to mass quantities of airborne allergens and contaminants.
For example, even though your home looks really clean, you should question yourself how it got to be this way. Did you use toxic aerosols, floor and/or furniture polish, bleach, ammonia, bathroom cleaners, etc.? If so, be advised that these products emit harmful chemical vapors into the air.
The Sick Building Syndrome
Most homes or buildings are carpeted, painted, with chemically-treated furnishings. there is dust, insects, moist or damp stuff, food, and people. People? Yes, humans shed more than just about any other animal, but our skin flakes are small enough to float in the air, and are consequently inhaled by anyone who enters a populated room.
For a graphic example, picture a floating ray of sunshine, coming through your window. About 80% of what you see floating in this ray of sunshine is dead human skin! There are additional sources of airborne pollutants that you may bring indoors, such as cigarette smoke and pet dander. Even if you eliminate or prohibit a certain source of indoor air pollution from your home, such as pets, you may still be affected.
To cite an example... a recent study conducted in Philadelphia tested a random sample of homes for the number one allergy trigger: cat dander. Out of all the homes tested, 100% were found to contain cat dander, despite the fact that many of these homes did not have a cat.
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