While there are a lot of different genuses of mold, Cladosporium is one of the most frequently present molds in the global community. Around 40 species exist in the soil or living upon dead organic matter and there are studies that claim that the mold lives outdoors throughout the entire year, although the presence of this mold is lowered during the wintertime.
During the summer time, the spore levels of this mold can reach between two and fifty thousand particles per cubic meter of oxygen. The outdoor concentration of mold spores and whether you have an infestation of mold in your house influence the quality of the air in your home quite a lot.
Cladosporium infections are typically prevalent in any building material that has gotten wet, usually such things as drywall and lumber. There are four species that occur more commonly than others and these are Cladosporium cladosporioides, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Cladosporium herbarum, and Cladosporium macrocarpum. These are the most common in outdoor environments and their spores are transmitted by wind. When they are present in an indoor environment, they grow upon surfaces such as where condensation has developed on pipes or in areas where water is left to stand.
These molds are the most dangerous to people who have compromised immune systems, but they can tend to cause certain people to have allergic reactions. If someone is exposed to a high level of these spores, it can induce sensitivity to the mold and also aggravate asthma. What level of concentration induces these sensitivities and reactions depends upon the individual, though. What is a high level for one person may be a low level for another. Skin infections and sometimes sinusitis can occur, but sinusitis is not a very common occurrence.
The species of mold that fall in this genus are not difficult to detect in home mold testing kits and they can be colored green, grey, brown, or black when they grow on the test or on a surface. The only negative effects that are connected with Cladosporium mold are allergic reactions and these molds are not as serious as other molds such as Aspergillus or Stachybotrys. If you are exposed to Cladosporium mold for very long, however, it can lead to a weakened immune system. While Cladosporium molds do not make mycotoxins that are of any importance to human health, they can produce some pretty nasty compounds that cause a significant odor in the room.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
South Carolina Water Damage Restoration and and other states such as
Chicago Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
