Toxic Mold Issues for Home Buyers and Sellers

Health and Stuctural Issues

The home buying and selling community is abuzz with talk about recent insurance and liability issues involving stachybotrys chartarum, also known as black mold or toxic mold.

Molds are fungi that reproduce by releasing tiny spores into the air. Spores lucky enough to land on moist objects may begin to grow. There are thousands of different types of mold and we encounter many of them every day, inside and out.

Current Status

Health professionals seem to fall into two groups, those who believe that toxic molds create health problems in a broad sampling of the population and those who believe that molds only affect those who are already seriously ill.

Some molds can indeed cause structural damage if left unchecked.

Background

Toxic mold is a type of mold that produces hazardous byproducts, called mycotoxins. While individuals with asthma and other respiratory problems may have reactions to many types of mold, it's thought that mycotoxins are more likely to trigger health problems in even healthy individuals. These toxins are believed to be linked to memory loss and to severe lung problems in infants and the elderly.