Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Mold is a natural part of the environment and can be found all around us, but having mold growing indoors and exposing people to high levels in the air they breathe can lead to serious health concerns.
Inhalation exposure to mold indoors can cause health effects for some people. Molds produce allergens, irritants, and, in some cases, toxic substances known as mycotoxins.
Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals and the mold does not have to be alive to cause an allergic reaction. This is why it is important to minimize people’s exposure to mold.
Allergic reactions to mold are common and can be immediate or delayed. Repeated or single exposure to mold, mold spores, or mold fragments may cause non-sensitive individuals to become sensitive to mold, and repeated exposure has the potential to increase sensitivity.
Exposure to mold can even trigger asthma attacks in people with asthma who are allergic to mold. As an irritant, mold can irritate people’s eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs regardless of whether they are allergic to mold.
Breathing in mold may also cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), a disease that resembles bacterial pneumonia. In addition, exposure to certain types of fungi, such as Aspergillus, may result in opportunistic infections in persons whose immune systems are weakened or suppressed.
These are just a few things to know about breathing mold. To learn more about this or other indoor air quality, infection control, industrial hygiene, environmental, health, or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
Mold is a natural part of the environment and can be found all around us, but having mold growing indoors and exposing people to high levels in the air they breathe can lead to serious health concerns.
Inhalation exposure to mold indoors can cause health effects for some people. Molds produce allergens, irritants, and, in some cases, toxic substances known as mycotoxins.
Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals and the mold does not have to be alive to cause an allergic reaction. This is why it is important to minimize people’s exposure to mold.
Allergic reactions to mold are common and can be immediate or delayed. Repeated or single exposure to mold, mold spores, or mold fragments may cause non-sensitive individuals to become sensitive to mold, and repeated exposure has the potential to increase sensitivity.
Exposure to mold can even trigger asthma attacks in people with asthma who are allergic to mold. As an irritant, mold can irritate people’s eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs regardless of whether they are allergic to mold.
Breathing in mold may also cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), a disease that resembles bacterial pneumonia. In addition, exposure to certain types of fungi, such as Aspergillus, may result in opportunistic infections in persons whose immune systems are weakened or suppressed.
These are just a few things to know about breathing mold. To learn more about this or other indoor air quality, infection control, industrial hygiene, environmental, health, or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
