Good Mold vs. Bad Mold
While high levels of mold in your home can be dangerous, it’s important to remember that not all mold is bad.
Mold is a fungus that grows on plants and fibers. It digests organic matter by releasing spores and reproduces once it finds a happy home. It can also create allergens that irritate many functions of the human body. However, there is a difference between good molds and bad ones. Let’s take a look at the benefits of certain types of mold.
Is that Mulled Wine or Mold Wine?
Noble rot, for example is the benevolent form of a grey fungus that primarily affects wine grapes. Infestation by this fungus, called Botrytis cinerea, can destroy entire crops of grapes under the right conditions. However, grapes picked at a certain point during infestation can produce particularly fine, sweet wine.
Beware of a moldy cork, however—a corked wine smells like a damp basement, and with good reason. Mold can be found in the bark of cork trees, and processed cork can also pick up mold if stored in damp conditions. Most wines bottled today use microwave radiation to kill molds on corks, or they use plastic stoppers or screw caps. But some older bottles of wine may be spoiled by moldy corks.
Don’t be Bleu Over Moldy Cheese
Cheese seems to attract mold, which makes sense—it’s a moist home filled with delicious food for these fungi to feast on. Some folks cut off the moldy part and eat the rest of the cheddar without a second thought. But when it comes to particular types of cheese, mold in introduced on purpose. To make blue cheese, for example, cheesemakers add strains of mold to the milk. When curds and whey separate, the whey is drained and the curds are placed into a cheese form (a large round, for example).
Next, the cheesemaker pierces the cheese with a thin, metal rod in order to introduce little pockets of air. In a few weeks, mold begins to appear wherever the rod was inserted. Veins of blue thread appear throughout the cheese—moldy and delicious!
Antibiotics: Mold’s Gift to Humankind
Antibiotics cure disease by killing bacteria or damaging it enough to put it out of commission. The original antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered accidentally from a mold culture. Today, there are over 100 different antibiotics. However, some members of the genus penicillium can be bad—it’s one of the most common molds found indoors, and even a small amount can produce a huge number of spores, which leads to high airborne mold levels.
If you’re exposed to high levels of these spores, there’s a slight risk that you could develop asthma, infections, or inflammation of lung tissue. They can also pose a health risk to those with compromised immune systems.
Something’s Rotten in Denmark (and Everywhere Else)
Without mold, dead things (animals, plants, and people) wouldn’t decompose as quickly as they do. Bacteria and fungi, called saprophytes, help convert dead organic matter back to basic organic nutrients. Saprophytes are like little recyclers! The nutrients that are produced can then be absorbed by living things.
Mold growth paves the way for bacteria through enzymes that break down large food molecules into smaller ones that microbes can absorb. Yes, rotten things can be disgusting, but imagine the alternative—just think of it as the circle of life.
In order for mold to grow, it just needs four things: food, air, water, and a comfortable temperature. Basically, that means mold is everywhere. And even though not all mold is toxic, if you’ve got mold growing in your house, it’s never a good thing. If you notice signs of mold, you should contact a mold inspector for a consultation right away.
Learn More
The Basics of Good Ventilation
How to Prevent Mold Growth in your Home