* Thank You  - I'd like to thank all of my clients for making 2023 a wonderful year! We are truly blessed to work with and help amazing people every year and this past year was no different. Forging relationships and pleasing our clients is our motivation. We look forward to seeing old and new faces in 2024! * Giving  - Every year we donate our time and resources on projects to help those in need. This year will be no different. We are proud to be a part of the community and enjoy our relationships with the thousands of people we have met throughout the years. If you know of someone in need, please reach out to us. * Free Educational Seminars  - We offer free mold and radon seminars for your group, school or organization. If you would like to have such an event, please let us know. We will be happy to work with you to provide a fun, educational experience.

A recent study by researchers at  Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis   found certain fungi in soil can cause a significant number of serious lung infections in 48 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, including many areas long thought to be free of deadly environmental fungi. Histoplasma  is one of the three main  species  of soil fungi that cause lung infections in the U.S. Historically,  Histoplasma  was found in the Midwest and parts of the East,  Coccidioides  in the Southwest, and  Blastomyces  in the Midwest and the South. But a growing number of case reports and anecdotes suggest that all three have expanded out of their traditional ranges in recent decades. People develop fungal lung infections after breathing in spores from fungi in the soil. The spores become airborne when the ground is disturbed by farming, landscaping, construction, or even just by people walking around in fungi-rich environ...

  We often receive calls and emails requesting mold testing services. We also are asked if the home tests are any good. Well, it really depends on how accurate of a test/results want.  The Truth I can guarantee if you use a petri dish style spore capturing device and you send it to a lab, you will get results. The results will always show you have mold. Of course you have mold, mold spores are everywhere. You can put the petri dish anywhere and get results. They just won't be accurate results. On their website you will see fanfare and dropping corporate names as a way to bolster their product. In essence they might as well be selling tests for oxygen.  Simply put they rely on the ignorance of the general public to sell their product.  I can state with clarity, the results are not accurate nor indicative of the actual mold situation in your home. From an industry standard they would never be used to clear a project, post remediation. Which means their accuracy is poor...

  A study from 5 years ago found over 90% of wheat and corn flour samples in Washington, D.C., contained live fungi. Aspergillus  and  Fusarium  are commonly the predominant types of mold found in wheat flour.  Fusarium  will grow on wheat while in the field and is the cause of a disease called blight or scab. Most farmers will use  multiple techniques  to help reduce plant disease. Crop rotation, using resistant varieties and fungicides and minimal irrigation are helpful. Post harvesting, workers sort the grains to remove contaminated wheat before grinding them into flour. While sorting removes most of the contaminated wheat, small amounts of fungi can still make it into the flour. Please realize, the flour you buy at the store is raw flour that still contains live microorganisms. Eating cake batter or cookie dough can lead to fungal ingestion.  

  This post is third in a series of biofilm posts in this blog. If you read either of the last two biofilm posts, you will have a better understanding of biofilms, below are the links if you would like to read them first. Biofilms Infecting our Drinking Water - https://bostonmoldblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/biofilms-infecting-our-drinking-water.html Biofilms and Dental Health - https://bostonmoldblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/biofilm-and-health-dental.html Biofilms form all around us and are attributed to illnesses and deaths every year. Here are a few stats from Montana State Anniversary.  13,000 - Deaths a year JUST from urinary catheters. 108,000 - Amputations due to diabetic ulcers caused by biofilms.  These stats do not account for the other associated impact biofilms have on our health. I cannot overstate the importance of good dental hygiene as it relates to overall health. This oral hygiene is also important in the health of our pets.  Consider this. Poor oral hygi...

  Don't Bring Them into Your Home! Unfortunately we see this too often in homes. The home owner or professional interior decorator finds an antique piece of furniture and brings it into the home. Unfortunately most of the time the item is mold-infected, hence introducing mold into a home  Every antique store I have ever visited has that old-musty smell. Well, there is a reason for that...it's mold. Often these antique pieces are neglected,  improperly stored in basements, garages or other areas before they are put in the showroom.  Material Considerations The most common materials of concern are wood and cloth followed by leather. Often times you will see growth on the wood and leather surfaces, but it's much harder to detect on/in cloth. The fabric of furniture including the padding were often made from organic material making them susceptible to mold harboring and growth.  Inspection Before you buy an item from an antique shop, have the salesperson help you in...

  2023 Woohoo! A few points. * Blog Reminder - This blog was and is still intended for the layperson, the average Jane. I try my best to relay information in a simple manner and with terminology 99% of the population can comprehend. This is not meant to be a scientific journal. This year I decided to open the comment section of this blog to allow people to share information and interact with the hopes it will amplify the beneficial nature of this blog. * Be Kind - Let's not forget we all share this world and we have to be mindful of everyone's opinion and beliefs. Being kind! * SARS / COVID 19 - You have probably noticed I have stayed clear of making any update posts related to the "pandemic". The topic is now way too toxic and political. We conduct our business and write content for this blog using scientific information based on facts. In this new world, opinions have become facts and everyone has an opinion. I'm damned if I give facts or my opinion, so I...

  photo courtesy of Tim Jones There are a lot of questions and false information on the internet about mold, plume and how to season a desktop humidor. I'm going to tackle these topics and a few more. This post is definitely geared towards the cigar aficionado.  Let's start with the basics.   When we use the term mold we are referring to fungi/fungus. Here are a few bullet points. * There are over 100,000 species of mold. * Mold is not a plant nor is it an animal.  * Mold spores are the reproductive body of mold similar to seeds. (but not) * 250,000 spores can fit on the head of a pin. * Mold spores are everywhere indoors and outdoors in the air we breathe. * Mycotoxins are a secondary metabolite produced by active mold. (mold odor) * Mold requires 3 things in order to grow. Oxygen, Water and Organic Material. * If missing one of the three requirements for continued growth, mold will go into a state of dormancy. Mold can stay dormant indefinitely.  * Once mold g...

