Know Your Mold
Mold: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
First, let’s define exactly what mold is. Molds are forms of fungi that occur naturally in the environment. They are in the earth and play an important role outdoors when it comes to breaking down matter such as plant debris. In order for mold to reproduce, it makes tiny spores—just like some plants produce seeds. When indoors, mold spores move throughout the air and settle on various surfaces.
Typically, molds need moisture and food sources such as cloth, wood, drywall, etc. to grow. Now, mold may become troublesome if a wet surface is not dried up or promptly discarded. In fact, it will quickly grow within 24 to 48 hours. So, while mold is important in many ways, it also has some drawbacks. We need to be aware of these drawbacks and understand how to deal with them.
Mold Fact
The Master of Reproduction
Mold is a reproduction master. In the common bread mold, Rhizopus stolonifer, the tiny black dots are the spore bodies, or sporangia. Just one dot contains upwards of 50,000 spores, each of which can produce hundreds of millions of new spores in a matter of days! (Awake, 2006)
