Overview The indoor environment is a creation of the modern era. Previously, buildings were notable for the extent to which they were really open to the outside air, a system that could be referred to as natural ventilation. But, technological advances have permitted us to seal buildings tightly, recirculate the air within them, and fill them with a variety of particle- and chemical-emitting materials and objects. Complaints and anecdotes regarding illnesses produced by life inside such buildings have become commonplace [109, 1050, 1520, 1883]. Several categories of these illnesses have been proposed [1520]: Specific Illnesses Indoor transmission of standard infectious […]

Overview Remediation (cleanup) covers a broad range of topics. Several good references are available [90, 93, 95, 98], and we summarize some of our favorites on our resources page. Before reading further, please also remember that you will never be able to eliminate all traces of a fungus from your environment. Fungi are present in all indoor environments [82]! Indeed, fungi are very important to the world’s ecology! For remediation to be successful, the following issues must be considered carefully: Why Did the Infestation Occur? Fungi require food and water. The building or its contents serve as the food, and […]

Homeowner FAQ More resources Overview The evaluation of patients with mould-related complaints is often difficult. Real illness and simply anxiety are often intermingled. This situation is made even more difficult by the absence of easily applied diagnostic tools. This FAQ list addresses some of the more common questions in this area. FAQ What sorts of moulds are typical in the environment? Aspergillus, Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Penicillium are the most commonly found moulds. Stachybotrys is usually present in only small amounts [96, 745]. Do I need to know what sort of mould is in the environment? Not always. All of them […]

Overview We often receive questions about evaluation of individuals exposed (or potentially exposed) to fungi or mycotoxins. The questions typically run along the following lines. For an organized discussion of the entire issue of environmental moulds, you should start at the beginning of our environmental mycoses section and read through all the pages (including this page). However, if you are in a hurry, you can start with the short answers that follow on this page. I have learned that my building is contaminated with fungi. I think I may have inhaled, breathed, or touched fungus-contaminated materials or air. I am […]

Overview There are many useful resources on the web for environmental mould-related issues. We provide specific references on our environmental mould-related pages, but the items listed here are all readily downloaded and are unusually helpful. If you want to read more deeply, this is the place to start. In many cases, we provide two links to a document. One link is to the document as we found it, another is to the website that held the link to the document. As websites do get re-arranged from time to time, we usually provide both types of links in an effort to […]

Overview Fungi in general, and moulds in particular, can cause disease of people and animals in three ways [82]: Fungi can produce an actual infection of the host. This involves growth on or in the person or animal. It is quite uncommon for environmental moulds to produce this sort of disease unless one has a very severe reduction in the function of the immune system (e.g., is undergoing intensive therapy for cancer or is taking high doses of corticosteroids for prolonged periods of time.) We discuss these types of diseases on our N/A(L):human and N/A(L):veterinary mycoses pages. Fungi can produce […]

Overview An evaluation for the presence of indoor fungi in a residence or other building usually has one of two broad goals. (Note: Indoor fungus problems are almost exclusively due to mould fungi rather than yeast fungi, and the subsequent discussion will focus on the moulds.) First, structural damage may follow from mould growth on (or in) walls and other areas in the home. When moulds have grown on walls, they may have also grown through the wallboard into the internal space of the wall. Mould growth on carpets and other items in a room can concurrently occur. The moulds […]