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This is information on mould for consumers.

I have taught mould inspection for over three years these are on site real world mould classes. I have introduced many people to mould inspection and remediation. I have a rather odd perspective on mould and physical reactions to mould. A student must provide real mould jobs for the class to begin. The first thing I teach in mould class is to use your senses to detect the presence of mould. An acute sense of smell is not required, what is required is to train yourself to detect the smell and feel of moulds. All mould inspectors that fully(includes crawl spaces attic and foundation) inspect a home get sick from mould. The length of time of exposure, the severity of exposure and the sensitivity of the inspector dictate how long the inspector is going to be sick. Most inspectors in fair to good health stay sick for about 2-4 hours. Symptoms include headaches,sore throat, nausea and sneezing. If we smell mould in an inspection usually after a few experiences a mould inspector will feel the affects of mould within 15 minutes of being in the subject property. The allergens make you sneeze, the toxins give you a headache and nausea, and the pathogens are the hot topic in great dispute. If you work or live in a mouldy environment you get use to the smells and headaches, mould is a lot like bad music in that respect. However if mould inspectors get sick in a matter of minutes although you may be accustomed to daily exposure it cannot be good for you.

Mould infestation are many times easy to detect and you can detect the mould colonies by smell hopefully before you get sick, bacteria just makes you sick.

One of the mould inspector tricks of the trade is that when you encounter a local mould infestation at the back of the subject property and you are going to be in the room for less than 5 minutes, get 2 or 3 paper towels, wet the paper towels and hold them over your mouth and nose for breathing protection.

This trick also works to help you detect the presence of moulds. Before you enter a building or enclosed area place the moistened paper towels over your nose and mouth, take several deep breaths move into the suspect area remove the moist paper towel and breathe. If it smells like mould there is a very good chance that there is mould.

Many parents can tell when a child is getting sick especially if the sickness is a common ailment.You don't need to be a doctor in flu season. You do not need to be a mould inspector to ascertain the presence of mould.

Do you ever stay in hotels,stay with friends,let your children stay with friends or relatives, have so much rain the inside of your car, camper, cabin or home get wet, work or go to school in an enclosed environment? You should be able to tell if there is mould in your environment within a few minutes of entering the environment.

Awareness and vigillance are sometimes not enough nor are mould infestations always obvious and a professional mould inspection is required. However awareness and vigillance are a considerable step in the right direction.

Mould is: Insidious
Working or spreading harmfully in a subtle or stealthy manner: insidious rumors; an insidious disease.

Mould is not a fast killer. Moulds are known to cause disease, search the universities in the Google University Search Engine for medical questions.

Allergen
Any substance that can cause an allergy

Toxic
Of, relating to, or caused by a toxin or other poison: a toxic condition; toxic hepatitis.

Pathogen
An agent that causes disease, especially a living microorganism such as a bacterium,virus or fungus.

Systemic Of or relating to systems or a system.
1. Relating to or affecting the entire body or an entire organism: systemic symptoms; a systemic poison.
2. Relating to or affecting a particular body system, especially the nervous system: a systemic lesion.

Insidious
Working or spreading harmfully in a subtle or stealthy manner: insidious rumors; an insidious disease.

Moulds are not a very cooperative species when it comes to identification. In fact moulds when being grown for purposes of identification are almost impossible to control. Furthermore, like all plants will not grow in one soil, all moulds will not grow in a one formula petri dish. The mould industry is divided about almost everything. Sampling. identification and remediation there is no agreement on anything. Testing to identify mould is important if any illness is involved. If no one is sick in the environment identifying the moulds may be of little or no benefit. However, if you are going to test for moulds with the objective of identification you need to read the following.