Stachybotrys chartarum, aka black-rot mold, is a greenish black mold that is linked to a variety of devastating illnesses – everything from memory loss, to bleeding lungs, to cancer. This most infamous mold is on the rise and public concern is growing.
It isn’t easy to grow stachybotrys in your home. It grows more slowly than other molds and requires more favorable conditions. Stachybotrys needs four specific ingredients to start growing: warmth, nutrients, water, and time.
Stachybotrys will grow and produce spores in a wide temperature range of 2°-40°C (36°-104°F). But even though it can survive in most climates, it excels in temperatures that humans consider warm to moderately hot.
For food, stachybotrys prefers high-cellulose material with low nitrogen content in order to colonize – mostly anything made from paper or wood. Unfortunately, with current construction materials, this could be almost anything in your house if it is relatively new. You are most likely to find stachybotrys on the paper covering of sheet rock, but also keep an eye on ceiling tiles, carpets with natural fibers, gypsum board, and insulation. Wood and paper products are a delicious treat for stachybotrys, so consider cardboard, wallpaper, paper covering on insulated pipes, paper files, fiber board, wood chips, and other paper or wood products. On the bright side, stachybotrys will not grow on concrete, linoleum, or tile (though other molds will).
Stachybotrys needs an excessive amount of moisture to grow, much more than other molds. Be concerned if you have water damage resulting from high humidity, water leaks, plumbing leaks, condensation or flooding. A large water incident is an obvious concern, but stachybotrys will also grow if a leak is small but chronic.
Depending on the amount of wetness, stachybotrys can take several days or weeks before it finally starts to grow. It develops more slowly than other molds, such as aspergillus, penicillium, or cladosporium, which can start growing after a day or two.
Stachybotrys seems to follow the first law of thermodynamics. It requires more water, food and time than other molds to start growing, but is much more powerful. It will continue to propagate even if its original water source dries up. It will dominate whatever surface it is growing on, crowding out other molds that may have colonized the material first.
Now that stachybotrys is growing, fluctuations in temperature usually cause it to release its extremely hazardous mycotoxins. For mold as dangerous as stachybotrys, it’s best to call in a professional mold remediation expert.
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