Toxic Mold In My Home!

A nice lady from Santa Rosa called me and said "I have toxic mold growing in my home... what do I do?". I went out to the home for an inspection and found some minor mold growth on the bedroom ceiling. It was obvious that the roof was leaking (several shingles were missing from the last storm). This type of problem is easily fixed... replace the shingles, set up a small containment and do some quick remediation. The problem with this project is that the homeowner allowed herself to get so stressed out about the mold that she was literally making herself sick. The more stressed out she got, the worse the mold problem looked to her. Mold is natural, its organic, its an important part of our ecosystem... as long as its not growing on our walls. Most mold problems are easily fixed and the fix always starts with stopping the source of moisture. In this case, she needed a good roofer to patch the roof, and then a good mold remediation contractor to clean up the minor growth. I am certainly not a physician, but I sometimes think that the stress caused by mold growth can be worse for your health than the mold itself.