If you’ve lived in San Francisco for any period of time, you’ve probably heard a horror story about mold in someone’s home.

You’re familiar with tales of damp closets covered in spore producing fungi. You’ve heard about Stachybotrys chartarum (or toxic black mold) causing asthma, headaches and melancholic bouts of lethargy. You know of walls being removed and homes being evacuated due to full-on fungal invasions, and Mold Remediation Projects.

The Horrors of Humidity
Molds are, to be frank, all over the place. The simple microscopic organisms help break down dead stuff, plants and animals, and facilitate the reuse of their nutrients. To do so, mold fires an innumerous amount of spores into the atmosphere, which float along looking for the aforementioned deceased matter to sup on.

Don’t panic, but everyone inhales an acceptable number of these spores—for the most part without any health issues. It’s only when mold is left unchecked in dank, dark climes, where it can multiply to high and potentially unhealthy levels, that it’s a problem. Mold’s a tricky beast; allergy levels can vary greatly between those exposed, with some unlucky folks actually developing allergies.

Side effects related to the fungal spores include mild hay fever, asthma, sinus infections, headaches, general depression and a host of other respiratory maladies. If you see discolored or splotchy patches, if your apartment smells musty, or if your home has experienced past or recent water damage, chances are high that you’re living with mold.

San Francisco is one of the few cities in the country that places mold in the same category as rats and trash as a legal nuisance, and landlords can be liable if mold issues are reported and aren’t taken care of promptly.

Growing Mold Together
Unfortunately, mold is an environmental surety. If you live in a city with a damp climate, the potential for it to spread is there. With education, prevention and maintenance, mold becomes just another urban issue. But it’s also a symbol of the steadily changing nature of this city. San Francisco’s population is estimated to hit over a million people in the next 20 years
(a million people spread out over a miniscule seven square miles).
Rents are skyrocketing, and the ability of the middle and lower class to find affordable housing is becoming increasingly difficult.
In effect, while shiny new condos are crowding out the skyline all over the city, the average renter is getting pushed down.
Which brings us back to mold. Sure, living with mold isn’t ideal, and no one really wants to do it, but on the other hand, with the rental market as it is, who can afford finding somewhere new to live? We fear mold because, yes, it can cause startling health effects and make for a shitty living situation, but some of us fear mold more because its presence indicates a reason why we might be removed from our current living situations, regardless of how
substandard they might be. For affordable Mold Removal projects contact us.