Brad Fishbein
As a professional mold inspector, people often call me in a panic. They have black mold!
Not all mold that is black in appearance will produce mycotoxins, but it's essential to confirm any concern of mold is not toxic and harmful to your family.
What Is Black Mold?
Black mold is a specific species of fungus called Stachybotrys. Stachybotrys is a slow-growing mold that needs extensive amounts of water on porous building materials to grow and thrive. It may produce off-gassing of mycotoxins, which can be harmful and toxic for humans and their pets. Stachybotrys may also be green and gray in appearance as well as black.
Source: https://lookmold.com/detect/type/black-mold
Not all mold that is black in appearance will produce mycotoxins, but it's important to confirm any concern of mold is not toxic and harmful.
Killing toxic black mold is easier than you may think. Learn more about black mold: https://lookmold.com/detect/type/black-mold In this video, I explain what...
Stachybotrys is not the only dangerous species of mold that can be toxic. Other dangerous species include Chaetomium, Memnoniella, Fusarium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus.
So how did this one particular species get so much notoriety?
The mold itself is not toxic. Stachybotrys can produce something called Mycotoxins. Mycotoxin is a fancy word for toxic. While Stachybotrys is not the only type of mold that can be toxic, it is the most feared of the toxic mold types you would find growing indoors.
Is All Mold That Is Black Dangerous?
The short answer for this is.
NO
Many different species of mold can be black when it appears on building materials or contents. Not all of those species are toxic.
However.
All black mold spores have one thing in common:
You don't want it anywhere in your home!
Let's investigate this a little more.
Mold Comes In All Shapes And Colors
In my 10+ years in the mold industry, I have seen mold in shades of black, gray, green, brown, white, and even red!
I have seen them form some weird patterns as well.
Look at the picture below and tell me if you saw this in your home what you would think:
You probably think that the black part is the "black toxic mold," correct?
You would be wrong.
None of that mold is Stachybotrys at all. The type of mold that was found here was called Penicillium/Aspergillus. These are two separate mold species that are often mistaken because they are very hard to differentiate under a microscope.
Here's the thing though:
As I told you earlier, there are certain strands of these types of spores that may produce mycotoxins. Either way, you would want the mold damaged wall and entertainment center removed.
If you look at this picture further, you will see that black is not the only color present. There is also brown and green.
This is what you need to know:
Just because mold is black, does not guarantee that it is toxic.
![Black Mold - Is It Toxic & Should You Be Concerned [Pictures Inside]](http://media.list.ly/production/788952/3738883/3738883-black-mold-is-it-toxic-should-you-be-concerned-pictures-inside_185px.jpeg?ver=7724261355)
