Mold Research Papers
Have you ever made a sandwich? Maybe a PB&J or a grilled cheese sandwich. As you were getting all the ingredients, have you ever gotten bread with fuzzy colored stuff on it? That fuzzy stuff is mold. Mold is an organism but it is not a plant or an animal… So what is it?
Mold is a fungus (in the fungi kingdom) that comes from tiny spores in the air. It cannot get energy from the sun like plants and animals do. For mold to grow, it needs to have water, oxygen, a food source, and temperatures that are 40-100 degrees Fahrenheit. High humidity gives off moisture for the mold to grow. Mold starts to grow when there is a dust layer on an object. Also, when the material is wet for at least a day or two (24-48 hours) Once there is a thin dust layer and the mold has all the requirements it needs to grow, it can grow in lots of different colors. (What is Mold?, n.d) For example, mold can be green, which is pretty common, blue like in blue cheese, or it can be brown, …show more content…
Some are toxic and harmful while some are not. Luckily, just because there is mold present, it doesn’t mean that the mold spores were actually inhaled for you to get “sick.” Some molds produce mycotoxins while other molds produce aflatoxins which can cause cancer. Mildew is a mold that looks like tiny black spots which can easily be scrubbed away compared to other molds. ( What is Mold?, 2016 ) Some molds found in homes are aspergillus and cladosporium. Aspergillus is an allergen that can cause hay fever, asthma, and lung infections. Toxic molds include Aspergillus, Fusarium, Pennicillium, Memnoniella, Trichoderma, and Stachybotrys. Stachybotrys is known as black mold. It is a contaminant normally found on wet cellulose materials such as paper, cotton, and wood. It produces a poisonous toxin that is fatal to animals. It can cause bleeding lungs in infants. Stachybotrys is hard to spot or see because it mostly grows behind walls and under ceilings. ( What is mold?,
Mold is a fungus (in the fungi kingdom) that comes from tiny spores in the air. It cannot get energy from the sun like plants and animals do. For mold to grow, it needs to have water, oxygen, a food source, and temperatures that are 40-100 degrees Fahrenheit. High humidity gives off moisture for the mold to grow. Mold starts to grow when there is a dust layer on an object. Also, when the material is wet for at least a day or two (24-48 hours) Once there is a thin dust layer and the mold has all the requirements it needs to grow, it can grow in lots of different colors. (What is Mold?, n.d) For example, mold can be green, which is pretty common, blue like in blue cheese, or it can be brown, …show more content…
Some are toxic and harmful while some are not. Luckily, just because there is mold present, it doesn’t mean that the mold spores were actually inhaled for you to get “sick.” Some molds produce mycotoxins while other molds produce aflatoxins which can cause cancer. Mildew is a mold that looks like tiny black spots which can easily be scrubbed away compared to other molds. ( What is Mold?, 2016 ) Some molds found in homes are aspergillus and cladosporium. Aspergillus is an allergen that can cause hay fever, asthma, and lung infections. Toxic molds include Aspergillus, Fusarium, Pennicillium, Memnoniella, Trichoderma, and Stachybotrys. Stachybotrys is known as black mold. It is a contaminant normally found on wet cellulose materials such as paper, cotton, and wood. It produces a poisonous toxin that is fatal to animals. It can cause bleeding lungs in infants. Stachybotrys is hard to spot or see because it mostly grows behind walls and under ceilings. ( What is mold?,