Black Mold

Do any of you know anything at all about this horrible deadly type of mold that makes people so sick? I remember a long time ago I saw a show on TV about it, and some people were having to burn their houses down or move out because of it...I am sure I am just a terrible worry wart...but I discovered some mold on the ceiling in my baby's closet...(in the nursery) I am paranoid and don't want to let her sleep in there until I make sure it is okay....I called the Public Health Dept. for our county and left numerous messages, asking if they would please come out and test it...I had called the poisen control center of Methodist Hopital in Des Moines as soon as I discovered it, and the woman who was very polite and helpful told me to call the Public Health Dept. for my county and ask them to come and look at it....she said they could test it and find out if it was harmless mold (caused possibly by a leak in the roof that wasn't bad enough to actually drip water but was collecting moisture and causing the mold) or if it was the deadly "black mold" which she gave me the name of...Stachy something...it is a long name...

So I called and finally I got ahold of someone there...she was rather rude, and acted like I must be some welfare mother living in a dump with mold in it. We live in a nice house, nothing fancy, but it is the house I grew up in, and it is a nice house....we are not lowlifes, and even if I was a mother on welfare in a bad neighborhood...which I am not...(nothing against mothers on welfare, I am NOT saying they are lowlifes, so please don't think I am saying that by any means...but you know how they get treated different sometimes...which is WRONG!!!) it STILL would not justify not calling me back or coming over as soon as possible to check this out!!!!! I have a BABY in the house for pete's sakes!!!!!


Anyway...this woman said she didn't know what to tell me about this mold, and she would have to talk to someone there to see if they would come out and look at it or test it or whatever and that she would call me back that day (yesterday) and let me know....do you think I have heard ONE word from these people?????? No!!! And I also have an answering machine, and caller ID so I KNOW they haven't called...yesterday OR today!!!!!!!!!!


Sorry....I had to vent!!!! This is worrying me silly!!!!!!!!!!! The mold is about a foot in diameter, mostly grey, not thick, slightly fuzzy, but what worries me is that there are two small spots that are a very dark grey...almost black.

Does anyone have any information about this deadly mold???

I am sure it isn't it. It is probably harmless.....but I am worried nonetheless.

OK, Debby, calm down and breathe. The stuff you've got sounds like ordinary mildew. You should, probably, get it tested and have your roof inspected, though. Unless a person is violently allergic, they don't die from mold. For now, keep the spot closed off and maybe staple some plastic sheeting over it. The leaky roof will probably cause more problems, in the long run.

The main thing is to get the appointment for testing. Call again on Monday if you don't hear anything.


Actually, I know quite a bit about the problem because of recent news articles stating the dangers. Also, areas like Vancouver, British Columbia experience this alot because of the continual dampness and homeowners have lost many investement to toxic mold. A large problem these days are actually with homes that are of new construction. New homes are being 'oversealed' and therefore moisture cannot properly escape.

Here's a good resource and it also lists your legal rights:

Toxic Mold

Hope this helps!

Thanks Cindy! That is very reassurring!!! I am probably worried about nothing....I wouldn't even get so freaked out if it wasn't for the baby. Thanks for listening! I just got so mad when that woman was so rude to me.

Thanks Kassandra!!!!!!!!!! I will go check that out!!!!! Thanks for the link!!!!

I will call again on Monday if I haven't heard anything from them.

I just went and read that...that is the name the woman gave me of the deadly mold...Stachybotoris (spelled wrong I'm sure)

It sounds like it could be that...but it might well just be a harmless mold as well...no real way of telling unless it is tested...but the thing that makes me feel a bit better is that it said that if it IS the deadly mold, it can usually be stopped from causing problems by cleaning it with a bleach and water solution....I can do that. But of course we will have to get to the source of the problem if it it caused from a leak...which they said could produce this deadly mold as well...but it worries me that it could still be INSIDE our walls...unseen and no way of knowing it was still there....


Thanks for listening, guys, and for your help!!! Kass, the website has helped ALOT!!!!

debby -

i don't blame you for worrying. if i had a baby in the house i would worry, too.

we had mold in the basement when i moved into this house. and i am not a lowlife at all! at least i don't think so.

hope they call you back and you get some good news on it!

oh dont let the health dept people walk all over you debby - i remember the health dept here had to be evacuated because they had toxic mold in their hvac systems!

Hmm, that was actually a pretty interesting page. I never knew there was really "deadly" mold like that.

Debby: I hope they stop giving you a hard time and come and check it out! Your right, no one of any stature should be treated that way, specially the people who DO live in bad housing, who could use someone to come out and check out these things and remove them the most! Yeah know?

Thanks guys! I will let you know what I find out!

That was very interesting. Thank you for bringing this up Debby! I have two large mold spots in our bedroom from the recent rains... they're unsightly but I never knew they can be dangerous! I will clean them with bleach tomorrow when I can have the windows open to air out the bleach fumes.

Debby here is a good product to invest in to stop this problem before it starts. Plus it works wonders on litterbox odors too! I have been running this now non stop for 2 weeks in the cat room and you can't even smell the litter pan even after they use it. It is a breath of fresh air, and helps mold spores too-

Ionic Cat Litter Box Purifier

Hmmm we have the Ionic Breeze in our bed room, I suppose that helps control mold as well?
We just got it for my fiances animal allergies

There was an outbreak of that toxic black mold when we lived in Kansas City. We had it around our widows. We both wondered why we had the flu for so long, and after we moved out of that house, we were fine. I was sick for several weeks after cleaning it off of everything before moving. We never raised the shades in that part of the house, and had no idea it was even there. It was all inside the fireplace, too, but since I never broke the seal after it had been cleaned the last time, I didn't have to clean that.
They had a thing on the news to check your houses for it, and it turned up all over our neighborhood.

How does the ionic breeze work. I have always wanted to try one.
Denise

Krazy Kat...was the mold slimy? This mold I have isn't slimy, just a little fuzzy...I am hoping it is harmless...I also hope they call me tomorrow, I left my work number on their machine.

Hissy, thanks for the link! I will have to check it out!!!!

ceehorn:

The ionic breeze kinda makes me think of a bug zapper personally.
It pulls in all the allergiens/dust/mold etc in the air, and then it sticks to these plates inside unti your ready to clean it.

And in turn it lets out clean fresh filtered air.

Here's a link to them from their website right here. Just click on their images and it will bring you to more information. I must tell you they aren't exactly cheap however. And it's really best to start with a CLEAN VERY CLEAN house first.
Back at our old apartment, where it was mostly taken care of by guys for a long time (aka it was disgusting) and we didn't have a good vacum cleaner to really get rid of a lot of the pet fur etc. So I'd be cleaning this ionic breeze like every 2-3 days!
But now at our new place, which started off clean when I moved in, and I keep it clean. I have to clean it about once every 7-10 days.

They called me at work last Monday and said they were talking to someone from the state board of health about what to do about it and that they would get back to me. She said they would probably want to come out and take a sample to test it.....that's the last I have heard.