Why Mold Has Become a Big Problem

It’s a fact that mold is a bigger problem today than it was 40 years ago.  Also, our tolerance for unhealthy spaces has greatly decreased and our standards for clean living have greatly increased.  With all the mold-related health concerns that we are now aware of, it’s near impossible to sell your home if you have mold.  There’s even a disclosure form you must fill out when listing your home that asks numerous questions—one of them being, “Have you ever had any mold?”  Mold has become a much bigger deal than it used to be.

Mold has become a bigger issue than it was in the past for four reasons: drywall, the lumber itself, particle board, and air conditioning.  Homes used to be built with plaster walls.  There’s no paper in plaster like there is in drywall, and paper is extremely susceptible to mold.  Mold will grow on paper faster than on lumber because paper is processed (a pre-chewed meal for mold).

The lumber itself is different than it was 40 years ago because we used to use old growth trees for lumber, which had primarily heartwood.  Today, we use fast growing trees for lumber, which are mostly sapwood.  Mold prefers the sugary sapwood much more than the heartwood, which is why mold is a much bigger issue in homes today.

When building homes today, we use much more particle board than we used to.  Mold favors particle board, and when it gets wet, it swells and stays swelled after it dries out.  That is why having laminate floors made of particle board with a facing is a very bad idea in your basement.  Eventually you will have a leak, which will ruin your floors, and create the perfect environment for mold to grow.

Lastly, air conditioning is another contributor for why mold is such a big issue today.  Forty years ago, it was very rare to have air conditioning in the home.  Now, it’s a rarity to NOT have air conditioning.  Back then, people would open windows and equalize the temperature between indoors and outdoors.  Now we keep the indoor environment much cooler than the outdoor environment in the summer, which creates cool surfaces for condensation to form on.  Condensation then turns to mold, which creates even more problems.  Also, most air conditioning units nowadays are oversized.  They cool the air too quickly and then shut off—not running long enough to dehumidify the indoor air.

It’s important to be aware of the types of materials used to build your home, so you know whether you’re more susceptible to mold or not.