Mold allergy – How to keep molds out of the home
Molds are a thread-like fungus. They reproduce by spreading spores.
The colors of molds vary considerably. Penicillin and aspergillus are green or black, the house fungus, Merulius lacrymans, is a reddish color.
Allergies of the respiratory tract – rhinitis and asthma – can be triggered by the spores of these molds, which are present everywhere: on decaying plant parts, in the air, and in closed rooms.
The concentration of molds in the air, similar to pollen, is dependent on weather conditions. It is especially high in late summer and early autumn, whenever it is hot and humid.
How to keep molds out of the home:
* Air out as often as possible rooms that are especially susceptible to molds, such as the bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, cellar, and attic.
* Tackle the source of dampness: seepage, rising moisture.
* Don’t let molding fruit lie around: a molding orange can have up to 15 billion spores growing on it.
* Avoid flower pots with earth covered by a whitish or orange-colored coating. This coating is made of molds.
* Molds grow especially well behind wallpaper.
Don’t forget: little-used second homes or vacation homes, as well as trailer homes, are ideal growing grounds for molds.
Outdoors, you can best avoid mold spores by
* not going into woods after a rain or in foggy weather,
* avoiding getting close to rotting leaves.