I was listening to a talk  show this morning about all the new products that are being presented at the Hardware Show this week in Las Vegas.

Everyone was talking about how their product was mold resistant,  or kept mold from growing on their product, or how their product somehow magically killed mild before it became a problem in the house it was applied.

There were house venting systems, filter, furnace add-ons and lots of other stuff to rid a house of mold. There was the dehumidifiers, humidifiers, ionizers, ozone generators, all designed to rid houses of mold.

The bottom line for me is that any study of the mold issue will show that there is mold everywhere. Inside, outside, and all around. Mold and mold spores are an essential part of life on planet earth and with out mold fungus and its procreative buddies mold spores, we would not be living at all, because all the plant material that we do not eat would just pile up and rot.

Vulchers feeding on a dead animal

Mold, like vultures, were put here for a very good reason. Both eat dead and useless materials returning them as high quality dirt before they become a problem.

We look at a gaggle of vultures with their featherless heads eating a dead animal on the edge of a water hole somewhere in Africa.

Ugly, ugly, ugly, BUT if the animal was left to rot, it would poison the water hole and all the animals who would drink there would die.

Mold does the same thing by eating dead trees, bushes, sticks, leaves, vegetation, and other fibrous materials and turns them into high quality dirt and in this case some very expensive and tasty Morel mushrooms.

Morel mushrooms eating dead wood

But drywall is not on your list! Sure it is. Wet drywall is dead and should be replaced and the mold is just helping. Not exactly what you were hoping for but what is happening just the same. The real down side is that your body is being attacked by the mold spores as well. That’s why you feel sick, tired and unhappy.

Q – What about all these products, do they work?

A – Most do work within the scope of their design.

Q – What about helping my mold allergy?

A – Most are better than the drugs your doctor gives you for the same problem.

Q – So what can be done to relieve the mold issue in a house.

A – Lots!

• Reduce the level of mold in your house to as close to zero as you can get it.
• Stop bringing new mold into your house which is easier said than done.
• Eliminate the water standing in your basement, or crawl space, or under you kitchen sink and washing machine.
• Stop throwing sweaty clothes on the floor and in clothes baskets.
• Make sure the drier vent does not leak into the house.
• Use the exhaust fan in the shower.
• Take the garbage out every day.

If you already have visible mold growing on walls, ceiling, tile, grout, etc. you will have to take a more aggressive path and kill the visible mold fungus you have. Bleach will not do the job. You can wash the mold fungus off of drywall, but if the drywall is wet, it has to go.

When you get rid of the visible mold, you might want to try the ClO2 product from OdorXit and follow it up with a mixture of water, Joy detergent and ammonia to remove the dead mold residue (which is often very toxic).

Once you have the mold level down to something reasonable work on the list.