Dr Jackson Kung'u- Mold Specialist

Helping People Resolve Mold Problems

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Dr. Jackson Kung’u (PhD)- Mold Specialist.
Phone: 905-290-9101
Mobile: 437-556-0254

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Public Questions

Mold on clothes

Question: I live in a Queenslander home in north Queensland. We’re continuously getting mold on clothes, shoes, furniture, television, teddy bears, mattresses, freezers etc., throughout the year. We are stuck on how the mold is coming in and have no idea how to stop this? Could you help us?

Answer: Growth of mold on clothes, shoes, furniture, teddy bears and other such household items is an indication of extremely damp conditions in the house. To dealt with this problem, first identify the cause of dampness. Moisture from cooking, showering/bathing or wet clothes left in the bathroom to dry can cause dampness especially if ventilation is not adequate. Use fans whenever cooking and/or showering/bathing if possible. Reduce humidity to 30-60%. You could try using a dehumidifier and also improving on the ventilation to reduce the humidity.

Mold in the basement

Question: I have air sample results for a test conducted by an Inspector in a home that we’re renting. The total spore counts (per cubic meter of air) for the finished basement space are as follows:

  • Total airborne fungal spore count: 742600
  • Amerospores: 251800,
  • Ascospores: 209400,
  • Aspergillus/Penicillium: 63400,
  • Cladosporium: 6400,
  • Unidentified type(1): 240,
  • Unidentified type(2): 211600.

Should we be living in this home? I just found out that the previous tenants became very ill, moved out, and disposed off all their furniture. I have tried to understand this report. Could someone please help me? Should we be living here? The landlord won’t do anything. I have asked him to remove the drywall but he won’t. Should we? Thank you for any help you can give.

Answer: If you’re renting the home you may probably consider looking for an alternative home. You may also check if there is a rental housing tribunal or even a public health department in your area and see what help they could offer.

What are mould colonies?

Question: I had some mold samples tested through a lab here in the US. The results returned showing Aspergillus 19 colonies for the first sample. The second sample results were Aspergillus 3 colonies, Geotrichum 1 colony, and Penicillium 1 colony. What are colonies and what does the number of them stand for? There is a serious problem in our home and none of us is doing great health wise. Any info you could give me would be very much appreciated.

Colonies of Penicillium and Stachybotrys
Answer: In biology, a colony (from Latin colonia) refers to several individual organisms of the same species living closely together. In case of mould, colonies refer to individual growths (see picture). The number of colonies is a count of those individual growths (colonies) and they may belong to different types of mould or same type. For example in your case the first sample had only Aspergillus (19 colonies) and the second sample had 3 different types of mould. That’s Aspergilus (3 colonies),  Geotrichum (1 colony) and Penicillium (1 colony). The picture on the right shows colonies of 2 different types of moulds. The blue-green colonies belong to Penicillium and the rest (with greenish centers) are Stachybotrys colonies.

The number of colonies reported for the 2 samples do not appear to be high but this does not mean you don’t have a mould problem. You may want to seek help from a qualified local environmental consultant who may be able to assess the extent of mould growth in your home and advise you on what to do.

Sick to my stomach

Question: I replaced my kitchen faucets about 6 years ago. I just recently noticed it has been leaking through my cupboards into my basement. I have been getting very sick over the last few years, on and off, very numb, weak feelings, bad coughs, no energy, and sick to my stomach. Could this be causing the way I feel? Thank you.

Answer: There is a possibility that the conditions (dampness and possibly mould) in your house are making you sick. However, it’s very hard to say for sure. If possible you may try moving from your current home, say for a month and see if your health improves while you are away. If, when you go back to your home you feel bad again, then you would know that the cause of your sickness is in your house. But obviously you need to correct the water problem. If your budget can allow, you could hire a professional hygienist to assess the conditions in your home and advise you accordingly.

Company to test hazardous mould

Question: Hello, I am looking for a reputable company to test my home to ensure it is free of hazardous mould.  Do you provide this service or do you know of a good company that does (we live in Mississauga). Further to my previous question, is this something I can do myself and send samples to you?  It looks like I can from your website.  It is a new home (6 years old) but in the first year we had big problems with excessive humidity and that is why I am wondering about mould.  Our daughter has eczema.  There are no areas of visible mold in the home now (there were spots on the windowsills in the first year which we cleaned with bleach).  Where should I test to provide a representative sample to ensure that we are Ok.
Thanks.

Answer: You can look for mold testing companies within the GTA from our website at http://www.moldbacteria.com/servicelist/index.html or at https://drjacksonkungu.com/business-directory/. Or even better, you can give us a call at 905-290-9101 and we may be able to direct you to the right professionals. To answer your last question, yes you can test for airborne mould in your home yourself. For more details click http://www.moldbacteria.com/mold-test-kit.html or give us a call if you have further questions.