Black Mold Testing And A Brief Look At Why It’s So Important 5 (100%) 6 votes (100%)votes

A brief look at black mold throughout history and the reason why black mold testing is so important if you think it’s growing inside your home.

I don’t know if everyone truly appreciates how important black mold testing is, and should you ever find any black mold in your home you’re not afforded the luxury of waiting around before you deal with it. Do you know there happens to be thousands of different non-toxic mold species? When you compare that to the 14 species of black mold we classify as toxic the latter seems insignificant, but when you do stumble across it in your home black mold testing is of the utmost importance. This is because not only will it destroy your home, but it will cause severe issues with your health too.

It’s Been Around Since Biblical Times

Whether or not you believe the bible is true doesn’t matter, but I’m sure you can’t dispute the fact it was written nearly 2,000 years ago. In the Book Of Leviticus, when someone found a stone with black mold growing on it they had to usher it outside their city as quickly as possible. After they were finished everyone who had set foot in the house had to wash themselves thoroughly, and if any more were to be discovered inside the same house it was to be destroyed right away.

Discovered In Eastern Europe

Fast forward a few years, and a Czech mycologist was supposedly the first person to identify toxic black mold in the middle of the 19th century, after he discovered it growing on a wall in a house located in Prague. Over a hundred years later cattle started to die all over Eastern Europe, and Russian scientists came to the conclusion it was caused by black mold. The animals had been eating it after the mold started to grow on their damp hay, and only then did it begin to get studied.

Black Mold Affecting Humans

Once again, it took another hundred years before they began to realize the toxic affect on humans. The problems arose in the same way, only this time the farmers who ended up sick had came into contact with the black mold growing on the wet hay. Some unlucky people even ate grain covered in the mold around that time, resulting in terrible abdominal pain, constant vomiting, and extreme nausea. The skin irritation, fatigue, and fevers caused through contact alone were just as bad.

New Building Codes

Toxic black mold has been present in homes since as early as 2,000 years ago, but towards the end of the 20th century it began to get worse. The reason it’s now a bigger problem than before is thanks to new building codes, which require homes to be constructed with less ventilation in order to conserve more energy. When the insides of the walls are more airtight, the moisture in the air gets trapped and aids in the growth of black mold. The use of cheap building materials to save costs doesn’t help the situation either.

Affecting People In Their Homes

Even though all this time had passed with the black mold being well-documented, it wasn’t until 1986 when a family from Chicago were the first people to show symptoms caused by the mold growing in their home. Black mold testing found there were toxic spores in the air, and they were also found on the materials inside the home. Although the family were thought to have lived with the black mold for over 5 years, as soon as it was removed from their home all of their symptoms vanished into thin air.

It’s Only Started To Get Worse

Now that black mold has been brought to the attention of the public, the amount of reported cases has gone up. There have been reports of houses being burned to the ground because they were left unsalvageable. As you’ve probably guessed, lawsuits surrounding black mold have also been on the increase over the last few decades. They even say half a million people in America die because of it each year, although a lot of those cases might include those with pre-existing health conditions.

The Importance Of Black Mold Testing

This wasn’t meant to frighten you, but only to help make you aware of the importance of black mold testing. As mentioned earlier, very few species of mold are toxic so the chances of it growing in your home isn’t very high. Just make sure if you ever do come across any black mold you don’t sit on it for too long, because you will suffer from health complications until we’ve been in to remove it from your home.