It has recently come to my attention that the all-powerful Oprah Winfrey will be doing an upcoming show about mold. Oprah.com is now asking people if they “Want to Know if Your House is Making You Sick?”
“We are looking for two families who know each other and want their houses tested for toxins. One house should be in a city and the other should be in the country or a suburb. Best case scenario is twin sisters and their families who want their homes tested. If you want your home and the home of a loved one or close friend tested for toxins, please write and tell us your story. Please reply only if you are willing to appear on national television.” – oprah.com
Now, as I’ve said many times in the past, the biggest problem about mold is that most people are simply ignorant of it and how to deal with it. With just a little education, the tragic mold stories of people having their lives ruined or turned upside down by mold can usually be prevented.
Since Oprah’s influence borders on messianic, this is the best opportunity we could hope for to reach out and educate people on just a few simple facts about mold that could end up saving their lives. Now, I could talk for days about mold, but Oprah only has one hour to get the information across. So I’m going to do the Big O a favor by condensing all the mold info out there to just a few key points that will be most helpful to her audience.
Mold can range from having a minor affect on your health to severe, permanent, or deadly damage to your body. One of the most confusing things about mold is that it’s impossible to tell how dangerous it is. Different species of mold, in different amounts, affect different people, in different ways. This leads to a lot of unhelpful skepticism regarding the health effects of mold. Mold can give you the sniffles, or it can cause brain damage. It can give you permanent condition called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity making it impossible for you to go near man-made chemicals for the rest of your life. Mold can and has led to death, and even those that survive terrible ordeals with mold never fully recover and the medical expenses become a nightmare themselves.
A house functioning correctly will not have mold. A serious mold problem only occurs when either one or two of these problems occur: the house has a design flaw or it has suffered serious water intrusion. Design flaws occur when poor craftsmanship allows water vapor to somehow collect inside a house. But, water leaks are easier to prevent. A leaky roof during a rainstorm or a burst pipe can flood an area in your home. It’s sad that a minor, easily fixable leak can destroy a home and ruin lives if left unattended. That’s why home owners need to be proactive in finding leaks and repairing them first, or at least efficiently dry water intrusion as soon as possible. All it takes is a little prevention to ensure mold will never be a problem.
Mold removal is no longer an expensive, destructive process. The mold removal industry has a few bad eggs, just like any other business. But recent developments in mold remediation, like the use of bioremediation products have really reduced mold removal costs, while also increasing the efficiency. Still, you have to do your homework to find a reputable mold remediator who is going to use these effective methods and pass the savings along to you. In other words, there is no excuse not to find a way to pay for mold removal.
So there you go, Oprah. That should give you plenty to talk about on your upcoming show. This advice, if spread to everyone, will undoubtedly save a many lives that would otherwise be destroyed by mold. You’re welcome.
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