Mold is a type of fungus that thrives in moist and poorly ventilated environments and can reproduce by producing spores.They can grow and spread indoors if they land on damp places.
Mold can cause serious health conditions and is often a major problem in homes and buildings. Nevertheless, it’s important to mention that there are also several benefits of mold. While many of them can cause harmful toxins, other types have crucial roles to play like in making certain foods like cheese.
Sources of Mold
Molds need moisture and food to survive, so they prefer damp, warm environments. They can also feed off a variety of materials in your home, including wallpaper, glue, adhesives for carpet, and backing paper for drywall. Under adverse situations, mold statistics indicate that the fungi can become dormant then become active again when conditions change in their favor.
How is Mold Helpful
People overlook the positive functions that molds perform because they only think of this fungi as the source of many allergies and respiratory problems. Yet, some mold varieties actually play important roles in making life better. These include the following:
1. Some molds produce medicines like penicillin.
Some mold types like Penicillum produce penicillin, a natural antibiotic that can kill bacteria. Through deep fermentation, penicillin can be successfully extracted from the mold, purified, and used as medicine.
2. Some molds are used to make food.
Certain types of cheeses are produced by using molds. They can be placed on the cheese’s surface or grown internally. The use of Penicillium roqueforti spores led to the production of blue veined cheeses such as Roquefort, Stilton, and Gorgonzola. White surface molds are also found in cheeses like Brie and Camembert. These cheeses can be eaten safely because of the molds that they are made from.
Although the above mold varieties can be added to certain foods in order to produce specific effects, they can also cause damage to other products. For example, mold statistics show that while Penicillium roqueforti is a vital ingredient in making blue cheese, it can cause spoilage in fresh or grated cheese.
3. Some molds can help produce soy sauce.
Although it may seem odd for soy to be produced through molds, it is actually a common practice. Soy sauce can be described as a fermented condiment. It is made by fermenting soya beans and adding mold to it, specifically koji molds, including Aspergillus oryzae.
However, certain molds can cause soy sauce to taste or smell bad. These are molds that can affect the quality of the product in some way. If you don’t close the lid of a soy sauce bottle correctly, these molds can develop inside.
4. Some molds are used to ferment liquor.
The beverages that contain alcohol (C2H5OH) also have ethanol as one of their main ingredients. Ethanol is almost always produced through fermentation, which is the process of breaking down carbohydrates in certain yeast species under low-oxygen or anaerobic conditions.
The fermentation of alcoholic beverages is done using yeast and mold. However, if they exceed the safe limit, molds can cause quality degradation of the liquor. To ensure that alcoholic beverages meet the standards, yeast and mold testing are normally performed on the final product.
5. Some molds are used in manufacturing citric acid.
Aspergillus Niiger is a good mold species that is used to produce citric acid. The latter helps preserve canned and jarred food and can also be used to thicken foods and give them a slight sour taste. In certain vegetables and fruits, however, Aspergillus Niiger can produce black mold disease.
6. Some molds can be used in oil spill cleanups.
There is a type of mushroom known as the Oyster mushroom that is being used in cleaning up the seas after an oil spill because it can help in breaking down the components of oil and petroleum. The fibrous mycelia network of this mushroom can also filter harmful components in soil and water such as pesticides and E. coli . Since both mushroom and mold are fungi, the latter can also be considered as a possible oil spill cleanup material. This can be added to the many benefits of mold.
7. Molds help preserve the environment.
Every living organism on the planet eventually dies. Yet, we don’t see any remains of these organisms lying around. This is due to decomposition, and fungi like molds are one of the key players in this process.
What is good about mold is that it is a saprobic fungus which means that it feeds on decaying organic material. In short, a mold’s purpose in nature is to help decompose organic matter. Without mold, the circle of life wouldn’t be complete as there will be imbalance.
8. Some molds are potential sources of fuel.
Scientists are currently conducting research on the possibility of using certain mold varieties to make fuels as part of a global study on the benefits of mold. Briefly, it is possible to use molds when converting cellulose into sugars, which can then be transformed into ethanol.
Key Takeaway
Molds can either be bad or good, depending on how you want to see this common household fungi. For many, however, molds bring nothing but trouble, especially when you consider that they can damage both health and home.
Still, there’s no doubt that there are many uses and benefits of molds under certain conditions. The fields of medicine and food preparation have used molds extensively for years, and have successfully produced safe and consumable products. Nevertheless, molds utilized in these industries are under generally controlled settings. Left on their own, molds remain harmful to health. In the home, they need to be eliminated by professionals right away to prevent the risk of infestation.
Deep Water Emergency Services & Mitigation is the company to call to remove molds from your home effectively.
If you’re still wondering how you can completely get rid of molds inside your house, allow Deep Water Emergency Services & Mitigation to provide you with the perfect solution.
Simply call us and we’ll send our team of mold mitigation Denver, CO, experts over to your place to see how your problem can be resolved to your satisfaction. Make that call now and we’ll also share with you some interesting facts about mold.
