We're looking for a new house, and I'm wondering what I should look for to improve my health. Our region is variously described as the Bible Belt, Tobacco Road, and Hog Heaven, but for allergy sufferers it's clear you've landed at Paradise Island for Molds, Mildew, and Microbes. In buying or building a new home which won't make you sick, it's good to think about the basics. According to my colleague John Tooley, molds need five things in order to survive and thrive. Get rid of any one of the five, and you get rid of most of the molds.
Mold spores are everywhere.
By building a tight house, you can limit the amount of air leakage, and therefore limit the amount of mold spores coming in. So the message here is that you can reduce the level of mold spores entering and floating around in your house, but you probably can't eliminate them. The second necessary factor for molds is something for them to eat. Unfortunately, molds are even less discriminating in their eating habits than a roomful of adolescent boys turned loose at a buffet table. And these materials don't even have to be carefully sealed in plastic containers in the refrigerator for molds to thrive.