Got Mold in Dacula, Georgia? Get the Test.
Mold and fungus are often associated with unpleasant things such as musty odors, damp basements, and moldy carpets. They can also be linked to water leaks, soggy drywall, athlete's foot, and poisonous mushrooms.
Great information! Fungi are indeed a diverse group of organisms that can be found in various forms. From mushrooms to molds, they can be both beneficial and harmful to humans. It's important to understand their characteristics and how they can affect our health and environment.
Dacula MOLD REMOVAL QUOTE
Dacula Testing for common indoor mold species
Are you looking for information related to mold growth and its effects on indoor? Mold and other fungi can easily grow in damp spaces, leading to respiratory issues and other physical symptoms. In addition to visible or hidden mold, these spaces may also harbor other harmful elements. While it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause-and-effect relationship, it's important to be aware of the potential risks associated with mold growth.
Asbestos Testing
a heat-resistant fibrous silicate mineral that can be woven into fabrics, and is used in fire-resistant and insulating materials such as brake linings: asbestos was used for pipe insulation,
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Not to be confused with the lung disease caused by asbestos, asbestosis. See below for history of asbestos.
Water Damage Disaster
Mold Prevention Tips for Dacula
If you're dealing with water damage, it's important to be aware of the potential for mold growth. People with respiratory issues may be particularly sensitive to mold, so it's important to take precautions such as wearing an N95 mask when inside the building. Controlling moisture is key to preventing mold growth, especially after natural disasters like floods. If you suspect mold growth or experience health problems after exposure, contact your doctor or healthcare provider.
get your daily air quality forecast
Dacula Humans & Pets
Mold 101: Affects on human health
Mold is a non-scientific term for many types of unwanted fungi found both indoors and outdoors. Active mold growth requires moisture. Actively-growing mold damages the material it lives on, thereby impairing structural integrity. In addition, mold is associated with some untoward health effects in humans, including allergies and infections.
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Some of the health effects found in animals and humans include death, identifiable diseases or health problems, weakened immune systems without specificity to a toxin, and as allergens or irritants. Some mycotoxins are harmful to other micro-organisms such as other fungi or even bacteria; penicillin is one example. It has been suggested that mycotoxins in stored animal feed are the cause of rare phenotypical sex changes in hens that causes them to look and act male.​
In humans
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Mycotoxicosis is the term used for poisoning associated with exposures to mycotoxins. Mycotoxins have the potential for both acute and chronic health effects via ingestion, skin contact, inhalation, and entering the blood stream and lymphatic system. They inhibit protein synthesis, damage macrophage systems, inhibit particle clearance of the lung, and increase sensitivity to bacterial endotoxin.
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The symptoms of mycotoxicosis depend on the type of mycotoxin; the concentration and length of exposure; as well as age, health, and sex of the exposed individual. The synergistic effects associated with several other factors such as genetics, diet, and interactions with other toxins have been poorly studied. Therefore, it is possible that vitamin deficiency, caloric deprivation, alcohol abuse, and infectious disease status can all have compounded effects with mycotoxins.
Aspergillus niger
Aspergillus niger is a fungus and one of the mostcommon species of the genus Aspergillus.
Aspergillus terreus
Thissaprotrophic fungus isprevalent in warmer climates such as tropical and subtropical regions.
Stachybotrys chartarum
AKA black mold, is a variety of microfungus that produces its conidia in slime heads.
Aspergillus nidulans
A homothallic fungus, meaning it is able to self-fertilize and form fruiting bodies in the absence of a mating partner. It has septate hyphae with a woolly colony texture and white mycelia.
Aspergillus versicolor
It has a characteristic mustyodor associated with moldy homes and is a major producer of the hepatotoxic and carcinogenic mycotoxinsterigmatocystin.
Mucor racemosus
This species is considered an opportunistic pathogen, generally limited to immunocompromised individuals.
Asbestos; the History...
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals, thin fibrous
crystals, with each visible fiber composed of millions of microscopic "fibrils" that can be released by abrasion and other processes.
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The minerals are chrysotile, amosite,
crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite.
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Asbestos has been mined for over 4,000 years, but large-scale mining began at the end of the 19th century, when manufacturers and builders began using asbestos for its desirable physical properties.
