"And he that owns the house shall come saying, ….. it seems to me there is, as it were, a plague in the house. Then it shall be commanded that the house be emptied. And he shall look upon the plague, and, behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish and reddish, ….. he shall cause the house to be scraped. It shall be commanded that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city. And they shall take other stones, and put them in place of those stones." This text, which provides detail of the mold remediation process of identification, removal, landfilling of wastes, and replacement of damaged substrates, remarkably mirrors the current technology used today. However, this text taken from the Book of Leviticus from the Bible, was written over three-thousand years ago. The Book of Leviticus was written as a message of atonement for one's sins. It is striking that the early Hebrews considered mold a plague sent by God because of their sins. It was most likely considered a plague by the early Hebrews because of the symptoms they suffered from exposure to mold in their houses.
The suffering did not stop there but continued even through the last century. In the 1920's, many experienced fatal kidney disease which was attributed to mold growth in houses located in Denmark and the Balkans. Ten years later, Stachybotrycosis a disease caused by the mold species Stachybotrys, killed about thirty-percent of the total population of horses in Russia after they ate moldy hay. The plight continued in Russia in 1944 when ten-percent of the human population died after eating moldy bread. Continuing in 1952, another mold species, Aspergillus, killed poultry after they ate moldy corn.
In the United States, owning a home is part of the American Dream, but for many who have experienced the plague called "mold" in their homes, their dream has become their nightmare. Mold is a very dangerous living organism that can grow in hidden locations throughout the home. Mold can grow inside walls, underneath the carpeting, and inside ceilings. It can destroy not only your home, but your health as well, without you ever realizing it until it's too late.
Mold fragments and spores are ubiquitous. Mold can be found in the outdoor and indoor environment. Therefore, everyone is exposed to mold every day. There is no known practical way to prevent daily exposure to mold. Mold fragments and spores can enter a human body, and other living organisms, primarily by inhalation, skin contact, and ingestion. Once mold is airborne, it can enter the indoor environment through doors, windows, cracks, and crevices. It can also be carried in from the outdoors on shoes and clothing. Touching a moldy surface can affect skin. Eating unsuspected spoiled food which happens to contain mold is not uncommon.