  Is mold smart? Oh, mold is not just smart, mold is wicked smaht!  I'm actually using the word wicked for a reason. Wicked meaning nefarious, wicked as in evil! On a basic level, do the terms "smart" or "intelligent" apply to mold? Does mold have a brain? Can mold actually learn? Do they have calculated behavior? Be prepared to be amazed by how "smart" mold can be. I'm just going to briefly touch upon a few instances found in nature. Additional information easily be found by using your search engine. Zombie Ants  Zombie Ants are victims of a parasitic fungus which controls their actions and ultimately leads to their death. * Once infected the fungus will force the ant to migrate to areas where temperature and humidity are suitable for the fungal growth. * Once in the proper location, the fungus will force the ant to climb up a plant onto a leaf. The fungus will then force the ant to close it’s mandibles biting onto the leaf. Now the mandible will...

    FREE MOLD & RADON EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS Happy 2022 everyone! As many of you know, we perform free mold and radon seminars to groups around the metro Boston and southern NH area. Those of you who have attended know they are fun and most of all informative! As I always state, my goal is to educate, not scare. Due to COVID, we paused our seminars in 2020. I know a lot of us are still practicing social distancing and want to be mindful of everyone's personal considerations not to mention local government mandates. That being said I'd like everyone know we are still offering and ready to perform seminars when you are! Both seminars consist of a visual slide show presentation with live narration. We go over the basics and how mold and radon play a role in our lives. We discuss ways to protect ourselves. Mold - Usually the Mold seminar is approximately 45 minutes depending on how many questions and attendee participation.  Radon - The radon seminar is approximately 35 min...

As you know I try to keep things simple in this blog. However, this post contains an actual scientific article which may be hard for some to follow. You are always welcome to ask questions. The study/science of mold (mycology) is an ever evolving, advancing knowledge every year. We know mold can be beneficial in basic ways such as the fermentation of libations and cheese. However, most of us don't think of mold being beneficial in any way in regards to our health. That mindset is changing. What if we can make beneficial drugs using mold. One of the leaders in drug research is Netherlands based Hubrecht Institute.  From Their Article Zebrafish Researchers from the group of Jeroen den Hertog at the Hubrecht Institute, in collaboration with researchers from the Westerdijk Institute and Utrecht University, have set up this library and screened it for biologically active compounds. They tested the biological activity of these fungal products first using zebrafish embryos. The resea...

  But, but, but..... I am often asked by people if they should avoid certain foods when they have or believe they may have mold-related health issues. Most of the time I get push-back on my suggestions due to their own food misconceptions. Often these misconceptions are based on learned information taken from mainstream consumer media. Want to have your cake and eat it to, you can't. Don't feed the monster inside of you!  If you do not believe in the phrase "you are what you eat", you should not read any further. If you do not think your diet directly reflects in your health status, you should not read any further.  I'm not going to get technical with this post and cite studies. Processed / Refined Sugars - If you go to the supermarket you will find aisle after aisle of products containing sugar in some variation (refined, corn syrup). Sugar manufacturing sales are over 10 billion dollars a year. Every year more studies are published linking health issues relate...

  Back in May I posted information about the hazards of chlorine in our drinking water and swimming water. I would like to revisit the water topic with the following post. Although the other posts relay more to health issues related to chlorine, this post includes other contaminants and our aging water system.     In a time when we scrutinize the ingredients of our food and insist on pesticide-free fruit, why are we still mixing carcinogens into our children’s lemonade?     The Environmental Protection Agency has set standards for only a handful of different chemicals, specifying how much should be allowed in our drinking water. However, no regulations exist for the thousands of other contaminants in our drinking water.    Unregulated contaminants include cleaning products and solvents, industrial byproducts, pesticides, pharmaceutical drugs and even most of the toxic compounds that are formed when we add chlorine for disinfection. Unfortunately, the ...

    I know I'm going to catch some flack for this statement, but here it goes.  Is it possible mold is behind some of our food cravings? There, I wrote it... I've had this idea for a while and even posed my hypothesis to a medical doctor in my cycling group back in 2017. So why say something now in a public forum? Why not? Given everything I have seen, read and experienced over the last 20 years of dealing with mold issues has lead me to this point. I could be right, I could be wrong, I could have mold on the brain. Let me break it down. We know mold and humans have lived together since day one.  We know these relationships can be situational, parasitic or coexistent.  Examples of each: Situational - We use mold/yeast to make beer, cheese and wine. Parasitic - Yeast infections left untreated can become invasive. Invasive candidiasis occurs                               wh...

 Is Neti Pot Use Dangerous?  How about Navage system or the NeilMed Sinus Rinse or Any Nasal Irrigation System?  The original post was written back in 2008 which only addressed Neti Pots. At the time Neti Pots were gaining in popularity. I was prompted to write the post when I noticed a client's neti pot on the kitchen counter next to a bowl of fruit and a dish of wet cat food. The bowl of fruit had a few overripe bananas which in turn attracted flies. I'm sure the wet cat food also attributed to the fly population. I promptly addressed my concerns with my client, now I'll share them with you. Anytime you put anything up into your sinus cavity there are potentially health risks, mainly the risk of an infection. When used properly, these products can be relatively safe. I know people that swear by their neti pots. Some of these products definitely have a higher potential for risks. Let's go over a few things. Why use them? Most nasal irrigation systems use a saline solut...