It is both good and evil, it can be used as food or as poison!

Audit expert: Gu Haitong

Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University

Deputy Chief Physician of Respiratory Medicine

“During the rainy season, every household has rain, and there are frogs everywhere in the green grass ponds.” Every June and July, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in my country face a difficult problem - how to survive the wet weather.

Source: pexels

In such a hot and humid environment, if you don't wash your clothes in time, they may be covered with mold when you take them out two days later; and the snack bread you just bought may go bad in just one afternoon because the openings are not completely sealed; the mold may even be so strong that it will leave its mark on bathroom tiles, little-noticed corners, etc.

Source: pixabay

There is no doubt that at this point mold has invaded your home and taken root!

1

What is mold?

Mold generally refers to filamentous fungi that can form a layer of mycelium and spores visible to the naked eye on the surface of food, walls and other objects, but cannot form visible fruiting bodies. In a dry environment, mold just floats in the air and has low activity, but once it encounters water, it instantly comes alive and continues to grow and reproduce. In short, mold likes to grow in humid and warm places.

Source: unsplash

Many furniture items at home, such as wooden tables and chairs, cabinets, wallpapers, carpets on the floor, and cotton fabrics we wear, can provide nutrients for mold and help it settle down. According to research statistics, when the humidity is greater than 65% and the temperature is between 10℃ and 32℃, with organic matter as the nutrient basis for growth, mold spores will become active and will quickly grow hyphae or branches. While the mold grows, it will also emit a smell that we are very familiar with in summer - musty smell , which is the smell of volatile organic matter.

The base hyphae, aerial hyphae and reproductive hyphae of mold

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

2

Mold is a two-faced person

Although mold may seem insignificant, it is very powerful. According to statistics, there are about 300 kinds of mold in the environment, and the presence of some molds will pose a serious threat to human health. The large number of spores produced by molds are known strong allergens, so people who are allergic to molds should pay special attention. If you have some inexplicable allergic problems in your body recently, such as sneezing, coughing, runny nose, itchy throat, etc. , you have to consider whether it is caused by the growth of mold in the home environment. Mold is very different from the bacterial infections we usually see. Mold is very tenacious. Once a person is accidentally infected, it is difficult to treat.

Mold spores

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

In addition, some mold metabolites are toxic. Take the well-known aflatoxin for example. Aflatoxin is mainly produced in moldy food and is a metabolite of Aspergillus flavus. Nuts such as peanuts and walnuts that we eat in our lives are extremely susceptible to infection and produce aflatoxin under suitable temperature and humidity. If grains are not dried in time or stored improperly, aflatoxin will also be produced. Aflatoxin is a highly carcinogenic substance. Eating a large amount of food containing aflatoxin can lead to acute diseases such as massive necrosis of liver parenchymal cells and liver hemorrhage. After consuming a certain amount, death may even occur.

Image source: China Science Expo

Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate mold in your home! If mold has not yet "run rampant" in your home, then we should not provide mold with comfortable growth conditions: use a dehumidifier to avoid excessive humidity in the environment, keep the humidity at around 40%; repair problems such as roof and pipe leaks in a timely manner, and clean up old books and newspapers in a timely manner; use an air purifier and use a filter membrane to "catch" mold spores, etc.

Old books grow mold

Source: A shopping website

If mold has already formed in your home, there is no need to panic. First, we must protect ourselves by wearing masks and rubber gloves; second, protect the rooms that have not yet become moldy and close the doors and windows; third, clean the mold spots with household detergent and rinse with clean tap water; fourth, sterilize with bleach and dry the surface of objects; fifth, turn on the air purifier to clean up dead mold and residual mold in the air; finally, remember to dispose of the used tools and wash your hands in time.

Of course, there are still many molds that are helpful to humans in our lives. For example, many families love to eat fermented bean curd and fermented black beans, which use Mucor . Penicillin , the first antibiotic discovered and used by humans, was produced by Penicillium, and it is still serving the people today. For example, the pesticide used to treat insects includes Beauveria bassiana . As its name suggests, it can produce toxins and antibiotics that make insects grow white hair all over their bodies after infection, and die stiffly. There are many mold brothers like this in our lives, and you can find them if you observe carefully!

Mycelium on the surface of fermented tofu

Source | Baidu Images

Mold is everywhere. Mold is both an enemy and a friend . In this colorful world of ours, we must also look at mold rationally. We cannot simply dismiss it, nor can we take it lightly. Only by properly and rationally utilizing it, further studying, discovering and determining mycotoxins, and taking effective measures to prevent and control the activities of harmful molds, can we better protect people's health, develop agriculture and animal husbandry, and prevent and control environmental pollution.