Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey,
Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Vogel bond here. Many people use the
Speaker 1: words mold and mildew interchangeably, but they're not the same thing.
Speaker 1: To be fair, both are types of fungi, that is,
Speaker 1: spore producing organisms in the same kingdom as mushrooms or yeast.
Speaker 1: Fungi are fascinating because they grow pretty much like plants,
Speaker 1: but they acquire nutrients and have kitan in their cell
Speaker 1: walls like animals do. Mold and mildew are both filamentous fungi,
Speaker 1: that is, multicellular fungi that grow in branching, tubular structures
Speaker 1: that form a mass of intertwining strands. They crave especially damp,
Speaker 1: moist conditions, and both can grow on things in your home,
Speaker 1: but mildew is usually easier to get rid of, and
Speaker 1: that goes to the heart of the differences between mold
Speaker 1: and mildew. The spores of are everywhere all around us.
Speaker 1: They're a necessary part of our world because these types
Speaker 1: of fungi are what breakdown dead plant and animal matter
Speaker 1: in our soil. But by the time you see mold
Speaker 1: or mildew growing in your home, you're looking at a
Speaker 1: colony of millions of cells. Mildew is mold and its
Speaker 1: early stages of life, and typically grows fast. The spores
Speaker 1: may arrive in your home via water, air, or insects.
Speaker 1: Both mold and mildew prefer to grow on or in
Speaker 1: a porous organic materials wood, paper, food, and some types
Speaker 1: of insulation, carpet or clothing. They can also grow on
Speaker 1: biofilms on top of less porous materials like plastic, glass
Speaker 1: or tile. The biggest difference between mold and mildew is
Speaker 1: on the surface. That's a little play on words, because
Speaker 1: mildew only grows on the surface of materials like your shower, walls,
Speaker 1: window sills, and other places where moisture tends to be high. Mold, however,
Speaker 1: is penetrating fungi. It grows below the surface of whatever
Speaker 1: it's attached to. So the powdery, fluffy stuff you see
Speaker 1: on books and boxes in your basement, that's mildew. But
Speaker 1: good news, it's only on the surface. If you find mildew,
Speaker 1: you can clean it off so that it won't multiply
Speaker 1: and grow to damage whatever it's on. Then you can
Speaker 1: check the rooms of ventilation and maybe add a dehumidifier
Speaker 1: to the space. Bathrooms should have an exhaust fan to
Speaker 1: vent out warm moist air. Check the seals around windows
Speaker 1: to prevent condensation. Mold is a different matter. It can
Speaker 1: be fuzzy or slimy. As we mentioned before, it grows
Speaker 1: on the surface of organic material and then penetrates it.
Speaker 1: A Mold usually comes in shades of white, blue, green, brown, gray,
Speaker 1: or black, and mold can be a problem when it
Speaker 1: grows indoors. Over time, the material that's covered with mold
Speaker 1: will become rotten, and that's why mold often causes straw
Speaker 1: cctral damage to homes and belongings, a, leading to mold
Speaker 1: remediation strategies and costly repairs. Mold can also cause serious
Speaker 1: health problems. It produces compounds that can cause irritation to
Speaker 1: the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, even in people who
Speaker 1: aren't allergic to it, and mold allergies can cause everything
Speaker 1: from sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash to
Speaker 1: asthma attacks. And unlike mildew, which you can easily clean yourself,
Speaker 1: the CDC says that cleaning up toxic mold is very
Speaker 1: difficult and should be handled by qualified mold remediation professionals
Speaker 1: certified by the National Environmental Health Association or the American
Speaker 1: Industrial Hygiene Association. Though, of course, while it's certainly a menace,
Speaker 1: if it's growing unchecked in your home, and not all
Speaker 1: mold is bad, you might welcome some types and there
Speaker 1: by products into your household. For example, the antibiotic penicillin,
Speaker 1: which is extracted from mold, or cheeses like gorgonzola or brie,
Speaker 1: both of which rely on mold to create their textures
Speaker 1: and flavors. All of these are created thanks to mold
Speaker 1: in the genus penicillium. Today's episode is based on the
Speaker 1: article What's the difference between mold and mildew on how
Speaker 1: stuff works dot com, written by Patty Resmusen. Brain Stuff
Speaker 1: is production of iHeart Radio in partnership with how stuff
Speaker 1: works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four
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