Identification: Found this host of mold, please help me identify the health risk

Hi,

I am currently moving out of our house and found a host of different types of mould under my daughter's toy kitchen. I've thrown the kitchen out now, but please, can you help me understand the potential health risks she was exposed to and the types of mould?

I've uploaded two photos of the kitchen.

Many thanks

 

Hi @ChrisH - lovely combination of colours there!

Mould identification typically requires a combination of microscopy and specialist knowledge. There are many genera that have species which are known to be "household molds" such as Aspergillus spp., Alternaria spp. Cladosporium spp, Penicillium spp., Stachybotrys spp and others. A few can be ID'd without microscopy and with less specialist knowledge, such as the greenish Penicillium that grows on bread, but ID'ing the lovely collection on your furniture likely needs someone who has done a deep dive on household molds.

With the caveat that I'm not expert in this (not a doctor, not a mould specialist) ... most molds are non-toxic to us as in when we are in the area where they are emitting spores. An important exception would be those who are immune-compromised including recent organ transplant recipients, people allergic to a particular mold, and anyone sensitive to any kind of spore inhaled in quantity. It can be useful to know that these mold spores, of thousands of different species I am told, are in the air we breathe constantly, and generally our immune systems handle this quite well.

Usually prevention is a good approach: Looking for the source of the moisture and stopping it.

Hope that is somewhat helpful :-)
frog

 

Thank you for the detailed response Frog. It's reassuring to know that there isn't a prominent type of mould in the collection, which might have caused a severe health risk. Taking on board your comment that fully understanding the problem would require a deeper dive into the moulds.

The house is a troglodyte house with stone floors, so it's probably an unavoidable hazard that wooden furniture will absorb moisture through the floor.