Some of those properties are sound absorption, average tensile strength, affordability, and resistance to fire, heat, and electricity.
It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation.
When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. These desirable properties led to asbestos being used very widely until the late 20th century.
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Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious and fatal illnesses including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis.
Mold, fungus, microbes, black mold
Mold list
Aspergillus niger
Penicillium chrysogenum
Aspergillus oryzae
Aspergillus flavus
Penicillium digitatum
Aspergillus fumigatus
Black bread mold
Alternaria alternata
Stachybotrys chartarum
Mucor mucedo
Aspergillus versicolor
Penicillium expansum
Cladosporium sphaerospermum
Aspergillus terreus
Aspergillus nidulans
Penicillium pinophilum
Fusarium oxysporum
Rhizopus oligosporus
Cladosporium herbarum
Fusarium proliferatum
Aspergillus penicillioides
Penicillium roqueforti
Rhizopus oryzae
Aspergillus parasiticus
Trichophyton rubrum
Penicillium camemberti
Aspergillus ochraceus
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Penicillium marneffei
Cladosporium cladosporioides
Trichophyton interdigitale
Trichoderma harzianum
Mucor racemosus
Aspergillus glaucus
Aspergillus sojae
Aspergillus clavatus
Trichophyton tonsurans
Trichoderma viride
Alternaria solani
Penicillium glaucum
Aspergillus sydowii
Fusarium sporotrichioides
Trichoderma reesei
Penicillium brevicompactum
Mucor hiemalis
Trichophyton verrucosum
Penicillium nalgiovense
Aspergillus restrictus
Penicillium glabrum
Alternaria tenuissima
Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici
Aspergillus wentii
Dacula Indoor Environments
Buildings are another source of mycotoxins and people living or working in areas with mold increase their chances of adverse health effects. Molds growing in buildings can be divided into three groups — primary, secondary, and tertiary colonizers. Each group is categorized by the ability to grow at a certain water activity requirement. It has become difficult to identify mycotoxin production by indoor molds for many variables, such as (i) they may be masked as derivatives (ii) they are poorly documented and (iii) the fact that they are likely to produce different metabolites on building materials.
Some of the Dacula mycotoxins in the indoor environment are produced by Alternaria, Aspergillus (multiple forms), Penicillium, and Stachybotrys. Stachybotrys chartarum contains a higher number of mycotoxins than other molds grown in the indoor environment and has been associated with allergies and respiratory inflammation. The infestation of S. chartarum in buildings containing gypsum board, as well as on ceiling tiles, is very common and has recently become a more recognized problem. When gypsum board has been repeatedly introduced to moisture, S. chartarum grows readily on its cellulose face. This stresses the importance of moisture controls and ventilation within residential homes and other buildings.
The negative health effects of mycotoxins are a function of the concentration, the duration of exposure and the subject's sensitivities. The concentrations experienced in a normal home, office or school are often too low to trigger a health response in occupants.
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In the 1990s, public concern over mycotoxins increased following multimillion-dollar toxic mold settlements. The lawsuits took place after a study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Cleveland, Ohio, reported an association between mycotoxins from Stachybotrysspores and pulmonary hemorrhage in infants. However, in 2000, based on internal and external reviews of their data, the CDC concluded that because of flaws in their methods, the association was not proven. Stachybotrys spores in animal studies have been shown to cause lung hemorrhaging, but only at very high concentrations.
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One study by the Center of Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State University investigated the causes of Damp Building Related Illness (DBRI). They found that Stachybotrys is possibly an important contributing factor to DBRI. So far animal models indicate that airway exposure to S. chartarum can evoke allergic sensitization, inflammation, and cytotoxicity in the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Trichothecene toxicity appears to be an underlying cause of many of these adverse effects. Recent findings indicate that lower doses (studies usually involve high doses) can cause these symptoms.
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Some toxicologists have used the Concentration of No Toxicological Concern (CoNTC) measure to represent the airborne concentration of mycotoxins that are expected to cause no hazard to humans (exposed continuously throughout a 70–yr lifetime). The resulting data of several studies have thus far demonstrated that common exposures to airborne mycotoxins in the built indoor environment are below the CoNTC, however agricultural environments have potential to produce levels greater than the CoNTC.